Hello, my loves! It’s me again! It’s been a hot second (and good GLORY, I do mean hot), but it’s good to put pen to paper again. Or, fingers to keys…you know what I mean.

Today, I’d love to talk to you about what’s happening when you get within spitting distance of the floor. You know, that moment when, instead of coming out of your move or sequence correctly, you just puddle to the floor and shimmy out of your fabric wraps like two day old underpants? Yes, THAT. That, my loves, is a dreadful habit, and we’re going to exorcise it TODAY.

I love you. Don’t be lazy.

The first issue we have is (I’m gonna say it) a little bit of laziness. Or impatience. Or, maybe gravity is just a little stronger when we’re that close to the floor? Whatever it is, the siren song of the mat often proves too strong to resist, so we completely ignore appropriate movement pathways out and…plop…..shimmy….hop around with one leg in the air because you didn’t take the time to come out of your foot knot….mmmm hmmmm. I see you.

Nope! I was in DANGER!

OK, let’s say that’s true. Maybe your grip gave out, you got dizzy, or you fatigued in another way, and you had to make an emergency beeline to the floor, exit pathways be damned. VALID. I have two things I want you to consider. 1 – you know your body, and an emergency is an emergency. Zero shade for coming down directly when your safety is in question. 2 – so, so often, the correct movement pathway IS the quickest, safest way down. Not all the time, but let me put it this way: if I had a dollar for every student who bypassed a simple and safe way down in favor of a Very Poor Choice, I would be a wealthy woman indeed.

But I’m on the FLOOR!

So? Roll it out on the floor! In fact, make friends with the floor – you’re going to spend a helluva lot of time there during your aerial adventures. You know those big, scary complicated drops that you’re seeing on Instagram? Dearest, they did not just climb up that fabric, cross their fingers, and hope to glory that fabric would catch them. (…well, some of them might have, but we are not going to do that, are we? No we are not….) They rolled it out on the floor first so they knew they understood the wrap sequence and that it would, in fact, catch!

Making good choices

Is it hot? Are you tired? Is it new? Is it hard? Does it pinch? All of the above? Keep this in mind the next time you’re tempted to plop & shimmy.

• Don’t give up just because the ground is close. FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT! All the way to the end, even if you’re on the ground and feel silly.
• Pay attention! Your body will typically give you plenty of notice before your grip gives out and you need to take the express elevator.
• Is it new? Work it low and slow, babe. Make sure you understand how to get in, and how to get out.
• Find a resting place. Feeling fatigued? Panic setting in? Get your weight over your feet (or another supportive body part), find an active rest position, and breathe. Panic is not your friend.
• Put on your listening ears. Is your coach telling you the fastest way to get out and come down? Take a breath, and really try to follow those directions.
• Practice following the tail if you get tangled or forgot how to come out (the tail of the fabric gives you an exit pathway)

Above all else, recognize that every time you give in to the urge to slide down and puddle, you strengthen that habit, and rob yourself of the opportunity to practice correctly. Let it be a once in a blue moon thing, not a once every 15 minutes in class thing! You can do it, I know you can. Love and pull-ups, Laura