Several years ago I went on an Easter holiday to Ocean City, MD and spent some time getting my flow on while I was on the boardwalk.

I had a friend take some video--it was some of the earliest footage I'd seen of myself moving with poi and I was overcome with one thought.

I looked horrible.

My arms were always folded like chicken wings, my knees locked in toward each other, and I was constantly hunched over like I had to go to the bathroom. At the time I taught poi spinning at a local dance studio and I went to ask the owner if I could take some additional dance classes. She happily agreed and thus began one of the hardest journeys of my adult life.

One of the most difficult lessons surprisingly was learning about level changes--using the elevation of your upper body to create visual interest in your dance. I'd been sitting behind a computer for 20 years and the mechanics of getting low while still having freedom of movement were a total mystery to me.

Now I'm passing along those lessons to you! Check out this video I did on level changes and how to integrate them into your spinning! It covers the proper way to plié, some basic ground work, and shows off a few choice jumps as well.