In your opinion, what is one of the most challenging pole tricks? Is it the Iron-X where you’re essentially balancing like a letter “X” from the side of the pole? Or, is it the seemingly inhuman flagpole? Maybe it’s a handspring or an invert, or even a chopper.
Depending on where you are in your pole journey, the answer will be different. It took me a little over a year to be comfortable in an outside leg hang. I can still remember the thrill of connecting my knee pit and releasing my hands. How amazing it felt to be stabilized on the pole, upside down!
A little over 4 years into my pole journey, there have been other pole trick goals. Once inverts and outside leg hangs have been mastered, the list of pole moves that can be attained expands (exhaustingly)!
Can you even begin to fathom the number of different shapes and transitions that are possible? No wonder it’s slow going for adding pole sport to the Olympics!
Most recently, I can now add an Ayesha to my repertoire of pole tricks. The feeling of accomplishment when a trick hits just right is indescribable. Here’s how the Ayesha went down (or up) for me.
On a recent Sunday morning, only two of us happened to be in pole class. Early mornings can be tough, but it’s such a great way to start the day! Our instructor, Jackie, asked if there was anything specific we would like to work on.
Side note…I love small classes like this when we have extra personalized attention from our instructor. Jackie’s openness to meeting our needs was unmatched. My pole friend, Spyndee, suggested working on Ayeshas. The last time, several months prior, I had tried an Ayesha from an inverted-D. At that time, I moved one leg off to the side at a time with limited success and 100% fear.
Fast forward to Sunday’s class. Jackie had us invert and lower our ankles like a flower. Then, when we had the push/pull in our arms, we could release our legs. OMG! With Jackie next to me for spotting, I lowered my ankles and opened my legs and…tada…I was comfortably in an Ayesha!
Now, for some people, an Ayesha may come much sooner on their pole journeys. That’s what makes pole fitness unique: the diversity in movements, abilities, backgrounds, etc. I’ve never been formally trained in dance or gymnastics, yet here I am, doing some pretty cool tricks that give me huge confidence boosts.
As most polers may know, getting a trick one day does not mean it will work the next time you try it. On this particular Sunday morning my mind and body were in sync to focus on this trick. My mental game can be rough especially since I know what it’s like to recover from a serious injury (read about that here). Let’s see how next week’s practice goes – will I be able to do an Ayesha successfully again? My fingers will be crossed, but my legs will be opened.
Poles & Places 