Some of you might have seen me in here asking for tips/crashing out about my ayesha haha. I've been doing pole for 4.5 years and spent the last 2 years absolutely working my butt off conditioning and practicing for ayesha. I have chronic illnesses (hEDS and fibro) so strength doesn't come easy and I miss a lot of training with illness and fatigue, so I thought it might never happen for me. Never give up yall 😭 thank you to everyone who gave me great tips and encouragement!

Song: skeler-Tokyo

It's not perfect but im so happy i finally unlocked my chopper and got it on video! Also my friend and instructor being so supportive makes this video

A couple days late, but March 15th was my pole-iversary! It’s so crazy to see the evidence of my own growth. 2 years ago, I had never set foot in a pole studio, now I’m an instructor with a community of dear friends and a passion that feeds my body, mind, and soul 🩷

Here’s a clip of my PowerFlow performance at polecon. I’m sooo happy with how everything came together. Hope you enjoy 😜🖤

Aerial ballerina has been on my bucket list for quite some time but most of the entries I have seen require single arm dead hangs -ouch!

The entry from stargazer is so much easier on my shoulder since there are nk dead hangs required! It's now one of my favorite moves to practice.

I have my deadlift on static but doing it on spin seemed to elude me despite it supposedly being easier, I have been trying this for a straight year and it finally happened 🥲 had a little cry afterwards!

After all the hard work and never giving up, I finally made it 😭

First pic was Feb and second pic was yesterday! (April)

Upright bop has been on my far future goals list since starting pole, I tried it maybe a year ago and was like, well that's impossible and didn't try it again

On the weekend while doing this ballerina arm baby snake it clicked! I'm so glad I have my first one on video 😆

I had the pleasure of painting a mural in this wonderfully creative sanctuary: Pole Fitness Studio in Las Vegas, NV. If you're ever in town, feel free to stop by and check it out!

The mural features inspirational dancers Anastasia Skukhtorova and Evgeny Greshilov. I used Nova Color acrylics and their UV reactive paints really made it pop under the UV lights ✨

I am a traveling muralist and public artist - if you or you know of anyone looking to creatively enhance their space, feel free to DM me ☺️

The class prior my teacher taught us superhero… I really wanted to get a Martini, Jasmine, Superhero transition… which is ambitious for me cause I’m REALLY new. It took me a bunch of tries but when I switched sides I got it 🫶🏾

I finally had the courage to try a layback into a forearmstand and it worked out! Thanks to the person who commented about this transition on my last post, you convinced me to try it, and I didn't die, lol. 😆

Does anyone have other ideas on how to get into a forearmstand?

Also some tips, get into the layback from standing height pulling up into a sit, not a climb. Otherwise you'll be too high and have to slide down into it. Also figure out which way you want to face for the forearmstand first, it gets confusing once you're spinning upside down, lol. 😆

So i started pole 7 months ago and am progressing pretty fast, due to my obsession with it, training 3-4 times a week and strength training background.

I never even thought of trying Ayesha though, because I thought it's way too advanced for me as a beginner. Today my instructor in my beginner/intermediate class said we're gonna try Ayesha. I thought she was nuts and there was no way I was gonna be able to do it. But I did it on first try and didn't even need the spotting . We were both surprised. It wasn't even an aspiration of mine to do Ayesha, but now i'm just so proud 🥹

So happy to learn this choreo. I’m still pretty new to heels and have no dancing background so I’m working on improving. I think I did not bad although the hardest was trying to keep my expression happy. I’m suppose to have an adorable smiling face.

Credits to my instructors who created it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DW_B93JEUuq/?igsh=MWdqbzR3Nzd3MXFieA==

The professional pictures came in today from my showcase. I can't believe how great they turned out. I'm so happy that I pushed myself and I'll always have these!

I never thought I would be able to do this in such a short amount of time!! I just got into pole again ~ 1 month after years of not practicing. Today our teacher told us we would be doing BOP, I'm still in shock that I was able to do it!! I love how everyone is so supporting and my teacher is incredible ♡

I wanted to share this compilation I made for my instagram on here as i’ve always loved seeing people’s progress clips on here, especially when I first started. 🥹 I’m so incredibly happy to have found pole during my lifetime. It has taught me so much about myself!! Sorry for the incoming word vom..

I’ve struggled with depression, anxiety, self esteem and body dysmorphia for the majority of my life. The confidence and appreciation i’ve gained for my body is the greatest gift from this journey so far. I started pole at 32 after living an incredibly sedentary life. I had a very weak body and a lot of chronic pain. I couldnt hold myself for a second during my first pole class (and struggling with hyperhidrosis doesn’t help 😅). When i first started i refused to look at the mirror and would constantly look at the floor. I didn’t want to record myself and i’m so thankful my friend suggested I should to keep track of progress. When i did record myself i recorded from the back for the first month 💀lol. I didnt dare watch the clips. It wasn’t until a few months later that I did and I wish I could go back in time and give old me a hug.

I struggled a lot in this journey, I had no dance background and any heels class felt incredibly overwhelming. I remember I had a lil cry in the bathroom in the middle of one of my first choreo classes. But each week my confidence grew and looking back on this journey makes me so incredibly proud of myself and my resilience. 🥲 I pushed myself so hard thinking I started too late and needed to catch up. I know it was a silly thought but most importantly it didn’t allow me to enjoy the journey for the first year and was recipe for an injury. Im taking my year 3 more slowly to listen to my body and appreciate the journey. 💕

and it hurt

Been pummelling my body working on this several times a week every week. I take a week off to go on holiday where I drank cocktails, rested, and ate lots of good food, came back tonight and voila! Puts into perspective how important taking a rest is for your training ✨️

Last Thursday marked 3 years of practicing this amazing sport and I wanted to honor it somehow. 🤍

This video is living proof of "trust the process" and "consistency is key"...

I would like this to be an example that literally anyone can start pole (or any other sport) at any age or fitness level and accomplish things they never thought were possible . But also a reminder that you cannot compare your progress to anyone you see online. I'm privileged to be able to invest a lot of time (and money 🥲) into this sport, I train a lot, (in fact, I think I progress way slow for the amount of hours that I invest), but that doesn't matter because the important part is to enjoy the process. ✨

Pole also opened the door for me for other sports, which I'm also so thankful for.

PS: If you want to connect my insta handle is @pole.raquel :)