Ladies Night WORKout!
At the start of every year we’ve traditionally done an open house. This usually resulted in a whole bunch of women coming to the studio and standing around afraid to play on the apparatus. Boo! So this year we decided to encourage everyone to play by having a more structured “Ladies Night WORKout” on January 3rd. Our “open house” Ladies Night requires pre registration so that we have groups of 4 going through 6 different stations (Vertical Barre, Beginner Pole, Hoop, Hammock, Silks, Bendy Babe) for a 60-minute workout that gives all in attendance a good taste of what Aerial Dance offers. This event is FREE. Learn more about our Ladies NIght and sign-up with your girlfriends!!! THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED! Please join the waitlist and we’ll contact you if space becomes available.
It's All Right Here
I was looking through past blogs and blog titles, trying to make sure I didn’t repeat myself for my next post. After I went back a few pages, I realized that we have quite a few posts on the Christmas Show. I also realized that some of you might not know that! So, at this two-week mark, I thought I’d gather some of those and link them for you, so you can have all the fun and advice on ONE page! I gathered as much as I thought I could, but it would be a good idea to cruise through some of the older posts to see what you can find! About the Christmas Show/Show Prep IT’S HERE by Janelle Bigger is Better by Paula Knocking Out the Nemesis by Janelle Finally a Figure Skater by Janelle T-Minus 6 Weeks by Breanna Tips and Advice Advice Before The Show by Paula Show Tips by Paula Show Day! by Paula Show Attitude is Everything by Breanna Time to Get Show Ready by Breanna A Peek in My Show Bag by Breanna Christmas Show Jitters and Advice by Breanna One Month Left-What Should You Do? by Breanna Christmas Show Recaps Circus Christmas Show Recap by Paula Christmas Show Wrap-Up by Paula Christmas Show Memories by Breanna That’s a lot of information and advice! Next year the list will be much bigger, so stay tuned! Happy reading! 😀
Show Attitude is Everything
There’re TWO weeks left! Can you even believe it?! Yippee! I’m so excited for the show. Our group has just filled in all the moves we want to do in our routine. It’s finally done! We need to balance the skills of four people and consider how we’ll feel at the end, so there was a lot of debate. We’re also putting the final touches on our costumes. Again, harder than it looks! We all have a bit different body types and we all have personal preferences. So, rather than match, we’re coordinating. Frankly, I think that the audience will be more concerned with our dancing and less concerned with the fact that our group doesn’t match. It’s all down to the fine details now and making sure we run the routine through a bit more to make it stick. I’ve got ONE tip for you that I don’t think anyone has covered just yet: Practice your show flair and smiling! IRight now, we all have “concentration face.” There’s nothing innately wrong with that. It’s what we do. I’m telling you to add your show flair and smile now so that 1) It comes easier to you on show day because you have practiced it and 2) It helps routine practice feel less strenuous and more fun! The closer it gets to the show, the more you’ll hear me say this. If I am watching your routine by happenstance, I will tell you to smile! If you happen to see me, go ahead and tell me to smile! Sometimes it’s hard to remember :). As for show flair, that’s really up to you. This is something I’ve gotten better at over the years. but it REALLY helps. Let me tell you why…. A couple years ago, I had the opportunity to do a solo at the Christmas Show. It was 30 seconds of Adrenalize Me by In This Moment. It’s a little bit…. sassy, shall we say. Thirty seconds isn’t very long, so I had to KILL it. An instructor, who’s now moved on, gave me some suggestions. To keep this blog PG, I’ll describe it like this: “love”-me eyes. I adopted these sassy eyes during my practices and definitely busted them out during the show. My whole routine was as follows: I did a Twisted-Grip Hook to a Madonna backslide, climbed while doing a couple hair whips, embraced, and hit a Cross Ankle Recline. That’s all I remember anyways! I had a blast! When the show was done, I had people telling me that they LOVED my routine. I had some tell me it was one of their favorite parts of the show. I was floored. It was just 30 seconds! I don’t mean to toot my own horn here; I mean to make a point. That show flair I talked about? It adds SO much soul to your routine! The audience can see when you’re enjoying yourself and having fun with your routine. Rather than fake it, just do it! This is your time to shine–smile, and have fun!
Thankful
Hello Everyone. These past weeks have really been trying for me mentally and emotionally. There have been times where I just want to throw in the towel and let my troubles win. Crawl back in bed and hide from the day. I am sure that I am not the only person who has felt this way, some of you reading this may even be feeling that way right now. You must be thinking, “Okay, so what? Everyone has bad days or weeks, what are you going to do about? Well here is what I remember. I remember that I have an incredible support group at Aerial Dance. The extends of this support group go beyond the instructors at Aerial Dance and reaches out into the women you take class with. Whether you realize this or not, it does, once you need it, it will be there for you. Each women who attends class at Aerial Dance has a past with their own battle scares or are still nursing some wounds. Each woman can make a connection to a time when they have felt the way that you may be feeling in that exact moment. These magnificent women reach out their hearts to you, offer words of comfort, a listening ear, or just a hug for when their are no words to be said. It is truly a blessing to be surrounded by so many encouraging women who do not judge based on size, shape, or level ability, they just care about you. Even women you may not know very well can notice when something is a little off with you and ask if you are alright. They ask not, because they are nosey, but because they care. This support and out pouring love has been what has kept me positive when it is so easy to be negative. Granted there are times that I do let negativity win and then I know that I need to make a trip to Aerial Dance to help shape up my mood and outlook. This is why Aerial Dance goes beyond your average gym, yoga studio, or dance studio. They build a community of strong women inside and out. They help you realize your potential as a dancer as well as a person. You learn a lot about yourself while traveling along you pole journey at Aerial Dance. If you are reading this blog and have never taken a class at Aerial Dance I high recommend you do. It may just change your world like it has changed mine. This Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for all the instructors, students, and Aerial Dance’s Owner Paula. Without them at this time in my life I would be unraveling at the seams. So next time you are at Aerial Dance take the time to notice the wonderful community of strong women you surround yourself with. I know that I am ever so grateful . I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! Janelle
Show Tips!
The Christmas Show is fast approaching! This weekend I had the utter JOY of watching routines rehearse. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of every woman performing. The time and creativity they are putting in this year is going to make this the highest quality show yet! So what tips to pass on at this point? Here are few: If you don’t have the trick EVERY TIME (or at least 90%) you do it by now, change it. The audience doesn’t care what choreography you planned. They honestly won’t be able to tell if you enter or exit a move differently than your group. What the audience will be able to tell is if you stop. So make sure that any trick that is in the “grey zone” and you aren’t getting every time, change it! It is WAY BETTER to have a routine where you can nail every move than one where you have a move that you only get 50% of the time. Keep working on that move and put it in your routine next year. 🙂 Practice your routine in your head. Just listen to your song and think about what you’ll be doing in detail. Go through it in your head before bed. Practicing in your head is REALLY helpful! DO NOT OVER TRAIN! Yes, you want to put on a good show. But no show is worth you over training, creating a wrist problem and then needing to take 6 months off. Seriously, listen to your body. You should NOT be doing pole daily. Pole is hard. Your body needs days off. Cross train. This is a really great time to go for a swim. Or take a bendy class. Or a flexy class. Get a massage. EAT. Please eat. Yes, we want to look good on stage, but you already do! So eat healthy. Your body NEEDS energy as you train. EAT. Put things in perspective. This is not a professional show. No one (but you) is expecting your performance to be perfect. The audience is full of people who are excited to see you on your journey and wish you well. So get excited to share your performance with them. I cannot wait for December 10th!
Knocking Out the Nemesis
Hello Fellow Aerial Artist! As of late I feel that I am just knocking my nemesis moves out of the park! Last week I was able to conquer the Figure Skater Spin to an Angel. Now this week I was able to do a spinning Plank!!!!!! Plank is one of my favorite moves because you look extremely long in the pose on the pole. For me, I feel I look even longer because I have really long legs. Previously, I had tried a Plank spinning , but my lower stabilizing arm always felt as if the momentum would make it slip off and I would go crashing to the floor. Which in reality probably wouldn’t happen unless I was super close to the floor. Now that I have put more thought into it, the worst that could really happen is I would end up in a cross ankle lay back. The uncertainty of being secure was really what was scaring me. In class this week we were working on Star spins and Planks. Star is another fun spin that looks elegant when executed properly. I played around with Star and Plank during class separately until I saw other students creating combos with the two moves. Here’s the thing about my brain, it is not one that is quick to create combos. I have never been a great dancer or have even attempted to choreograph any kind of dance/pole sequence. This is skill that I am working on. I am a visual learner, so for me to create combos, I have to seen someone attempt something first, It then sparks an idea within me, and I am able to apply that idea to myself and my abilities to create something. At the end of class, I asked Student Sarah to take the video for me. She was chuckling at me while I was completing the combo. When I finished, I asked her what was so funny. She replied with, “You sure smile a lot when you are being recorded.” I laughed and joked that I should be all set for the Christmas show then. Here is a video of what I came up with. It is not anything super fancy, but I like it! My plank is a little more inverted and wobbly than I would like, but I felt that it wasn’t too shabby. CHRISTMAS SHOW UPDATE!!!!!! YES IT IS ONLY 24 DAYS AWAY!!!! Do you have your tickets?????? I have mine!!!!! They are selling like hot cakes! Get them before they are gone! Last Saturday my Christmas Show group met with Instructor Meegan for a private practice session. We ran through our routine a number of times. Again we made adjustments to our dance! I am loving all the doubles moves that will be in our routine.We were so busy working on our routine that I didn’t even have a chance to take any sneak peak pictures for you. 🙁 So I will improvise so that you can visualize what I am talking about. Currently I am working on being able to do a Stargazer to a Hooked Layback without putting my hand back on the pole to layback. It is not a far drop, but it is enough to scare the pants of a person if you haven’t done it before. To make it a little more tricky this layback will be a doubles move. We are still working on to make this happen. I worked with my partner on Monday and we should be able to work out the logistics of it this coming Saturday. This week we received an email with a potential line up for the Christmas show. Jukebox Hero routine will be closer to the end of the show! At this moment I do not have any nervous jitters but I am sure that as soon intermission is over I will be a nervous wreck! I am beyond excited that there is person to professionally do our makeup if we so choose! I will definitely be signing up for makeup! This maybe a really bad thing to say, but at this moment I am more excited for the Christmas Show than I am for Christmas. I am just so happy that I finally get to share my pole journey with some of my closets family members and friends! I also love watching all the other routines! Until Next Time!
Just Go
Right now, Wednesdays are one of the longest days of the week. I’m in class at 8AM, and I don’t leave the campus until 6PM. It’s nearly the hours of an average work day, but is waaaay more mentally exhausting than my day job. My day doesn’t end at 6PM though. I hop in my car, and make the 40 minute drive from Green Bay to the Aerial Dance studio for my weekly pole class at 7:05PM. No big deal, right? Well, convincing myself to go to my pole class is one of the most difficult parts of my day. By the time I need to leave Green Bay, I am tired, mentally exhausted, and ready to go home to a glass of wine and my work for the four group projects that stand between me and graduation before passing out (yes, I would much rather watch Netflix, but duty calls). The last thing I feel like doing is expending any physical energy. I’m sure your day is different than mine, but I bet you’ve faced a similar situation. You do love love love your pole classes, but you just don’t know if you can muster up the gusto and show up to class or any other aerial or fitness endeavor that you signed up for. It’s been a long day, and you’re ready to be done. The four hour pre-class cancellation limit does help, but some days, the motivation just isn’t there. If you’re struggling too, here’s my tips for you: Consider changing times. Picking the right class time for your body is crucial. I understand that this can be hard. If you’re used to going on a certain night and seeing a particular group of pole friends, it can be difficult to change classes. Work, hobbies, children, and all sorts of other commitments can limit your ability to switch classes too. What is important to focus on in this situation is your body, and how it is affected by your day. Does your body react well to morning exercise, or do you do better at night? If there are open poles (or hoops, hammocks, or silks), go ahead and test out a different time of the day. You may find, to your surprise, you handle different time frame better. If your body feels better, you may feel more motivated for class. Set a goal to work towards. This is an oldie, but a goodie. Pick a SMART pole/fitness/aerial goal, make a reasonable plan, and work towards it. Don’t just pick any goal though, choose something that excites and drives you. If I were to set a SMART pole goal right now, I would focus on my kick-up into my Brass Monkey or becoming stronger in my Jordan. Now that I think about it, I should probably set up these goals, because I’ll be pretty stoked once I accomplish both of them! I did just cite two inverts, but you can set goals for any aerial shenanigan. Janelle was working on Figure Skater (it’s hard!) as a goal, and you can click here for her latest progress! If you’re unsure about how to set a SMART pole/aerial/fitness goal, talk to Paula or one of the instructors, and they can help you work out a plan. Get an accountability partner. Paula has talked about this before, and continues to recommend it. I have not yet utilized this system, but I do know that it is an effective way to stay on track, as I have heard a number of success stories. Perhaps you go to classes with a friend or have made a friend. They would be a great person to ask! If you don’t feel comfortable asking a pole friend (sad! 🙁 ), you could still ask a close friend that you know will keep you honest. This accountability partner can be a pole fanatic or know nothing at all–the point is that you remain accountable to someone for your attendance. If you try to “fall off,” your partner can encourage you to go. This blog has become a sort of accountability partner for me. I need to contribute more regularly than I have in the past. In order to come up with blog post ideas, I need to go to class :). Just go. If nothing else, adopt the Nike motto and “just do it.” If you’re sick or injured, it is certainly in your best interest to stay home. If you are neither of these things, go. If you really are having a physically off-night, tone down your intensity. If you’re in a bad mood, do twice as much conditioning. No matter how you feel, I can guarantee with almost 100% certainty that you will leave the studio feeling MUCH better. Even on nights that I do not feel up to it, I go. When I leave, I am full of endorphins and pole happiness (there is such a thing, and you know it), and the world is right again. I have never, ever regretted going to class. I have, more often than not, regretted skipping! Life does happen, and sometimes, you need to miss a class. That’s OK. Schedule yourself a make-up time and get right back on schedule! Don’t deny yourself the happiness, fitness, and general awesomeness that occurs when you take an Aerial Dance class!
One Month Left: What Should You Do?
Can you believe the Christmas Show is ONE MONTH AWAY? That might sound like a long time, but we all know it will go by quicker than we think! Here’s what you should be doing right now: Buying tickets. For real. Don’t lolly-gag because this show SELLS OUT. Coordinate with your family and friends and get those tickets NOW. Finalizing/ getting comfortable with the routine. So,maybe you and/or your group are just so on-top-of-things that you’ve already got your routine all planned out and you’ve run it through–great! You’re ahead of the game! Perhaps you’re more like my group, where we know what we are doing, but are still working out the kinks. It’s not abnormal to still be finalizing your routine a month out, so breathe. Spend this week and next working out those kinks and really getting comfortable with your routine. My group ran the first half of our routine tonight, and worked out the kinks as we went. We realized that we were trying to go too fast. We’ve lengthened the time for some moves, which is working in our favor. It might work in yours too! Sometimes we try to cram too much into two minutes. Also, don’t forget that it’s OK to make changes to your routine even as we get closer to the show. I was in an instructor-choreographed routine last year, and I made a modification to my 10-second “your choice” thing THE DAY OF and I lived. I don’t necessarily recommend changing last minute, but you need to do what’s best for you. Don’t ever feel like you’re stuck–it’s most important to be sure you’re comfortable as you dance! Adjusting your practices and class schedule. As the show comes closer, you might find that you want to practice more. Be careful that you are not over-extending yourself. I know I have already said this, but it is SO easy to do, so I will repeat it. Now is not the time to get an injury. Be wise about how often you practice and how much effort you put into those practices, taking your classes into account too. You might need to relax just a liiiittle bit on your other aerial or conditioning classes, depending on how demanding your practice schedule is. Our group has gone from once a week to twice a week right now. Sometimes it’s only part of the group that can meet, but it’s better than nothing. Coordinating four schedules is hard! Costumes. If you haven’t found your costume yet, make it a top priority. In-studio Dress Rehearsal is coming up next week, and you should really take advantage of the opportunity to dance on the stage poles IN your stage clothes! You might find that your cute top messes with your grip, or your fancy shorts just aren’t doing their job. The sooner you figure that out, the sooner you can adjust. The lovely Ms. Renee ordered herself and me some sequined shorts from Discount Dance, and they came in less than a week. That’s spec-freekin-tacular, but it’s not typical. You don’t want to be rushing last minute and then be uncomfortable during the show because you didn’t test-run your costume. Also remember that, if you’re in a group, you can coordinate rather than match exactly. It still looks pretty cool, and might help your costume budget. Our group is keeping the color scheme simple–black. What we’re doing beyond that, we haven’t quite decided for sure. I do love these ladies though, because they did factor my gifted bosom into the costume decision. I bring this up because if you are ta-ta gifted like I am, you definitely want to work on your show bra pronto. You need something that offers support AND coverage, and can still fit under your costume. I will probably use my uber-supportive Victoria Secret sports bra (something like this one) under a cheaper black pullover bra. I’m also seriously considering fashion tape for the show, for an extra layer of no-nipple-showing security. No matter your ta-ta size, it’s probably a consideration for you too. Dance with that stuff on before the show so you know how it affects you. Get excited! It’s the freeking Aerial Dance Christmas show ON BROADWAY and you should be PUMPED because it is AWESOME. No Paula is not making me say this, I say this because it IS THE TRUTH 🙂 . Paula, the instructors, and their family and friends put a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and time into making this a great show. It’s not only great for the audience, it’s great for the dancers! Since the audience is limited to those associated with the dancers, there is nothing but love in that room. It really is a safe place to have your first show or your sixth. Like I said in my a more recent post, this is show #5 for me. I have seen it go from a small affair into a huge event, and it has scaled wonderfully. Paula has done an AMAZING job and offering opportunities for ladies to dance as the studio has grown, and the instructors are phenomenal at offering their support throughout the process. I know the thought of performing has some people nervous–try and shake that off, because this is going to be a fun night! I’m apprehensive, but I’M STILL SO GOSH DARN EXCITED. Aren’t you? 😀
Finally a Figure Skater!
No not really a figure skater on ice…. That would be a whole new challenge of grace and balance! What I mean by Figure Skater is the elegant pole spin that resembles a figure skater spinning on ice. I have been working on this spin for the last two and a half years! Figure Skater requires some flexibility to get your hip in front of the pole to complete the spin. I was always able to get my hip in front of the pole using the standard bracket grip to hold on the pole, but when transitioning my hips to the front of the pole my lower hand would always get trapped between my inner thigh and the pole. While my hand was trapped, I always tried to yank it out, it pinched like crazy!!!! I have desensitized my inner thighs A LOT, but there is only so much pinching an inner thigh can take. Essentially I could get into the move but never complete the spin. This week in class we learned how to Aerial Transition into Figure Skater using a twisted over head grip! I had always tried Figure Skater from standing on the floor. I had never seen a Figure Skate executed from in the air. It was like my brain exploded with this amazing brand new idea!!! I could definitely do an aerial transition! I side climbed up the pole, transitioned my hips in front of the pole like I was about to do a Tinker Bell, switched my hands to a twisted over head grip, swung my left leg around the pole so that the pole was running along my left inner thigh. I let go with the lower hand of my twisted over head grip and viola! I was in a figure skater!!!!!! I was so excited I hopped off the pole gave a YAHOO and even did a little dance! FINALLY I WAS ABLE TO DO A FIGURE SKATER! This move was so difficult for me in the past and all I need was a different way to transition into the spin! After successfully completing Figure Skater a number of times, I started playing around with it. I came up with a spin combination of Side climb, Figure Skater, Angel, and then to a descending Ribbon. It’s not the smoothest, but I couldn’t wait to share this HUGE accomplishment of mine with you! CHRISTMAS SHOW UP DATE!!!! T-MINUS 4 WEEKS TILL THE CHRISTMAS SHOW!!! Here is your Christmas Show Picture Sneak Peak! What are student Sarah and student Lacy up to? Last Week our Christmas Show group met on at Saturday practice! Talk about a busy bustling place! Aerial Dance was just booming with ladies trying to prep for the Christmas Show. It was great to see a lot of familiar faces that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. While our group worked on our routine, we perfected some parts and made some minor tweaks to others. The hour again seemed to just absolutely fly by! Time flies when you are having fun! 🙂 I been working really hard on my part of the routine and am getting really excited! It is starting to come together and I am becoming more fearless in my sad girl drop! I can almost take it too the floor! The biggest obstacle I have is trying to invert with another student who is also almost six feet tall like myself. We are working hard not to kick each other in the face.I am hoping that we can make our inverts work because it looks awesome with the rest of the ladies! This coming Saturday my Christmas show group will be having a private practice!!!!!! Did you know that this was even an option?!?! Yes you can for a fee and scheduling with the amazing Paula, you can sign up and have a private lesson with an instructor. This is awesome! It will just our group and Instructor Meegan. I have a feeling that a lot our routine will be locked down after this practice. We will be all together and able to really run through each section of our song. It is going to be great! I can’t wait to share with you how our private practice goes! Until Next Time!
The Advanced Struggle is Real
The Beginner Struggle is very real. The huge learning curve. Who knew there were so many ways to move on/with a pole?! And so many names to remember! The ever-so-lovely muscle ache. I mean seriously, who engages their shoulders that much? Not many non-pole people I know! Lifting one’s arms above their head can remind them quickly of exactly how much they engaged their shoulders in class the night before! The conundrum of newfound body awareness was especially challenging. One comes in to a Beginner class thinking that they have full spatial awareness. Send them spinning on a pole and *poof* –NOPE. It’s a whole new level of crazy! For some strange reason, once you get to Intermediate, things seem to progress at a faster rate. Sure, you’ll still have aches from class, and the body awareness still causes problems sometimes, but you start to learn moves at a faster pace. I remember adding spins and poses to my “proficient” repertoire on a weekly/bi-weekly basis.I hit some moves that kicked my butt more than others, but I was building my skills at (what I felt was) a faster pace, and it was thrilling. At about the Advanced 2 to Extreme level, the speed at which I became proficient at new things dropped immensely. This frustrated me. Why wasn’t I learning things as fast? Why wasn’t I checking things off my list at the same pace? I brought it up to Instructor Leah, who said that she hears the same sentiments from Advanced and Extreme students, and she remembers feeling the same. Between our conversation and my own reasoning, I determined that there is a struggle that is not publicly recognized: The Advanced Struggle It DOES exist. Why? The moves are more complex. Remember that whole-body awareness thing you struggled with in Beginner? It comes back with a vengance when you’re trying new things upside-down! You think you know where your legs and arms are, and which way they’re supposed to go, but when you go upside down– *POOF*–the awareness seems to disappear. It’s normal! Think about it– your spend all day upright. You don’t brush your teeth, get dressed, or drive your car positioned upside down,do you? Nope! It’s not a “normal” thing to your brain to be upside-down. It’s a whole new way to move that you are learning, and it’s not easy! It’s also part of the reason you feel like you’re slowing down. Relax—you’re learning a whole new world! Don’t lie. When I said “a whole new world,” this song is exactly what ran through your mind. Since it’s stuck in your head now, I figured I’d give you a chance to listen to it ;D . If it wasn’t… not sorry. You’re welcome 🙂 . Moving on… The moves are dangerous. You, my friend, are a bada**. You are doing feats of flexibility, strength, and grace suspended anywhere from 4-8 ft off the ground. If you haven’t heard it from Paula or the instructors, hear me now–pole is dangerous. BUUUUUUUUT that’s why ALL of the instructors are trained to save your tush if you fall, and why they teach with your safety in mind! They love you and want you to stay in one piece! 🙂 Even if you know your instructor will catch you, your brain still knows the risk of being upside-down that far off the ground. The fear factor comes out. You might be all for this move, but the primitave part of your brain might not be on board. You will know to let go or lean away from the pole at a certain point, but your brain might very well disagree and direct your body to keep holding on. It’s one thing that happens to me when I do Superman. It takes some time to fight it off! https://www.instagram.com/p/BMDD6AlDozJ/?taken-by=violet.lyte I have been doing ^^this^^ move for a while now. I have also been a very naughty student when I’ve done it–I tried it on my own early on, near the top of the pole. I did it when the instructor wasn’t around. I couldn’t sit myself up, so I tried to descend. FYI, not a good idea. I fell–on the back of my neck. I was VERY lucky I didn’t majorly hurt myself! It’s easy to forget how dangerous this amazing sport can be sometimes! I can sit up way better now, but I still don’t try this without an instructor, just in case. Next… They’re TOUGH. Do you remember the very first time you tried to do an aerial invert? If you were like me and didn’t get it on the first try, you realized something: it’s a lot harder than it looks! Let’s be honest here—the Advanced and Extreme curriculum is not for the faint of heart. When you combine that complexity and danger I already mentioned with the amount of power and flexibility you need to get into these moves–upside down–it becomes especially challenging. You become a flying bada**. Seriously. So what? Give yourself a freaking break! Once you get upside-down, the whole game changes. In some ways, you start all over! You might hit your stride now and again, but don’t beat yourself up if you’re not learning moves as quickly as you used to. The type of things you’re learning to do in Advanced and Extreme really do need to take twice (or more) of the time than previous skills did. You’re not broken–you’re learning some hard stuff! It’s more important that you learn to do it slowly and safely. Don’t rush perfection ;). Thanks Instructor Leah for talking about this and inspiring me to write this post! 😀
