Motivational Monday's: Challenge yourself!

Aloha Monday already!?!?

Monday's are always a downer especially after a great and relaxing weekend of no work and sometimes can be hard to get back into the groove of things.  Stay positive and make it happen today!  Take a couple of deep breaths and hit the ground running because ......

"If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you."  This is so true!!!  Challenge yourself today with something more, something different, maybe stepping your game up a little more in your exercise routine or adding something new!  Whatever you do today start you week off right by adding a challenge instead of staying on a steady path.

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible." 

Arthur C. Clarke

So, shoot for the impossible today and challenge yourself to reach your goal!!  If you have reached your goal set another one and do it again!

Have a great Monday and go get it!!!

Stretchy Sundays: Cat-Cow Stretch :)

Aloha Everyone:)

What better way to start off your relaxing Sunday than with stretching!!  This weeks featured Stretchy Sundays Stretch is the well known Cat-Cow Stretch!!  The Cat-Cow Stretch is a great stretch for everyone and should be done on a regular basis:).  The benefits of the Cat-Cow Stretch are as follows:

    -  Improves posture and balance
    -  Strengthens and stretches the spine and neck
    -  Stretches the hips, abdomen and back
    -  Increases coordination
    -  Massages and stimulates organs in the belly (like kidneys and adrenal glands)
    -  Creates emotional balance
    -  Relieves stress and calms the mind

As you may have noticed not only are these great benefits for Pole Dancing but also for everyday life!  Now, let's get into the proper ways to do the Cat-Cow Stretch!

Begin with your hands and knees in Table Top Pose making sure your hands are directly under your shoulders, your knees are directly under your hips and your spine is in a nice neutral position (not arching your back just yet).  Let your neck be long and eyes looking towards the ground.  Stabilize your shoulders blades by drawing them down your back.

Once you have gone into the Table Top Pose you will go into the Cow position.  While you inhale lift your sit bones upward, press your chest forward and engage your core.  Lift your head and look forward while relaxing your shoulders away from your ears.

As you exhale you will go into the Cat Pose.  All at the same time round your spine upward, tuck your tail bone, draw your pelvis bone inward and engage your core.  Release your head towards to floor without forcing your chin to your chest (which can cause injury so try to keep your head in line with your torso through out the Cat-Cow Stretch).

Go back and forth between the Cat and Cow Pose matching it with your breath.  Inhale into Cow and exhale into Cat.  Do it about 2 - 4 times each for Cat and Cow making sure you are evenly distributing your weight between your hands and knees.  After your final exhale into Cat Pose end the stretch in the Table Top Pose.

After you do this a couple times it will start to all come naturally with pairing the breath with your movement.  You will start to feel the benefits after doing this stretch consistently.  The great thing about this stretch is that it can really be done anywhere you have a flat surface!!

Get your stretch on today and make it apart of you routine as well to feel all the awesome benefits.  Have a great day!!!

Polefessional Saturdays: Felix Cane!!!!!

Aloha Pole Lovers!!!

The beautiful & amazing Felix Cane!

We love Felix Cane!!  She is not only an AMAZING Pole Dancer with ridiculous flexibility but she is a genuinely sweet, caring and passionate individual:)!  We got the great opportunity to take her workshop at the 2012 LA International Pole Convention last month and it was not only awesome but extremely helpful and super fun!  Throughout the whole workshop we all were laughing, having fun and understanding how to do her specialty moves like the Spatchcock!!!  Although my flexibility isn't quite at that level I know how to safely enter and exit the Spatchcock which by watching her do it is very intimidating.  She was very good at going around and making sure everyone was good with the current move before moving on and making sure to provide modifications if needed:).  

Felix Cane in the Spatchcock:)

With her great talent she has won many competitions all over the world!  Here are a list of titles the amazing Felix Cane has won:

1. Miss Pole Dance World 2009
2. Best Female Stripper 2008 – Australian Adult Industry Awards
3. Miss Pole Dance Australia 2008
4. Miss Nude Australia National Final 2008 – Pole Dance Champion
5. Miss Nude Australia WA Final 2008 – Entertainer of the Year & Hottest Body
6.  STAR Awards – Best Female Performer 2007
7. Miss Hustler Centrefold Oceania 2007 – 1st Place
8. Miss Pole Dance Australia 2006

Not only is she a winner of all the above competitions but she is also in many productions such as Zumanity!  Before discovering her passion for pole dancing, Felix was schooled extensively as a dancer in Perth from the age of 11 to 15.  She then moved to London where she continued to study many forms of dance, but predominantly contemporary and classical.

Felix has experience in performing with professional contemporary and classical dance companies and working in many different venues including theatres in and around London.  In London she also worked in television and film!  She is an all around amazing and talented woman huh?!?!  In January 2006, Felix started pole dancing lessons in Perth, WA.  In September of that year, after pole dancing for only 8 months, she won the WA heat of Miss Pole Dance Australia 2006 and then later that year she went on to compete in the National Championships competition in Sydney.

Felix Cane has had a huge influence on Pole Dancing and we thank her for all she has done for and in the Pole Dancing Community!  She is one of our idols and favorite Polefessionals:)

I could go on and on for days on how amazing Felix Cane is in so many ways but I`ll get into that at another time;)!

If you have not seen Felix Cane in action yet please go and You Tube her, you will be amazed and immediately motivated!!

Have a great Saturday everyone:)!

Fitness Fridays: Engage that Core!!!

Aloha:)!

We all hear our instructors telling us, "Engage that core!" but do we all know why they tell us to do that like all the time?!?!  As they and many say, engaging your core is important!  I never knew much about core exercises and the benefit of having a strong core before starting Pole Fitness and looking more into it.  After doing my research out of curiosity I know the benefits and I want to share what I have learned with you awesome people!  First of all, we are all brainwashed or assume that our core are our abdominals when in fact the core consists of the area from your chest all the way to your thighs!  if you really think about it, these are the main muscles in which you us daily and even at sometimes every minute or second of the day!  So you can see the importance of keeping this area strong and engaged during Pole Fitness or any workout at that!  Better balance, better coordination and greater muscle tone are the main benefits to engaging your core (which are GREAT benefits!).  Here's a little break down to better understand just why and how these benefits arise from just engaging your core:

Better Balance!

By engaging your core when you are pole dancing you are centering your strength which then focuses that strength to your core.  When the core is engaged and strong your balance increases because all your strength in centered in the largest and main muscle groups of your body.  The core muscles help you keep balanced through out all your daily tasks like walking, working out, etc.  If you still don't understand why and how engaging your core can better your balance do a little test!  Do this test near a wall and be ready to catch yourself.  Garb a trusted partner and have them shove you as you stand without engaging your core.  You may go flying which is why you need a trusted partner.  Go ahead and do this same thing but with engaging your core.  See the difference?!?!?  Can you see how engaging your core can help with Pole Fitness?!  It is crazy how just engaging your core can help with your balance of everyday activities to Pole Fitness!

Better Coordination!

By engaging all your core muscles, your entire body will work together to complete the task you are doing.  Picking up heavier loads is an awesome example!  When picking up heavier loads you need to bend down, lift with your legs (NOT YOUR BACKS PLEASE!), support the load with your biceps and keep your body in an upright position with your abs ... all at the same time!  Try engaging your core every time you pick up a heavier load, you will start to notice everything flowing a little better and your coordination also improving!  Isn't that amazing, just by engaging and strengthening your core you can also better your coordination for Pole Fitness which we all know you need!!!

Greater Muscle Tone!

This benefit is a given seeing that you are engaging and strengthening your main muscle groups greater muscle tone is bound to follow!!!

Doesn't now knowing the benefits of engaging your core make you want to engage your core all the time?!?!  Do it!  This will only benefit you in all that you do on a daily basis!  I personally engage my core all the time more so now because I could use these added benefits!!!  I have a office job that requires me to sit in one spot for 8 hours a day:/  I long ago decided to throw out the rollie office chair and swap it out with my awesome bouncy exercise ball!  This helps tremendously with engaging your core throughout the day because if you don't .... your probably going down!  Well, go and engage those cores and have a beautiful Friday!!!

Tippy Thursdays: Pole Dance Virgins ... You Can Do It!;)

Aloha Lovlies:)

Today's Tippy Thursday's Tip is for people who are interested in pole dancing as well as people who have just began the wonderful journey!  The most obvious but best tip you could get going into pole dancing is to never get discouraged!  Every person is different which means every person is going to learn and catch on to new things at their own pace so if someone on the pole next to you gets a certain move right away and you don't, don't get discouraged!!  It is very important to remember this because although your thinking, "Um, duh!  I know that!", we all do this but just remember to keep telling yourself that your time will come and you will totally get that specific move in time!  The worst thing you can do is push yourself to much which could possibly lead to an injury.  Always make sure when learning a new move that you are using the correct technique and giving your body and mind time to adjust to this new move as well.  The worst thing you can do to yourself is to find something you love doing, push yourself to hard and get injured to where you cannot enjoy your new found love.  So, with that being said, YOU CAN DO IT!!!  As Aaliyah once sang, "If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again!"  If you believe in yourself and stay positive you will feed off of that and not only get that specific move but feel better about yourself:)!

POLE ADDICTS, POLEFESSIONALS, POLE VETERANS AND POLE INSTRUCTORS:

Please comment with any feedback or tips for our wonderful new comers and newbies on how they can keep themselves from getting discouraged from your own experience:)  I know we all have had our times and could share to help:)

Have a great Thursday everyone!!

What's in the Pole World News Wednesdays: Pole Fitness in the Olympics?

Aloha Pole Lovers & Supporters!

We all know either from our own experience or word of mouth that Pole Fitness is not only a great and fun way to get your fitness on but can also be very rigorous and intense at times depending on what your goals are and if you are a competitor.  You may or may not have heard but there are talks of getting Pole Fitness in the Olympics!!!  We as Pole Dancers for fitness and Pole Dance Supporters know why this has been suggested but the rest of the world doesn't understand why anyone would even suggest it simply because they are stuck with the image of pole dancing only in strip clubs.  Day by day, whether or not we are trying to, we are all spreading the word about Pole Dancing for Fitness and changing the majorities thought of it.  Keep doing what you are doing and slowly but surely the minds of all the majority will change and everyone will know just why and how Pole Fitness could stand a chance in the Olympics if you are or are not a supporter of Pole Fitness as an Olympic Sport:)  If you compare the other gymnastic sports in the olympics to Pole Fitness you will see just how similar they really are.  Read more about what's in the news for Pole Dancing as an Olympic sport by going to these 2 links:

BuzzFeed SHIFT:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/hillaryreinsberg/can-pole-dancing-get-recognized-as-an-olympic-spor

msnbc.com:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35524563/ns/world_news-weird_news/t/are-olympics-ready-pole-dancing/#.T_2pbI6Doso

Mai Sato, International Pole Dancing Fitness Champion and supporter of Pole Dance as an Olympic Sport.

Please Pole Addicts, Pole Lovers and Pole Supporters, keep sharing your love for Pole Dance for Fitness and help the majority understand just what we do;)  Have a great Wednesday everyone and Pole on!!!!

International Pole Convention Recap!!!

We can sum up our first time International Pole Convention experience in one word......... AWESOME!!!!  It was so great to see so many people who share our love for pole dancing in one place having a great time together!  If you are new to pole, been poling for a while, a pole addict or interested in pole dancing the International Pole Convention is definitely something you should invest in,  because regardless of where you are in your pole dancing it will benefit you in a lot of different ways:)!  There are many pole workshops ranging from beginner to advanced, informational workshops that will benefit a pole dancer, vendors and booths with SO many products for pole, demos, non-pole workshops, performances and not to mention great parties and the Showcase of the Stars!!!


Not only was this our first International Pole Convention but this was also the launch of our Just Pole Retail Line which was a major success thanks to our new friends we met at the Pole Convention!  We met people from all over the world and through the appreciated craziness at our booth we were able to get some photos with our new friends:)

Not only were we able to meet people from all over the world who share our passion for pole but we were also able to meet some Polefessionals!!!!!!!!  Not only were they down to take a photo with us but they were all so sweet which made them ten times more awesome than we already thought they were!!

Owner Pi`ilani & Steven Retchless

Steven Retchless was a sweetie and his workshop was great!  Started with a fun and sexy warm-up which lead to lessons on his signature moves and ended with a relaxing and sexy cool down.  Overall, the workshop was a sexy and fun learning experience;)!

Pi`ilani & Jenyne Butterfly

Jenyne Buterfly!!!  She had FREE workshops all weekend to share her love for pole as well!  Since her free workshops were very popular and free we were unable to make any of them but heard nothing but great compliments on how helpful she was during the workshop:)

Amy Raven & Pi`ilani

Amy Raven was such a sweethart as well as an awesome Polefessional that we can't wait to see again!

Pi`ilani & Natasha Wang

Natasha Wang honored us all with a bunch of performances throughout the weekend which were almost as amazing as she is:)

Felix Cane & Pole Addict Jamie:)

Felix Cane was so adorable and more than amazing!  Her workshop was filled with laughter, a lot of helpful advice for form, flexibility, pole strengthening and technique!  She was extremely helpful with her signature moves like the Spatchcock and was great about providing visual explanation on everything:)

Jamie & Alethea Austin

Alethea Austin was workin' it when she rocked her showcase performance and workshops with an injury to her rib!  That's a hardcore Polefessional right there!

We met so much Polefessionals and new friends that helped make our first time even better!  There are more pictures on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/justpolefitness.  If you have not already please Like our page so we can keep you up to date with pole news, event photos, new retail and more!

This was a great experience for us all at Just Pole and it may sound cheesy but it was life changing too!  We learned so much from everything we experienced and all the awesome people we meet that only pushed us more to all reach our goals individually and as a team!  Only you have the power to make it happen so get out there and do it!

As Cleo The Hurricane would say it, Rock, Love & Pole ;)