Category Archives: Training

Junk in the Trunk – Haulin’ Your Butt Over Your Head

By LewitwerFebruary 5, 20156 commentsSafety, Training

Hello Dear Danglers! If you’ve ever been in my class, you know there’s one aerial habit I despise above all others.

“Straighten your damned leg!”

Nope. Not that one.

“Point your toes!!!!”

Nope. Not that one either.

“Put your boob back in your unitard!”

Nope. And that’s not a habit (I hope… unless it’s SassyPants Friday Night!!!!).

The thing I hate above all else is…….. HAULIN’.

Haulin’ – verb – when, instead of executing a complete inversion, you cut it in half – inverting only far enough to haul your leg over the fabric.

Why It’s Dangerous

Haulin’ can easily become a habit (hey – it’s way easier to only invert half way!). But, aside from being an eyesore in the air and making us look awkward and clunky, it’s also dangerous.

You are more likely to hook your knee too close to (or on top of) your hand, resulting in too much weight on your digits. No bueno.
Inversions are among the most vulnerable moves in aerial fabrics; if your grip fails, you are likely coming down. Sloppy technique increases your risk of an injury.
If you’re tired or rushing, I’m more likely to see you try to heave your leg up, or just go for it – even when you shouldn’t. Grip fatigue or a feeling of panic do not pair well with aerial silks.

How to Make Haulin’ a Thing of the Past

If you’ve been cleared to invert in the air, I expect a complete inversion, or we have more work to do on the ground. In the early days, you may need to use a foot-assist to get your tushie up – totally fine! You’ll get that snappy, clean invert soon. In the meantime, don’t cultivate any bad habits!

Every time – EVERY TIME – you invert, make sure you complete your straddle (even if it looks like a spastic chicken in windstorm)

I often see haulin’ when students are tired. Tired is one thing, but if you can’t fully and safely execute an inversion, you’ve got to try this one close to the floor. Period.
Make inversions a regular part of your conditioning – it’s foundational.

And there you have it! Let’s make haulin’ a thing of the past, cause ain’t nobody wants to see all that. 😉 Love and pull-ups, Laura

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.

The Sound of… Silence? What Can You do About Aerial Queefing?

By LewitwerDecember 29, 201418 commentsInjuries, Training, Uncategorized

Oh yes, I absolutely am going there.

A lovely Dear Dangler recently sent me this query, and I wanted to throw this out to you, Hive Mind.

Queef: noun: an expulsion of air through the vagina.

“I am stressed and embarrassed about doing straddle inverts, as well as other general invert moves.

The problem is that with the damage from my pregnancy when I invert my organs move down towards my head causing a vacuum and sucking in air, caused the dreaded queef.

I love silks, it is my joy at the moment but I was so mortified the first time it happened. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but I am constantly stressed about it.

Do you have any recommendations to help solve the problem???”

Pre-pregnancy, when I would base trapeze, sometimes this would happen to me (we called me “the mayor of Queeftown”, and joked that I could propel our roll-around-the-bars with the force of them). It tended to happen when we were returning to trapeze after a short hiatus, so I suspect I was allowing my pelvic floor muscles to to relax a bit.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom for this quizzical queefer? It’s awful when something like this stands in the way of something you love. OK, Hive Mind! GO!!!! If you have any thoughts or recommendations, please leave them in the comments below! Love and pull-ups, Laura

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.

ACL Tears and Other Injuries: Guest Blogger Chriselle Tidrick!!!

By LewitwerNovember 3, 20144 commentsInjuries, Performance, Training, Uncategorized

Hello Dear Danglers! This week, I bring to you……. A GUEST BLOGGER!!! The amazing Chriselle Tidrick from Above and Beyond Dance recently shared her ACL rehab story with a reader, and generously allowed me to reprint it here. If you’ve torn your ACL, or have another serious injury, I hope her words inspire you to keep going, heal up, and be smart about it! I’ve seen her work recently, and you would never believe she’d ever had an injury. She was incredibly diligent in her PT, and made healing her second job. I love how she doesn’t sugar-coat it! Love and pull-ups, Laura

Chriselle Tidrick, Above and Beyond Dance

I unfortunately, do have a lot of experience with knee injuries. I tore my ACL in 2012, and I hate to say but it’s a very challenging injury to deal with. You can certainly get through this and return to a full performance life. (Thankfully, I have.) But, it takes a lot of time and a lot of work.

In terms of the injury itself, let me share a few things which you may already know, but which I wish I understood more fully when I tore my ACL. Every orthopedist has a slightly different method of bringing you back after ACL surgery. I happened to have a very conservative orthopedist. The drag of this choice is that it took me longer than many others to make a full recovery. The good thing is that he was really making an effort to protect me from re-tearing the ACL. My understanding is that if you re-tear the ACL, your chances for making a full recovery are significantly diminished. Like you, I asked very early in the process how soon I could expect to return to aerial. My doctor recounted a horrifying story about how one of his patients returned to aerial too soon and completely ripped out his surgery. Needless to say, this kept me from pushing too far too fast. For me, it was a little over a year before I was back to training, and even then, it was a gradual process of strengthening and rebuilding my comfort level in the apparatus. (My knee is much more sensitive to torque than it used to be.) For a long time, I had to switch to doing a lot of elements on my non-surgery side (which is also my non-dominant side). That said, I understand it makes a difference whether you opt for an autograft or an allograft. If you have an autograft (the doctor uses your own tissue– usually hamstring or patellar tendon), I understand that the healing time is shorter than for an allograft (donor graft). I opted for an allograft because I had a previous injury on the leg with the ACL tear, and I didn’t want to further compromise that leg.

Right after surgery, you are going to spend a lot of time on a knee machine which takes your knee passively through range of motion. I think I was on that thing for something like 6 hours a day. If your orthopedist functions like mine, it will be a week or so before you start PT. You will be shocked to discover how quickly your leg muscles atrophy. Your early PT exercises will be very gentle and very simple, and you will very gradually build up to more full movement. Once I was able, I spent about 2 hours a day, 5-6 days a week doing my PT exercises. I quickly discovered that my desire to keep my aerial muscles in shape was supplanted by a desire to get my knee functioning properly, and my time and energy was mainly directed to doing as much PT as my body could handle. I could carefully do chin-ups, chin holds and shoulder shrugs, and I used a rope pulling machine at the gym, but I really opted to keep my focus on the knee rehab. As soon as my knee was stable enough, I did spend a lot of time also doing floor barre and Pilates. Since you have a doorway bar, you can probably add in L holds pretty early on, but just be careful not to stress out your hip flexors too much. They’ll be pretty stressed from schlepping around on crutches!

I am sure this doesn’t apply to you, if you are already asking about aerial training. It sounds like you are the kind of person who will regularly do her PT. But, honestly, for anyone not serious about keeping up with PT, I’d seriously consider living life with a brace and not doing the surgery. Granted, this choice means you will never be able to return to aerial training, but if you don’t do your PT you won’t be able to go back to it, either…

Let me also stress that it’s important to work with PTs accustomed to dealing with dancers/athletes as you go through this process. Our rehab needs are different from people who have more sedentary jobs, and you will definitely need guidance about what is or is not safe for your knee as you return to training. I was lucky that one of the 2 PTs I worked with at Harkness Center for Dance Injuries does aerial training. She really walked me through my return to aerial. Her suggestion to me was that I start with static trap/lyra and then progress into fabric. I will say that there are definitely more positions involving uncomfortable torque in aerial fabric, so you’ll want to be really careful (go slowly!) as you explore those. I am sure your PTs will tell you this, but hamstring strength is key as you return to aerial.

What can I tell you about coming back to aerial after being away for so many months? Well, it was such a gradual process that, even though I was weak, I could gradually add in more and more strengthening activities at a pace that basically matched the kinds of skills I was allowed to do. For conditioning, I mostly worked shoulder shrugs, chin holds, chin ups, inversions (bent arm and straight arm), and I did a lot of Pilates. The hardest thing was rebuilding my endurance once my knee was strong enough to execute choreographic sequences, but that came back too, as it certainly will for you. I am sorry to tell you that this will be a really slow, annoying and frustrating process, but everything really will come back. At this point, I am as strong as ever and enjoying having a full performing life as a dancer, aerialist and stilt dancer.

Wishing you a smooth recovery process. Believe me, I feel your pain! – Chriselle

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The Sometimes Student: Why Consistency Counts

By LewitwerOctober 30, 20142 commentsAttitude, Awesomeness, Training, Uncategorized

Laura & Angela’s Halloween show fun!

Are you happy with your aerial ninja progression? Seeing small but consistent gains in strength, stamina, and awesomeness? No? Hmmmmm. Are you perhaps sabotaging your success by popping in and out of training like a jack-in-the-box on steroids?

The Sometimes Student

If you train long enough, you will have to take a break, either because of life circumstances, finances, injury, pregnancy, the list goes on and on. It always cracks me up just a little when students come back after a hiatus and say, “Miss Laura! I’ve lost so much (fill in the blank – strength, stamina, hair, etc.)!” Of course you have, stop looking so shocked! If you don’t use it, you lose it. BOOM (that was the sound of some tough love being dropped). The remedy is simple – get your butt back to class and regain your Sassy Status – you’ve got this, and it is 100% doable. But, what about the Sometimes Student?

The Sometimes Student comes to class religiously for a few weeks or months, then drops off the face of the earth for a while. When they return, it’s all, “I’m going to be in class every day for the next six weeks! I can’t believe that I lost my invert! I’m going to train so hard!” Then, after a few weeks of training, ……. crickets. Aaaaaaaaand the cycle starts all over again.

A Fancy Quiz for You to Take – “Am I Consistent?”

T/F I do not stretch for weeks on end, then I have two hour marathon stretching sessions because I realized I lost my split and now I can’t walk because I overdid it and I’m fairly sure I tore my hammy.
T/F I haven’t done pull-ups in months, but I’m going to go do 100 of them as soon as I finish reading this post because I feel guilty. I will then be very sore and cancel my aerial class because OW.

It’s a short quiz. You know if this is you. 😉

Why Consistency Counts

If you’re swinging from the rafters solely for the sweet release of it all, or to torture your muscles in unconventional ways, then you won’t feel the Sting of Stuck-ness as keenly as someone who is really aiming to see meaningful progression. So, how do you get to a meaningful progression? Time and effort. There are truly no substitutes for just showing up and doing the work.

(** If you ARE coming to class regularly but not seeing the results you’d like, click here!)

We are an Instant Results culture. We want All The Things Right Now This Very Instant, and if I have to work for it, there must be something wrong with me, you, or it (confession: I fall prey to this, too – all the time). We want our internet fast, our weight loss fast, our food fast. But, circus training is kind of the slow food movement of the physical world. Muscles take time to grow, bodies take time to stretch, neurons take time to wire together to create amazing new patterns. Fast just won’t work here.

Sometimes, breaks are unavoidable. Sometimes, breaks are great and can actually push your training to the next level! But, if you’re not training consistently in the air, don’t be surprised when your results are wobbly. Consistency counts, friends! Do everything in your power to just show up. Love and pull-ups, Laura

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.

PostPartum Aerial Training – How Mama Gets Her Groove Back: Part 1

By LewitwerSeptember 4, 20143 commentsAwesomeness, Exercises, Training, Uncategorized

Glorious Aerial Mamas (or Mamas to Be)! It’s the post you’ve been asking about – WOOOT!

After nine months of barfing, heartburn, waddling, waiting, and planning, your beautiful bebe is finally nestled in your arms. Now that your body is somewhat your own again, I know you’re DYING to get back in the air. But when is it safe? When should you expect your body to feel like itself again? And OH MY GOSH – the overwhelm! How does this WORK?!

Weeks 1-8 – Not So Fast, Friend

If you’re still pregnant with your first, there’s no way to adequately explain to you what I lovingly call The Baby Bomb – when the wee miracle finally gets here and blows your world to smithereens. There is truly no way to communicate how dramatic a shift this is (you wouldn’t believe me anyway). But here are some things you’ll be encountering:

Hormones – your hormones are doing the samba! You’ll feel elated one minute, and burst into tears 30 seconds later. You will likely have a touch of The Baby Blues (a hormone-induced depression), and, depending on your situation, you may have more than just a touch. It feels so incredibly wrong to have feelings of depression when everyone tells you that this should be the happiest time in your life, or to “relax and enjoy the baby”. Please know that you are not broken, you are not alone, and this does not mean you are not or will not be a good mother. Talk about it, and don’t be afraid to ask for all the help you need.
Breastfeeding – Be forewarned – no one has ever done that to your nipples (unless they have, masochist). Investing in a good breast pump can give you a bit of freedom in a few weeks to go train a bit by yourself.
Sleep – ha! You ain’t gettin’ none. Newborns nurse about every two hours. The ideal sleeping situation is the one in which everyone gets the most sleep. Every baby is different, every mama is different. Experiment and don’t let other people’s parenting philosophies (or one you’ve decided to adhere to) prevent you from sleuthing out what works best for you and your new family.
Support System – friends, partner or husband, family, Facebook, whatever. Create a support system and USE IT! There’s a ridiculous perception that the modern woman does it all herself. Bullshit. Ask for LOTS of help.
Lochial flow (bleeding) – thinking about jumping on those silks before 6-8 weeks? Think again. I tried at 4 weeks, predictably overdid it, and nearly wound up in the hospital with maternal hemorrhage. Relax. Take the time off – it’s OK. Another 14 days is not going to kill you. 🙂
C-Sections – getting back to exercise and training becomes a bit more complicated after major abdominal surgery. If you’ve had a C-Section, you’re usually looking at 8 weeks minimum before you can start exercising again. This is a real thing for you too, Superhuman! You can set your training back months or years by not letting your abs heal.
Diastisis Recti – this is a separation of the rectus abdominus muscle, which occurs frequently in pregnancy. It takes time to knit that split back together. Jumping back in too soon can widen the gap – give it time. Here’s a great resource.
Colic – your baby may be a super mellow cuddly cherub of an infant. Mine screamed like a banshee (we nearly called in a priest for an exorcism). Like Gump and his chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. If your baby is “spirited” or high-needs, you may find yourself too drained or overwhelmed to think much about training. It’s OK. This won’t last forever, and you WILL figure this out.
Productivity – are you a Type A super productive person? Not anymore, you’re not! Brace yourself. One of the toughest adjustments can be the near constant interruption – diapers need changing, tummies need filling, bebehs need comforting, etc. It’s a lot. You’ll sort it out eventually, but at first, it’s all like BOOM.
You will pee your pants for a while. I know you don’t believe me, but if you had a vaginal birth, not only will you poop during labor, but you’ll pee your pants until your pelvic floor tightens up again. Stock up on Depends, and bid your dignity bon voyage. 😉

OK, so what does all this mean for training? First, know that you’re looking at 6-8 weeks before you are cleared to start exercising again. You will be tired, and, if you’re breastfeeding, your body is still cranking out mucho hormones which may contribute to laxity (looseness) in the joints. You’ll be overwhelmed, and, if you’re the first person in your group to pop a bun out of the oven, you may feel like nobody understands what you’re going through (hint: they don’t).

“Miss Laura, this sounds horribly depressing….”

Sorry!!! I don’t mean for it to be, truly! Let’s look at what you CAN do to set yourself up for Phase 2.

Heal like it’s your job. Because it is. Your vagina just exploded – let it heal. Your abs were just stretched out to infinity, too – it will take time for them to shrink back down to a place where they can function meaningfully again. Taking time to heal is one of the BEST ways of getting back in the air faster.
Start training your pelvic floor. Remember our friend Kegel? If you’re not familiar, it’s time to get intimately acquainted. You can start doing this as soon as you can “find” the muscles after birth. If it’s an option for you, a pelvic floor PT can work miracles, and is a fantastic investment. You might even be able to get insurance to cover it!
Zip up that tummy! My favorite post-partum exercise was The Zipper. After a week or two, when you can start to find the muscles again, you “zip” from your pelvic floor to the top of your abs. Do a Kegel, now try to find the muscles that bring your belly button to your spine. First try it lying down, then progress to standing. It may not feel like much at first (in fact, it may not feel like anything at first). Keep at it! Here’s a great list of exercises, and here’s a great DVD from trapezista Karyne Steben. ** If you notice an increase in bleeding, or a re-occurrence of bright red bleeding, stop exercising and call your health care provider immediately.

The take-away? Having a baby is overwhelming. Heal, and be gentle with yourself in this first 6-8 weeks. You’ll be ready to kick your own ass again soon. Feeling like a failure because you’re not back in performance shape in two months? Fuck that. You may fly back into the air. You may army crawl. None of that says a damned thing about how good, professional, or strong you are. You are enough, beautiful human.

This got kind of long, so stay tuned for Part 2 (months 2-6), where we dive into the best way to get your aerial lusciousness back, and what kind of a timetable you’re looking at for feeling like your old self again. Love and pull-ups, Laura

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.

Giddy-yap! Getting Back on the Horse after a Circus Injury or Scare

By LewitwerAugust 28, 20144 commentsAwesomeness, Training, Uncategorized

A while back, Angela (my aerial partner) and I were running the release-catches in our duo act during the tech for a gig. The live-feed camera guy was trying out his equipment, and presumably wanted to test some angles for close shots. He thought it would be a great idea to shoot from underneath us. The other performers were running to grab him and tell him that it was, in fact, a terrible idea, but it was too late – his motion broke our concentration at just the right (wrong?) time, and we missed our catch. Down down down I came, and landed feet first on the stage.

As far as falls go, it wasn’t that far; as far as landings go, it was pretty good (I like to think that I even struck a graceful pose at the bottom). I came out of it with a nice sprain on one ankle, and a nasty little hitchhiker: a slap-you-upside-the-head strong mental block. Once my ankle had healed, and we were running our act again, I can still remember the progression. I would be fine right up until the two moves before the fateful catch/release. Then, the blood would start pounding in my ears, adrenaline would shoot through my body, I would start to sweat, and then… nothing. I couldn’t proceed. It was as if my body just flat out refused to go there ever again. Never mind the fact that I KNEW my body’s reaction was way overblown. This fear just wouldn’t listen to reason.

If you haven’t experienced any injury or scare, great! If you think you never could or will, you’re wrong. I actually heard someone say the other day that your body won’t allow your grip to fail, that some primal self-preservation instinct takes over. Please know that that is completely stupid and 100% wrong. Your grip can indeed fail. Your concentration can falter. You can fall down. In fact, everyone who trains long enough will have a scary moment (the kind that makes you pee just a little). What comes after depends a great deal on what happened, whether you were injured, your personal fear threshold, etc. You may even find yourself where I did (and where I still often find myself when I’m training scary things on wheel). Here are a couple of things that have started things moving again (geez, sounds like a laxative commercial….)

Say “thank you” to your fear. Not to get all woo-woo on you, but acknowledging that the fear is there to try to keep you safe can take it from a place of shame or frustration (“Stupid fear! WHY can’t I not be scared??!!!”) and give it a bit of status (“Ah! My self-preservation instinct is kicking in!”). In the interest of being completely honest, I really struggle with forgiving my fear, especially when it is standing between me and training success. So, onto step 2….
Step back into the driver’s seat. Fear, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to ride shotgun. Moving into a pro-active place allows you to feel some control again, and believe me – fear and feeling helpless go hand in hand. Any step you can take towards owning your training will diminish the sensation of fear.
Go back to the beginning. Take the scary move all the way back to the beginning. There is no point that can be considered too early – whatever works for you. Try to find the earliest possible place that doesn’t produce debilitating fear. Now stay there until you’re ready to add the next teeny tiny step.
Break the pattern. A fear response can become habitual, cued by a physical progression. Fear not letting up? Change the way you get into something if possible. When we changed the transition into the move, my fear habit didn’t get it’s usual cues and was lessened considerably.
De-sensitize with time and repetition. Once you’ve started revisiting those micro-movements, stay with each one until something in you “leans into it” – really wants to go forward. Don’t give yourself a weird, arbitrary time table – don’t rush. Fear is not rational, and you can’t think it away (I’ve tried). The fear part of your brain and the rational part of your brain don’t really talk. Let time and repetition soothe the scared part, and use the rational bits of your brain to cheer you on.
Trust your coach (maybe). Truth? I have a HORRIBLE time doing this. It is so foreign to me to trust someone else with my safety – even someone who, time and time again, has saved my butt from Certain Doom. Trust is built slowly (and destroyed quickly, but that’s another post). If you believe, after careful thought and observation, that a teacher is worthy of your trust, go for it. The more you can trust them, the more they can help you – the more you can give up and give over. Feel the fear, and do it anyway.
Ask yourself – what’s the worst that can happen? Sometimes, the answer is “horrible things. Don’t fuck it up.” Sometimes, the answer is “nothing truly terrible”!
Leave it. You heard me. If you’re being tortured by a particular move, ask yourself: is it worth it? Can I just not do that move? Is it essential to progress to other things I want to do? If you can’t leave it, see steps 1-7. If it’s making you miserable and you can set it aside, even for just a little while, I hereby give you permission if you’re having trouble giving it to yourself. There are SO MANY things to do on any given apparatus – it’s OK to ease up if that’s what you need.

Eventually, Angela and I put a few modifications into the move that allowed me to feel safe again, and off we went into the sunset. But, I deal with fear all the time. All the time. Healthy brains have a vested interest in keeping your body safe. You can’t ignore or deny the fear, so acknowledge and work with it. Wishing you all SAFE training with only the fear you need to keep you gorgeous and intact (but not enough to make you pee)! Love and pull-ups, Laura

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.

THE CLAW: Hand Pain in Aerial Training and What to Do About It

By LewitwerJuly 31, 201423 commentsExercises, Training, Uncategorized

Are you waking up with hands that have suddenly aged 50 years over night? Sore joints? Stiff fingers? THE CLAW? Yup. Either you’ve made like Rip van Winkle, or you’ve been training aerial work! What is that pain? Will it go away? Will chocolate cake help? (yes) Welcome to the world of…. arthritis.

The Most Common Cause of Hand Pain

If you’re encountering dull, achy finger joints in the morning or during training, chances are good that you are experiencing good old-fashioned arthritis**, which is quite common early in aerial work (glamorous, no?). Simply put, the arthritis were talking about is just light inflammation of the joints (read more here). When we begin our training, we’re asking hands, that haven’t been asked to do much more than hold a pen or wield a tennis racket, to suddenly manipulate our body weight and, you know, keep us from falling on our heads. No biggie. Any time you ask your body to do something hard, or even very different, you may experience some inflammation. Don’t panic! You’ve got options.

** If your hand pain is severe, or located in one spot, see a doc! Speaking of doctors, I’m not one. This post is not intended as a substitute for medical advice or care!

What to do About It

OK – you got this. Here we go!

Warm up your fingers before you train. Just like the joints and muscles of your shoulders, back, etc., your hands need some love too!
Stack your digits on fabrics (see the photo above). If you find your fingers sliding on top of one another, use a bit of rock rosin to help you stay put. If grumpy knuckles persist, try a bit of glamor glue (spray rosin) and see if that does the trick. Reduce the amount you use over time if you can.
Train your grip and hands. There are so many ways to do this! Train on your apparatus, yoga (manipulating your body weight), grip apparatus like Dyna-Flex or stress balls, free-weight training, hand exercises, etc.
Give it time! Those are muscles in there! They won’t get Herculean overnight.
Lotions and potions! There are a number of anti-inflammatory creams on the market if you find that the sensation is following you throughout the day. I use Tiger Balm and Penetrex (that one sounds so naughty!).
NSAIDs. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofin might also be an option – talk to your doc.
Acupuncture! You may feel like a human pincushion, but acupuncture is one of the most effective ways I’ve found to deal with inflammation. It may even be covered by your insurance!
Trip to the doctor. Pain getting worse? Feeling “grind-y”? It’s worth a trip to the doctor to find out what’s happening in there.

Click here for a good PDF of hand stretching & strengthening exercises!

Don’t worry – it won’t last forever, and you’ll be grippin’ like a spider monkey! Love and pull-ups, Laura

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.

Make Like a Ballerina – Why Dance and Circus Go Hand in Hand

By LewitwerJuly 15, 2014Exercises, Training, Uncategorized

You know this person. They come to class the first time and can’t climb (or do much of anything, really), but DANG they look good! While some of us are heaving ourselves through the air with all the grace and daintiness of a linebacker, they look cool and poised, even when they’re struggling. We hate them just a little (tell the truth!), but we also want to know their secret. I think you know where I’m going with this.

Why Dance Makes for Happy Aerialists & Circus Artists

Even if someone has only studied dance for a few years, it shows. Folks with dance training under their belts:

have better body awareness (where their body is in space, and what it’s doing)
have better muscular control
demonstrate consistently better lines
have lower rates of injury thanks to better body alignment
tend to have greater range of motion in joints and muscles

I’ve Never Taken Dance, and I’m 78. Ballet is Intimidating, and What Good Will it Do Me if I Start Now?

Um, I hate to point this out, but you’re going to be 78 whether you dance or not. And didn’t everyone tell you that you were insane for starting circus training so late in life? Tell them to suck it. Also – we’re not aiming for the Bolshoi auditions two weeks from Saturday. We’re aiming for little improvements.

even a class or two a month makes a difference in your level of body awareness! This doesn’t have to be something you do three times a week unless you’re a hopeless over-achiever. Find an adult class and make with the plies!
it is gooooooooood to work in front of a mirror. I always think I look SO amazing until I see myself on video and it’s all Bent-Knee-Sickled-Foot-Fest-2014. Correcting your form in real time is so valuable!
Dance strengthens oodles of supporting muscles that keep joints happy.
Dance training can reduce your risk of injury by creating muscle memories of strong alignment.
It’s great to “cross train” – moving your body (stretching, strengthening) in unfamiliar ways.
Looking more like a linebacker than a ballerina? Time to learn some grace and, even more importantly, how to move from your core.

Don’t be intimidated – you got this!!!! If you’re here in NYC, Circus Warehouse offers a great barre class for aerialists and circus artists – check it out! Love and pull-ups, Laura

Now, for your viewing pleasure, this is one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time. You will die laughing. Enjoy!

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.

Micro-Movements – An OCD Aerialist’s Training Dream

By LewitwerJuly 3, 20143 commentsAwesomeness, Training, Uncategorized

I’ve encountered so many different types of learners among my students. It’s profoundly exciting for me when they take charge of their training, and ask clearly for what they need (if they know what they need, that is). Today, we’re going to talk about the beauty of the micro-movement, and its ability to put the “BAM!” in your training.

Micro-movement – a very small additive training goal (straight arm, hips up, point left foot, etc).

Story Time

It’s no secret that there are MANY aspects of learning wheel that I’ve wrestled with. So much of the struggle has been determining how I learn. With silks, I saw it, I did it. I’m strong (thanks, genetics!), and had a dance background, so fabrics came easily to me. Wheel? Oh no. Not at all.

One day during a lesson, as Chris was giving me notes, I may or may not have gently lost my sh*t. I felt so completely overwhelmed and hopeless – it was too much. I started to cry (Chris loves it when that happens….), and blubbered/snotted/hiccuped out, “I need ONE thing. Please – I can’t do ALL the things!” And then, it clicked. We knew we had just found the thing that would reliably move my training forward.

Small Victories, Courtesy of Micro-Movements!

How It Works

Pick a move that has you making deposits in the swear jar.
Identify where it starts to go all to hell.
Figure out the next tiny step. There is no step that is TOO tiny. It may mean going back to a basic skill that needs work (bent arm hang, for example), or identifying an area where you need more strength.
Do the move again, trying to add in your micro-movement. Don’t try to go beyond your micro-movement, that wasn’t the goal!
Do it again. Again. And AGAIN. Is it starting to feel easy? Perfect! Rinse, repeat. Time for another step!
If you cannot complete the micro-movement in five or six tries, it may be a tad ambitious. Break it down further, or re-evaluate whether this move is even something you should be attempting yet. (ex: until you have an in-air inversion, working in-air hip key may be frustrating).

This technique has COMPLETELY changed my training. Completely. I’m learning faster, and having considerably more success. Some of you may work better tackling a move all at once, but for those of us who need more of a feeling of control and focus? Give it a go! Love and pull-ups, Laura

Psssst…. Here’s another way to break it down!

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.

“Hey – I Can Do That!” STOP! You’re Not as Awesome as You Think… Self Efficacy in Circus

By LewitwerJune 26, 20145 commentsAttitude, Awesomeness, Training, Uncategorized

… or, maybe you are. But one of the keys to mastering any apparatus? Having an accurate estimation of your abilities. Without that, you may think you’re more of a badass than you actually are, OR you may be way too hard on yourself without reason. Knowing “where you are” allows you to direct your training by:

understanding whether you’re ready to attempt moves or train by yourself
gaining a sense of which moves you’re ready to tackle
playing to your strengths (strong shoulders, flexy back, etc.)

The Process of Learning Circus

Learning a single move often goes something like this:

“I’m excited to learn this! I don’t know what the f*ck I’m doing yet (and OOOWWWW!!!!), but this is cool!

“OK – it’s not pretty, but I’m getting through it without dying! I still need a spot or eyes on me though.”

“I can do this on my own! I’m comfortable with how this goes, but my knees/feet/wrists, etc are a hot mess. Needs cleaning.”

“I don’t hate this on video! My lines are clean, and I’m super comfy.”

“This feels like part of me. I can trouble shoot it easily, and I want to play. Time to dance it and make it my own!”

Learning an apparatus often follows a really similar arc.

“This is amazing! I am so bad! But I love it, so I don’t care.”

“Look at meeeeeeee! I can do stuff! I still suck, but I’m seeing some progress!”

“Ugh. This is hard. I am seeing no progress. I should be BETTER than this by now! I must be the worst at this. Ever.”

“HEY!!!! I GOT IT I GOT IT! That thing that I’ve been working on for 25 weeks! I got it! Maybe I don’t suck?”

“Seeing some progress! I’m not the best, but I’m surely not the worst!”

“OK! I’m working comfortably. I have a lot of vocab under my belt, my instructor doesn’t have to tell me to straighten my arm/leg/etc.”

“I’m pretty good at this! Time to create an act.”

Self Efficacy in Circus

Seems pretty straight forward, right? BUT, what happens when you get hung up in an “I suck” loop? Or, you go right from “I pointed my toes today in class!” to “I’m a professional – time to rake in the dough (LOL) as a professional aerialist!” Both mental states suggest that you may have an inaccurate understanding of where you fall in the learning arc. That inaccurate understanding can lead to injuries, feelings of intense defeat, and/or reckless training.

The best way to keep yourself “real”? Check in with your (professional) coaches, and talk to them about the training arc in your discipline. Video yourself. Watch the best performers you can on YouTube. Ask for feedback. Be aware of how you talk to yourself. Research your industry. Train train train. And put on your listening ears.

Here’s a fantastic article by the NY Times about how self efficacy affects training in regards to injury (you have to make an acct, but it’s quick, easy, free, and WORTH IT).

Love and pull-ups, Laura

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.