Build Your Pole Dancing Warmup into a Sensual Ritual

You and I love pole dancing.  We love building a strong body and sexy abs.  We love the sensual swirls and fabulous flying twirls around a smooth metal pole.  And if you want to be an awesome pole dancer, I already know that you practice, practice, practice.  But, if you are skipping your warm-up before your in home pole dancing session, you could be damaging your body and missing out on an amazing Sensual Ritual.

Playful Plans

A warm-up is defined as “the preparation period for a specific workout” and many people find the traditional fitness warm-up boring or monotonous.  (I certainly do.)  However, the purpose of the wamup, to “increase [the] core temperature as well as prepare the muscles & joints for movement,” is still critical for avoiding injury and staying healthy.  In short, you have to warm-up before every strenuous exercise training session.

The good news is that you are a pole dancer, (phew, dodged that bullet!) so you’ve got an endless source of sensual movements at your disposal.  Here’s how I structure a fun and easy warm-up that will make your body healthy and ready to pole dance.

Sexy Music

The first thing you need is a special playlist.  Don’t throw a bunch of random songs into a playlist and hope that you’ll automatically feel that sexy vibe.  Pick 3 or 4 songs to get the body moving for the 10-15 minutes required for your warm-up.

1. Start with a gentle song that grounds you like I Belong to You by Lenny Kravitz or Milk by Garbage.
2. Then buildup to some faster beats that make you want to move your hips like If Tha Mood by Esthero or The Naughty Song by Cory Lee.
3. Finally give yourself an easy transition into dancing by choosing one of your absolute favorite pole dancing songs.  For me, this is Sky by Sonique and Next Contestant by Nickelback.

Set The Mood

Once you’ve got your music ready, you need to make sure your body, mind, environment are ready to dance.
Set aside some time and a place where you won’t be interrupted. Simply ask your family and loved ones to give you this space.  You deserve it!

Choose something to workout in that makes you feel feminine and fit. I enjoy dancing in booty shorts and a bikini or wrap top simply because exposing all that extra skin helps me with advanced spins & inverts.  But when I warm-up, I also wear a pair of yoga or jazz pants.  This heats up my leg muscles, plus, I get the added benefit of removing (*wink*) my pants during my first dancing song (#3 above).

Begin with a Butterfly’s Breath

Turn on your music and start with a few easy breaths.  Simply close your eyes while standing and focus on the sensation of breathing. Then, notice how the music makes you feel.  This will center your body and your mind in just 30 seconds.

Keeping your knees relaxed, let your arms slowly float upwards as you inhale, and slowly float downwards as you exhale. Treat your arms like the delicate wings of a butterfly and bring your breath and your movement into sync.  Now add in a wrist rotation.  Simply turning your wrist in circles.  This movement is similar to some belly dancing arm movements and will warm-up the shoulders, biceps, triceps, and forearms.

Shift to the Hips

As your second song comes on, start to practice the mini-hurricane. Take your body through each of the four hip points, smooth out the circular motion, and finally add in the chest undulations.  Let your body play with this movement as you begin to feel warmer and warmer, allowing your hands to drift over your hips, thighs, and feminine curves.

When your really start to feel the music, transition into the Full Hurricane, lifting one heel at a time and shifting your weight back and forth.  If you need more details, please read my post about Luscious Abs and The Full Hurricane hip circles.  This movement sequence will ensure that your back, chest, hips, legs muscles and joints get warm and feel amazing.

Dance Honey, Dance!

Now, as your third song begins, use a playful and sensual walk to move over toward the pole.  (You can check out my other post about getting rid of shyness & learning the sensual walk here.) Now, let the beats of your favorite music give you the momentum to spin, play and fly. Use your favorite floor work, pole twirls, and one or two handed spins.  Just try to avoid inverting for this third song until you are absolutely sure that your upper body is limber and ready.

The more often your practice this Sensual Ritual the easier it will become.  Don’t forget to change your playlist every few weeks to keep things exciting and new.  Stay playful in the knowledge that you got a great warm-up and protected your body from injury. And stay confident that you have built a Sensual Ritual that you can use anytime you need to ground the body and relax the mind with movement and joy.

Practice Safe and Sensual Pole Dancing Ladies!