Judy Gray

Was looking for something and I found this clip of a dance session that was very fun. This is the POV that happens when I forget to put my camera on wide angle 🙃 I later made a sequence based on this clip and taught it in classes, and recorded it to post for students. And then I forgot that I did that. It looks all nice and neat and clean, but as is usually the case, I enjoy the blueprint way more, so this is what y'all get.

This post is dedicated to the most decadent inversion by the magical @marlofisken ✨🖤 and to going with the flow of things. So basically double @marlofisken 🙃 * * * Story time re: going with the flow. To set everything up for this video, I got soaked on the way to the studio by a storm that broke out between the time I entered Whole Foods to buy one thing and 4 minutes later as I was leaving. So I got to the studio soaking wet and had to take my clothes off and put them in the dryer. Instead of drinking coffee while staring at the dryer and scrolling socialmedia -- a compelling option -- I decided to make the use of the humidity (iykyk 🦎) and snag a free pole during open studio. I actually took time to revise the original video by Marlo this time lol and visualized a plan of execution. I warmed up, and felt super ready to go. So I put music in my ears, ascended, and then... the ankle strap of my right shoe snapped on my foot as soon as I was done with the invert of this very first attempt ☠️ Can you tell when? It's visible. I don't like bailing and jerking out of movement, and trained myself out of doing it unless I sense danger. This was more of a wtf moment rather than red alert so I recollected myself and my breath. Admittedly there are some suspicious moments of additional, semi-involuntary foot and leg activity, the shoe stayed on. There were better subsequent takes after shoe change but this one feels most true to the process 😅 My only regret is that I don't get to have a video of my shoe flying off of my foot mid-air and continuing its journey across the studio, like an asteroid, until it crashes somewhere hopefully sparing all people and mirrors.

Part of a 2 minute free dance clip I wanted o post but then I decided to keep the rest so I can teach some of it this weekend and maybe post the "processed" version later. Content 💯✨

So corny. But completely accurate. Most training and practice is NOT going to be a b-roll of epic successes, breakthroughs, and cathartic experiences. The win starts with showing up. As long as you're in the room, even if everything seems to suck, you're doing great. I promise 🖤 And Happy Monday ✨

Spent too much time fiddling with aligning the music (almost) so I don't have willpower left to write a caption. And Happy Sunday.

There aren't many measures of the human body that are less reflective of your fitness level than scale weight. Scale weight and body size are also not indicative of one's preparedness to do pole dancing, or any other movement. A lot of artistic athletes are constantly exposed to the "leaner/lighter = better" mentality. This often leads them to become preoccupied with their weight, body size and shape, and develop restrictive or even disordered eating habits. Undereating, especially among female athletes, may not result in weight loss, but comes with serious risks that can impact both performance and long-term health: - Hormonal disruptions - Bone density loss - Weakened immune system - Decreased strength & endurance - Stagnant progress in training (or regression) - Low quality sleep - Poor recovery & higher injury risk - Brain fog, anxiety, mood swings - Low energy & lack of motivation - Mental and/or physical burnout Spooky stuff. 0/10, not recommended, for movers especially. If you're experiencing multiple of the above symptoms please talk to a medical professional. You deserve to live in a fueled body 🖤 it's so fun.

I have been informed that this upcycled sequence was challenging so... I will be teaching it for two more times -- 8/2 and 8/9 -- at @sfpoleanddance. Join the waitlist and enable notifications 🎯 if you want to learn.

Good morning! Don't forget to move your spine today 😉

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🔪 doodles ✨ first bit by @cezarthesuperstar before we figured out how to make the exit transition feel less cursed and look less f*$ed and awkward lol 🚽 but oh well maybe I'll post that version eventually too or he will 😅

As promised yesterday, I'm starting a new free educational content series: From Foundation to Flow I'm hoping this series will help clarify some terminology and remove confusion and fears around training and practicing pole. I will be sharing information, evidence based training tools, and practices -the ones that all athletes incl. artistic athletes use all over the world- and will try to visually illustrate concepts using examples. This is not drama, or clickbait, or my controversial opinion: it's literal facts. Training builds capacity. Practice only works to the extent to which your capacities allow. 🖤✨

This is (unfortunately) not satire... More on this topic coming soon.