I know. You’ve spent an unholy amount of time stretching your splits during Our Time Away, and your bits still aren’t to the floor. Not only are they not on the floor, but you’re pretty sure they’re higher than they were to begin with. Don’t despair, Dear Dangler! There’s an illusion for that!

Keep Stretching

First, meaningful gains in flexibility take a loooooong time. They really do. So long as you’re stretching properly (vigorous warmup, using a variety of techniques with good form, and only stretching to strong sensation – never to pain), you’ll see progress eventually! Consistency counts – a little stretching every day or every other day is going to yield better results than one marathon stretch per week. If you’re doing all that and are still stuck, a session with a dedicated flexibility coach may be just the thing. (Pssst. Did you know I’m an American Academy of Sports Medicine certified flexibility coach?)

Here’s the Magic….

In the meantime, I have great news for you. The March Patreon theme is “Le Cirque des Reves” (based on the book “The Night Circus”), and we’ll be exploring how to add a little magic and illusion to your aerial work. My very favorite feat? Taking a meh split and abracadabra-ing it into one that makes your heart go pitty-pat using one small trick: put it on an angle.

That’s it. And it’s pure magic. Place one foot knot higher than the other (start slowly, don’t go nuts), face the foot that’s closer to the ground, and voila: you look like you’ve gained a foot of flexibility. Careful not to make the angle so extreme that your back foot loses it’s knot! 

Play with it and let me know how it works for you! Tag me on Instagram (@sassypantsaerial) so I can cheer you on! Love and pull-ups, Ms Laura

PS – The Patreon is paused at the moment, but I’ll let you kids know if I decide to start it up again.