Dr. Rosy Boa of Slink Through Strength discusses why long-term pole dancers may lose motivation and how to rebuild a sustainable relationship with pole. She flags that dreading hobbies and anhedonia can be a symptom of depression and encourages seeking mental health support if that’s present. Otherwise, she recommends: assessing overall life capacity and scaling pole to fit current energy (including taking breaks without fear of major strength loss), clarifying what you currently want from pole using a “best possible self” meditation or journaling to align training with changing goals, adding novelty through different teachers, movement styles, and music to increase play and awareness of preferences, and reducing perfectionistic demands by focusing on consistency and effort over outcomes while lowering setup friction to make showing up easier.
Links and resources:
Citations:
Carrillo, A., Rubio-Aparicio, M., Molinari, G., Enrique, Á., Sánchez-Meca, J., & Banos, R. M. (2019). Effects of the best possible self intervention: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 14(9), e0222386.
De Kleine, E., & Van der Lubbe, R. H. (2011). Decreased load on general motor preparation and visual-working memory while preparing familiar as compared to unfamiliar movement sequences. Brain and Cognition, 75(2), 126-134.
Encarnação, I. G., Viana, R. B., Soares, S. R., Freitas, E. D., de Lira, C. A., & Ferreira-Junior, J. B. (2022). Effects of detraining on muscle strength and hypertrophy induced by resistance training: A systematic review. Muscles, 1(1), 1-15.
Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2014). “The perils of perfectionism in sports” revisited: Toward a broader understanding of the pressure to be perfect and its impact on athletes and dancers. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 45(4), 395-407.
Hall, H. K., & Hill, A. P. (2012). Perfectionism, dysfunctional achievement striving and burnout in aspiring athletes: The motivational implications for performing artists. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 3(2), 216-228.
Heekerens, J. B., & Eid, M. (2021). Inducing positive affect and positive future expectations using the best-possible-self intervention: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(3), 322–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1716052
King, L. A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about life goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 798–807.
Chapters:
00:00 Pole Spark Fizzles
00:25 About Me And Membership
01:55 Long Term Pole Relationship
03:10 Mental Health Red Flag
03:48 Check Your Capacity
07:46 Take Breaks Without Fear
08:42 Best Possible Self Goals
11:34 Add Novelty And Play
15:28 Reduce Demands And Friction
18:38 Recap And Next Steps
20:20 Closing And Free Resources
