I has been a long while since I have a guestblogger for my blog. I saw that my sister’s friend has started a new blog. I enjoy reading her posts a lot. I am psyched that she is my guestblogger for the Month of October. Let me tell you something about my sister first. When it comes to friends, she can be really choosy. She doesn’t keep a shipload of them (hahaha!) but she chooses the best of people. She also have amazing & talented friends. My sister’s friend is behind this cool blog ‘ISM’, a personal blog with a lot book reviews which is a treat for booklovers like me. She is a talented writer, a voracious reader (obviously, since she does book reviews) and has an interesting hobby which I would love to try someday: POLE DANCING. Our guestblogger for this month will be sharing with us more about the wonderful world of Pole Dancing. But before that, let us learn more about her blog and how it came about.
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Blog URL: http://dariaism.blogspot.com/
Blog Type: Anything goes. Mostly book reviews, though.
1. What made you start blogging? When did you start blogging?
I started writing before blogs were famous. But I write for a living and I wanted to write without pressure. About anything I want and how I want and when I feel like it.
2. How did you pick the name for your blog?
I think ISM is a fun suffix because you can connect it to any word and invent a philosophy out of it (i.e. pizzaism, nothingism, blogism) but it was already taken so I just added daria (the 90s MTV cartoon character) in the beginning because … just because. Lol.
3. Who are your favourite bloggers?
Mostly writers too. Peter Clines is a scifi writer and he gives a good argument and tips in writing styles (thoth-amon.blogspot.com) and author Erin Morgenstern (erinmorgenstern.com/blogs).
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POLE DANCING: The fine art of holding on and letting go
I’m not into the habit of convincing people into agreeing pole dancing is completely acceptable (it IS completely acceptable!) and I struggle as I hold my tongue when I get questions like: “so what’s so special about pole dancing when you’re just learning to spread your legs?” Most pole dance practitioners would probably argue their point. Me? I think I’ll just give you a short glimpse of my journey in the world of the vertical bar with the help of Polecats Manila.
Bit of a background, I live a very sedentary lifestyle. I’m a technical editor. A desk jock, you might say. I’m the laziest person when it comes to anything physically challenging and it doesn’t help that no matter how much I eat I never get past 100lbs. (Heh. Hormones. Gotta love ‘em.) Having said all that, no I did not decide to take pole classes for a work out. I just always thought pole dancing was cool. That and I didn’t have anything better to do so I thought, why not?
I was amazed at the varied background of people taking up pole dance classes; students, housewives, marketing people, bankers, doctors, lawyers. The founder of Polecats is an artist who participates in exhibits not only in Manila but other Asian countries and soon, France. I think it’s safe to assume that, unlike me, they took the classes not because they have nothing else to do.
My main fear about pole dancing is not falling and breaking my neck, it’s that I don’t really dance so I thought it might be awkward or even intimidating especially since it’s a group class with students who mostly had dance backgrounds. But people in the pole dance community are so friendly and supportive and helpful. They are competitive in a way that they want to learn the tricks and be a better pole dancer, not because they want to be better than other students. They share tricks and “cheats” to make moves easier and prettier.
At first I thought I’d take the beginners’ class and then stop there. The thing with pole dancing is that once you see results, when you finally nail a trick or a spin you’ve been working on, it becomes an addiction. Now I wish I could take classes everyday. I look up tricks on Pinterest that I’ve never done. I count the days when I have to go back to the studio. Never mind that I get bruises or that I can barely move the day after class. That’s the other thing, I used to be very conscious of my skin especially during that time of the month that I bruise easy but now, I wear bruises like battle scars.
See, I always thought I have an open mind. But my pole dancing classes gave me a bigger, better, brighter view of things … even the smallest ones. And no matter how silly this may seem, there are things about pole dancing that helped me be a better person outside the studio. Case and point:
- On learning spins on a static pole: If you’re not spinning a lot it means you’re gripping the pole too tight, loosen up your grip a little. Parang life lang yan, you have to learn to let go. Di ba?
- On thigh holds and superman variations (because it hurts … A LOT): It’s just skin. You’re fine. You’re not going to die!
- Because I have a bitch resting face syndrome: Smile when doing the tricks, even if it hurts. The prettiest people are those who can smile through the pain.
- On learning I’m up for evaluation:
Me: Parang afraid ako mag intermediate, ang scary ng tricks nila.
Classmate: Martha, don’t resist the inevitable!
- On learning choreography: Aaaaand … DRAMAAAA! (And indeed, what is life without a little drama? :p)
So what’s so special about pole dancing when we’re “just” learning to spread our legs? For starters, it’s a super fun, super awesome complete body work out, where you can meet fabulous, happy people with open minds and open hearts, and who shares a lot of positivity and lessons you can apply in life and in general.
Yes we spread our legs too but when we do, we do it very pretty. 🙂
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Thank you, Martha, for being a guest blogger of Little Miss Honey. Now I can’t wait to try out pole dancing and spread my legs prettily too. For more of pole dancing, book reviews and Daraism, visit her site at http://dariaism.blogspot.com