On Routine

I’m really trying to instill this habit in myself right now. Like a lot of people, when I wake up I have a tendency to immediately jump into work. So, I’ve really been trying to form the habit of doing three to five minutes of diaphragmatic breathing when I wake up. It helps to literally slow your heart rate so that you don’t immediately jump up thinking about everything you have to do. It helps to start the day on a good path.

It’s a pretty simple practice. Basically you breathe in for a count, the numbers can vary, but I breathe in for a count of six, and then I hold for a count of seven, and then I breathe out of my mouth for a count of eight. I do that for about three to five minutes. The point is that the vagus nerve, the nerve that affects our heart rate, runs through our diaphragms, so by controlling our diaphragm, we can actually slow our heart rate and calm ourselves down.

It’s been a hard habit to really get into the groove of, so I would say I only probably do that about five days a week, but I’m aiming to do it every single day right when I wake up.

On Music

Music gives me a lot of energy. During the winter here in New York, listening to music is one of the things that keeps me moving forward, keeps me training and staying motivated.

The majority of my exercise is pole and while you can pole without music, it’s definitely better with music. I’ve always been somebody that feels the music and it speaks to me the most through the sounds and the beats. I’m not much of a lyrics person. Sango and Kaytranada are artists like that. A lot of what’s on my playlists are instrumentals that call for me to move.

On Exercise Essentials

My only exercise essential is Dryhands which is basically the equivalent of chalk for rock climbers but in liquid form. Most people have never heard of it. It helps you absorb the moisture on your hands so you have more grip for pull. You can put it literally anywhere on your body. I put it on my legs, back of my knees, armpits, anywhere where I need grip. If I have that, I could pole naked.

On Accountability

I hold myself accountable. I like being around people but I also like my solitude. I live with my partner and two roommates so I’m definitely around people but I like my alone time. I’m a very independent person so I am a fan of scheduling, list-making, and bulleting. I really stay on top of myself and that’s…it sounds very weird, but for some reason, that’s one of the joys of my life, is being able to hold myself accountable.

On Goals

In my four and a half years of pole dancing, something that has always really intimidated me, and really scared me, is performing. I’ve managed to avoid it for the most part. I think I’ve only performed ten times in four and a half years. Half of the reason is that dancing for one to two minutes is one thing, but when you are dancing for four minutes there’s a huge cardio aspect which makes it exponentially more difficult. It’s something that has scared me to the point of feeling paralyzed in the past.

In the next four months, I have three performances scheduled which is a new experience for me. It’s going to force me to hit this goal of enhancing my cardio and be able to perform four-minute routines. So right now, my biggest goal is to boost the cardio aspects of pole, so I can pull these performances off. I’m scared but I’m excited about it.