Comfort Zones are for Resting
Eleanor Roosevelt once said “Do one thing every day that scares you”, and Aerial Dance makes it easy to do just that. While stepping foot into the studio alone was scary enough for me, I found a multitude of new moves, tricks, apparatuses and classes to try that would challenge me both physically and mentally (the latter of which being harder to overcome). I finished beginner pole class and to my surprise, signed up for intermediate. While in intermediate I noticed I was feeling more confident, but I had an underlying feeling that I needed to step out of my comfort zone and do more. Admittedly, I had fear in my heart, but I signed up for a few different classes. The first was dance cardio and LET. ME. TELL. YOU. I have never had so much fun working out! I get to dance to my favorite jams and it makes me sweat and burn calories? Yes, please! Sign. me. Up! Instructor Kiana made everyone feel like a dancing queen and really kept the energy in the room up for everyone. The second class I curbed my fear for was hammock; what a beautiful class that was. While my hands didn’t always want to grip the fabric, I felt like a Grecian goddess as I climbed, laid back, and twirled around. However, the end of class was by far the most relaxing experience I have ever had. Two words for you; bat cave. Please, give this experience a try if only for the bat cave, you won’t regret it! Next was silks, and I wasn’t sure I felt comfortable letting two pieces of fabric hold my weight from the ceiling. Turns out silk is pretty strong, and so am I. I learned how to use a variety of different muscles I didn’t even know I had, but I also learned that believing in my abilities was getting me much further than any of my muscles could. Finally, I tried aerial yoga and boy oh boy was I not ready for that class! My body was stretched in so many different ways and I was in positions that were new to me. However, I truly needed these stretches and the quiet space that yoga offered. I had to remind myself that my body and my journey were unique to me, and comparing myself to others was only going to set me back. Focusing on myself really helped me to stay in the moment. At this point in my journey I am now in advanced 1 pole and I have inverted; something I swore I would never do. Each class I am slightly terrified of the inverts my instructors are asking me to do, but I remember the quote from above and I give it a shot. This has truly propelled me forward in my journey, both in studio and out. What fear will you face today? Try something new today! We offer Intro to Pole and Intro to Aerial as a great start to your aerial journey!
Becoming Social Again
Growing up I was told quite often that I was a rambunctious and confident child. My parents would tell people stories about how I would go up to anybody and start a conversation or try to become their friend. I had an unwavering confidence and I can’t even recall a time during adolescence of being embarrassed. This may sound like a humble brag- but everything changed in March of 2021. My junior year of highschool was supposed to be full of friends and school dances. It instead turned into isolation and a lonely prom dress hanging on a rack. I went from a social butterfly to a recluse. With my social life went my confidence. I was doing full online classes and never felt the energy to put on a cute outfit or do any makeup. I didn’t think anything of it until the world started opening back up. I felt anxious going to the grocery store, going to work, going to parties. It was very strange for me because I never had this anxiety before. I felt no confidence in myself. Then, along came pole classes and Aerial Dance. There is something about hanging in the air and spinning in contorted positions that fills me with such pride and confidence. I feel excited to climb and dance and fly. Taking classes has changed me into someone who is excited to leave the house and socialize again. Being in a place with people just like me. Women who are completely different all gathered together in a safe space to be creative, to be strong, and to be themselves. It is one of the best things I have ever decided to do and I hope to continue to do it for a very long time! I still have days where I come to the studio and feel uneasy or I feel like I can’t do something, but those days are the most important times to show up and to try. Just coming and learning something new is so invigorating. If I am having a bad day and don’t feel like myself I always try and sign up for a pole practice or a class because I know one of the only remedies to having low self confidence is to put myself out there and just do it. I have recommended the studio to almost everyone in my life because of what a change it has made in mine. I always have something to look forward to at Aerial Dance.
A Moving, Dancing Art
Aerial dance is such a unique form of dance that combines the beauty of aerial with the grace of dance. And if that is not enough for you then let’s throw in some acrobatics to get the thrill really going! It is beautiful and different and a lot of people really enjoy watching it! But nothing can truly compare to when you are actually doing it! It is so unlike anything I have done before but in such a great way. I never thought I would be able to say I could do it, but thanks to the team here I can say I can! Aerial Dance has shown me such a form of self expression about myself I did not know I even was ever to be capable of. I feel so creative and am able to showcase my unique style when I am performing. It is beautiful to participate in and it is also so fun to watch since it is so beautiful and different. I am able to move people through the art of dance which is something I find super cool! It makes me feel really empowered and like I can do anything I put my mind to. When I am suspended in the air I am in control of my body and movements and it can be very hard but it has such a great sense of accomplishment when I am finally able to do something I have been working on. It makes me feel like I can tell a story through the movements of my body and along with the music. It truly feels like a routine and like I am sharing myself through the form of art! There is a large physical challenge to it, but it is so rewarding when you are actually able to accomplish a move or new routine that you are working on. There is a lot of flexibility that is gained in aerial and it truly makes you gain a lot of core strength as well. You are able to feel so accomplished when you are able to suspend yourself in air while performing a variety of different tricks and poses. It truly allows you to show your artistic ability off and show your story through dance as well. You can truly learn to express yourself in the most beautiful of ways and it is amazing to be able to share it with others while you are learning as well! There is such a sense of freedom and escape almost when I am doing aerial. It feels like I am floating sometimes and makes me feel so free and like there are no worries in that moment. Everyone’s style is so different in aerial as well which is cool because not every person will do the same moves in the same way. Everyone will do them in the way that they feel the most confident with. Some people have really fluid and graceful movements and others have more of sharp and powerful acrobatic type moves in a way. Both are super cool to watch though! I find myself more of a fluid and graceful type of mover but I think it is super fun to be able to watch others with both different types. It has been a great stress relief for me from my day to day life and something that I find myself looking forward to doing. I have made so many great friends along this journey and I feel like I just keep making more and more along the way! Everyone is so involved and they all include each other in everything which makes you feel very welcome and at home in the atmosphere. There is not only a great community within the classes but also outside the classes it is a great talking piece as well. I have made so many friends not even in the classes but outside of them as well just talking about what I love to do and being able to share the passion and love for aerial dance with others as well! I am so glad I decided to do this. I learn to love it more every single day.
Switching My Apparatus
This week at aerial dance I decided to switch things up and try something new which I had not done much of prior. This week I have decided to change things from pole to giving hoop more of a try. I did not think I would even be able to get up to the hoop but to my surprise the strength I have gotten from so many lessons of pole have really helped me in learning hoop as well! Although they are different, I have learned that the muscle and endurance that I have built up from how hard I have been working in pole makes it far easier for me to try and switch my focus to hoop as well! Its actually a lot of fun and more challenging than I thought it would be, but in a good way! The classes are very different from pole but the instructors are still equally as patient and understanding with all of their students to help them get what they want out of the class. It was my first time trying this class and they made me feel so confident and like I have been doing it for a lot longer than I actually have been. Everyone cheered each other on and was so supportive of one another. The fun part about hoop for me as opposed to pole is that we are up on something more hanging and doing tricks than just using a pole to pull yourself up for tricks. It is really fun when you start spinning! There is a lot to learn on hoop just like there is to learn on pole, but I am really excited to keep on learning every week! I think I am going to end up rotating between the two classes every week so I have the chance to learn all the different apparatus! I truly don’t think I would have even tried a hoop class if it were not for the support of all the other ladies there encouraging me that I can do it and that I will be great. They truly are my biggest motivators and make me really want to come here every week and continue to learn and grow on my aerial journey. I really am excited to see how much more muscle I will gain from doing this as well and how my body will change with adding this in along with the pole classes.
The Next Challenge
I really decided to step out of my comfort zone this week and push myself to take 3 classes in a day. If you had asked me previously if I would consider it, I would have told you that you were crazy. I never in my life thought I would ever be able to do one class in a day and now I have worked my way up to doing 3 back to back! I cannot even believe that I was able to accomplish it but I knew I have been working very hard to get where I want to be and decided to push myself and see If I would be able to do it. I did the hoop, silk, and pole class all in one day and at the end I felt on top of the world! Everyone was super supportive of me in pushing me to do my best and not stopping even when I was not sure if I would be able to do it anymore! I really impressed myself today but its really because of the team around me that has helped me to get to this point. I would have never had the strength or endurance to do any of this a few months back and today, because of them I completed all 3 classes in one day! I can’t even begin to express how excited I am to get to the next level and see just how much better I can become from here. I’m so grateful for the great staff here to push me past my limits and motivate me while doing so. I think I am going to rotate all the classes in the next weeks to get even stronger than I already am! I have been having a blast challenging myself more and more! I am so excited to see where this new program will take me and see how my body changes along the way as well! Thanks to the great team here I know I can and will get to where I want to be! I could not be more excited to continue learning and growing here with the team! I am seeing so much improvement in my body every day and I know more is yet to come! My mindset has become absolutely unstoppable as well!
Grow from the Negative Mindset
Never in my lifetime did I think that I would even attempt dance, much less aerial dance. I would have said you are absolutely insane to think that I would be graceful enough to attempt to dance on the floor much less on a pole. I’m the least graceful person you could ever meet, and to think I could try and take on such an art like this. I would have definitely expected lots of injuries and bruises and zero success in the process. To my utmost surprise with the help of a truly amazing team of instructors, I can truly say I am getting better than I ever thought I would be able to! Nobody at Aerial Dance shames you at all for how good or bad you are at anything, but rather stands besides you and helps you in the ways you need to be so that you can grow to your full potential! Everyone started as a beginner, so they understand the struggle of getting started. All the instructors here are so great to work with and they are very educated on the proper warm up and cool down exercises to make sure that your body is treated the way it deserves to be and needs to be! Even the instructors were beginners once, so they really do understand what students are struggling with! The atmosphere makes me truly feel like I am at home here and I can say I have never been really excited to work out until I started doing aerial. There is always variety and so many new things to learn and work on that it never gets to be boring and I never find myself losing interest in coming to the classes. The positivity in every class is contagious. I am super excited to see where my journey will end up taking me and how much muscle and strength I can gain in the process! I’m so thankful I found this place and I am even more grateful for everyone’s patience and kindness towards me while I am learning! It is challenging, but with this team you can do anything!
Celebrate Yourself!
I know I’m the first to critique myself after doing something, and immediately thinking about how I make it better or focus too much on what I did wrong. Whether it’s at home, at work or at the studio, I often think about what I could be doing better than what I’m doing at the moment. Since starting at the studio about four and half years ago, I’ve gotten better at this type of thinking and instead try to focus on the positives. It’s all thanks to our instructors and the constant support of the community and overall encouragement everyone gives me when I’m at the studio. I like to think I’m a pretty positive person, I’m definitely that friend that will always celebrate others first and look on the bright side of things at work or with friends. But I’m not always the best at doing it with myself. There have been times when I’m at the studio, trying a move that I’m being spotted at, and I can’t quite reach my toe when I’m wrapped around the pole like a pretzel. But the moment I come down from the pole, the instructor is right next me with the biggest smile on their face, or clapping and jumping ready to give me a high five! I come down saying “I couldn’t reach my foot though, it wasn’t what I was supposed to do.” They’ll respond in a number of ways though being like “OMG, that was so good though!” or “You were so close to touching your toes” or even “That doesn’t matter, you did a really hard move! You did amazing!”. Those pieces of encouragement fill me up and remind myself that I don’t need to be so harsh on myself. I constantly forget that what I’m doing is already hard enough and 98% of the people I know couldn’t do half of what I can do. The instructors truly are our biggest cheerleaders and they will celebrate you even when you don’t want to. The whole environment at Aerial Dance is all about supporting each other and celebrating your wins no matter how big or how small, but that everyone is amazing. The instructors and other students in my classes have helped me grow so much confidence over the last 4 years, that I will forever be grateful to the studio. It’s helped remind me that no matter where I am, whether it’s at the studio, at home or at work, that I have things I can be proud of and can celebrate no matter what and that I need to celebrate myself more! <3
Starting a New Job
I recently started a new job. Just prior to starting the new job, I changed my profile picture on Facebook to a picture of me doing pole. After I had updated my picture, I realized I was about to be starting a new job. A new job with new coworkers who would most likely search for me on social media, just as I had planned to do to them. My brain was instantly flooded with the presumed judgment I imagined would be happening when people saw my profile picture. What would they think of me? Would they say something to me? And I don’t need to list them all because I’m sure many of you have had similar thoughts. And then I took a minute. I took a few deep breaths. And I thought about what I was worried about. I thought about the worst that could happen. I thought about what I would say if someone questioned me about it. I sat in the feelings and thoughts and thought through all possibilities. I considered why I had not shared anything about my aerial journey with my previous work team. And I decided I was committed to the picture. I also decided that if the agency had a problem with me doing aerial dance, it would say way more about the company and my soon to be new coworkers than it would say about me. And I also thought, maybe, if someone did question me on it, I would be able to educate them on what aerial is instead of any preconceived thoughts they may have. On my second day of onboarding, I was asked to fill out one of those “about me” documents. I got to the section that asked for my favorite hobby. I thought for a few minutes about what to put. I considered putting “exercise” because it still would encompass what we do at the studio, but that just did not seem right. So I wrote “aerial dance.” Guess what? As of today, I am several weeks into my employment, and no one has said anything. Yep. That’s right. None of the judgement I was worried about. None of the questions I was worried about. Nothing that I was worried about has occurred. All of the anxiety I had, has as of now been for nothing. And, I am now at a mindset, where if it does happen, I am looking forward to the conversation and the ability to maybe share my passion with others.
