A New Fitness Passion
I have never been one to really take care of my body the way I should and I have always been very hard on myself over it. One day I decided to try Aerial Dance just to see what it was about, and to my pleasant surprise I ended up falling in love with it! It is so much more than just pole dancing, it truly is such a form of art! Everything is done with such grace and precision that when all the moves come together it looks so beautiful and elegant to watch! I truly didn’t think I would be able to succeed in it because I have always been the furthest thing from graceful but with the patience of such amazing instructors they have shown me that the only limit is when I decide to stop trying. As long as I am trying, they are helping me every step of the way to get to where I want to be. They don’t ever get frustrated with me if I am not learning something as quickly as everyone else is and instead they come down to my level and help me understand it in a way that suits me. They all support you 100% of the way and want to see you do your best. I feel so much stronger than I ever have in my life and I have realized I am putting in so much effort into taking care of myself when I never have done much of that before. Now I am realizing what I put in my body determines how I feel throughout the day and the better I eat, the better I will feel and the better I will be able to succeed where I want to with my fitness journey! I truly did not think I would be able to do it physically, but over time I have learned I am so much stronger than I ever thought I could be! We are always learning something new and having an absolute blast while doing it! I am so excited to see how much better I can get over time and where I can go from here! Thanks so much to everyone who has been supporting me here, the staff is so great and accommodating I cannot say enough about them! Everyone here truly has the same passion and want to help others and it truly does show.
Appreciating What My Body Can Do
Taking care of your body is important, being able to listen to your body is even more important. If you’re like me and believe you can just jump back into your old workout routine or think you can handle the amount of work that you used to put in anywhere from 2 to 7 years ago, you have another thing coming! Our bodies change over time, our schedules become different, our bodies need different bits of attention and more care as we get older. Sometimes I think I’m still as fit as I used to be at 18, dancing 6 out 7 days of the week, getting roughly 4-6 hours of sleep a night and practicing for 4-5 hours after school. I’ve learned over time that I cannot do that anymore because I’m not conditioned to do that anymore. You might have heard the phrase “If you do not pick a day to relax, your body will pick it for you” or other variations of it. It could not be more true the older you get! Learning to listen to my body is something I am still actively working on, but I understand that I’m not what I used to be but I’m still very proud of what I’m able to do now! I am learning that rest days are just as important as the days I chose to work out. Making sure that I get enough sleep, drink enough water, eat healthier foods, stretch regularly and choose myself first. We are able to accomplish such amazing things at all times in our lives. At 18, I was doing incredible leaps and turns and memorizing multiple routines, and now at 26 I can’t do those things as well anymore, but now I can do incredible things on the pole, or on hammock or silks! I hope in the next 10 to 30 years I’m still able to do incredible things and more! Maybe I’ll do a 5k, or learn to rock climb, or start a family. But I know to be able to do those, I need to keep taking care of my body and listening to what it needs and when. I’m very grateful for what I’m able to do at Aerial Dance and that my body allows me to be able to create such cool shapes, or that I can hold my entire body by manipulating fabric or having just the right grip points on the pole. The community Aerial has created is so uplifting and supportive that working out and taking care of my body is so fun and makes me want to keep myself healthy both when I’m actively working out or taking a rest day or two.
Breathing Into Your Stretches
Stretching is a great way to relax and actively work on your flexibility whether you want to be more flexible for moves that require your legs to be by your head or if you simply want to be able to touch your toes. There are a lot of different ways to stretch and I’m still learning different methods and ways through all of the instructors at Aerial Dance. I’ve always been used to one way of stretching and have been doing basically the same routine for years because I know it works for me, but is also the only thing I’ve known when it comes to stretching. However, I’ve realized that there is still quite a bit I could be doing to improve my routine or change it up so that it fits my style more with what I’m doing at the studio. What I used to be doing was a stretching routine that was more geared towards my studio dance life. I used different muscles back then and the stretches that I was taught enhanced those moves and my flexibility. While that stretching routine is still a good full body stretch, it’s not helping me fully accomplish what I need to do now with my body and what I use on the pole or in hoop or hammock. Now I have to learn to adjust my stretching routine because I’m using different muscles than what I used to. I have another object that I need to work around and learn to move my body with. By taking Bendy Babe at Aerial I’ve learned that I still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to stretching. I’ve loved being able to learn how to properly use the foam rollers to relax/roll out certain muscles, using a band to help hold my leg or simply being told to squeeze a certain muscle and then relaxing and seeing how much further I can then stretch. Each instructor has different knowledge to share when it comes to stretching but everyone is also so helpful when it comes to needing to know how to stretch something. While it’s good to have a solid stretching base and knowing how to stretch certain muscles, it’s also very helpful to make sure you change it up and make sure you’re trying new things. You may find that a new stretch is exactly what you needed to help achieve that one move you’ve been struggling with.
The Sisterhood that Means Everything
Trigger Warning: Miscarriage. What started as a way to have some fun, get in shape, and see what one of my best friends was so excited about, turned into something way more than I ever thought imaginable. I never envisioned the sisterhood I would be embraced by and the support I would have. I’m going to tell you a quick story. Within my intro class I could already see the fun and why my friend was so excited. Within weeks of starting I felt the strength and toning. And then I got pregnant. After having many losses and some serious hemorrhaging, the protocol for that pregnancy was immediate bedrest. So, I notified the studio I was pregnant and needed to go on leave. I believe I was in my second week of intermediate at the time. Unfortunately, after about 8 more weeks, bedrest was not the answer, and I lost that baby. I remember distinctly, it was a few days after my loss, and I decided I needed to contact the studio. I also decided the best way to do that was to give them a call. I often think about this and feel bad for the ever so kind and calm manager who answered that call. I explained who I was, that I had been on leave, however, I lost my baby. I had ended on the second week of the term and was wondering if I could come back as an intermediate. She was amazing and empathetic and directed me on next steps. She offered deep compassion to me during a call I’m sure was very unexpected. About a week later, I received a card in the mail. It was from Aerial Dance. I started to cry. These women. Who I barely knew. Who barely knew me. This company that I assumed I was just considered another member to. They took the time to personally write, sign, and send me a card. A day later, they sent me a text just gently reminding me to sign up for my first class. They met me where I was. They felt my pain and supported me. They showed me what a sisterhood could be. And those actions, in that moment, are a big part of the reason, 4 years later, I am still here. I don’t know of another space, another group of this many women, who want so passionately to support other women. The sisterhood I joined when I joined Aerial Dance is one that has continued to bring me instrumental support throughout some of the most challenging of times.
Behind Every Superman is Really a Superwoman
Blue..red..spandex… All synonymous with one of the most iconic of superheroes: Superman. Although he may not be everyone’s favorite- he most certainly is one of the most known. If not for his costume, then for his pose. One arm outstretched above the head in a most intimidating fist and the other lingering ready to pounce at any semblance of a threat. In this pose he emanates power and strength which makes sense why we have adopted it for our beloved pole. Picture this, it’s your first intermediate class. The previous week you were just learning how to climb the pole and climb down without scraping off all of your skin (which I may add is a very common occurrence for me). Now- your instructor says, “Has anybody gotten their superman?”. For me, this situation was reality and instantly I was intrigued, which must’ve been translated directly to my face because the instructor then wrapped her legs on the pole, turned to the side, maneuvered it between herself, then proceeded to blow my mind and hold herself up. She swooped face down, arm outstretched as if she were flying. Bam. Superman. This was quite possibly the coolest but also probably the most painful thing I have seen so far. When I was in beginner and was shown how to sit for the first time, I thought that my thighs were going to go on strike for better working conditions. When we transitioned from a cross legged sit to a scissors my head was swimming with thoughts like, “This is it for me. My skin will probably just roll off and never come back.” Now I must squeeze my legs together with such gusto that I can hold myself up with one arm? My first attempt was fruitless but it planted the seed. I tried it from the floor probably 15 times with nothing other than an apple sized bruise forming on each side of my thigh. My skin was raw but I felt proud. Like a tiger that earned its stripes. I booked a practice the following day and during that time I did it over and over. I finally got to a point where I could hold myself up for a few seconds. “This must mean that I am a professional now. How much harder can it get?” I thought. And I thought wrong. My next class the instructor showed me how I could do it by transitioning from a low hook spin. After that you could say I was really hooked. From the low hook spin I got it on my second try. I have never felt more triumphant. More… super. I went home with plenty of battle scars, but I have never felt as strong and emboldened. Honestly, I felt very much like a super woman.
