The most common excuse-slash-insecurity I hear from people about aerial arts is “Oh that looks so COOL and fun! But I don’t have any upper body strength, and I’m afraid of heights, so I could NEVER do that.”
You do not need any upper body strength to start aerial. We build it by practicing.
We do not make beginners go up high. Also, silks are way less scary than other “high up” things. (Every aerialist I know is way more spooked by the ladder we use to rig!)
Mostly this statement says “I really think that is super neat but I am so afraid of trying something new and failing at it.”
As adults, it’s so very easy to succumb to habit, routine, and comfort and just do what we always do. While there’s nothing wrong with any of that, we also don’t get challenged when we get into ruts - not physically or personally. There’s not a whole of room to GROW inside a rut!
It’s also a scary thing to try something so new and unknown! Almost every student I’ve ever had has come to classes anxious about what they’re supposed to do and whether they’ll be “good enough.” (There’s no such thing. If you tried something on the silks today, you were good enough!) They worry they aren’t strong enough (if you keep practicing, you will get strong enough!). They worry they will look silly, or fall, or get stuck. (You will. We all do. I will fail at stuff as I’m teaching it to you. Embracing the awkward is a major life skill taught by circus arts!).
But the other thing I see in almost every student is the day they stop being afraid and start being determined, and proud. I see the first time they get their climbs off the ground, the first time they invert, the first time they get to the top of the silks, the day they land that nemesis move, and I see the beams of TRIUMPH.
I see people in my classes become so very delighted in how strong they have gotten. I hear people tell me they would have never believed they’d be able to do something so awesome. I see people’s tears of pure joy when they finally nail something so difficult for them, and learn how their hard work and perseverance really paid off.
I see my students make dear friends in my classes. I hear people come to me and tell me how much they love the community; how now they have a place to come to work on their whole well-being, to come feel accepted, to come feel challenged, to come to feel safe taking big risks.
I see them all grow. Every single one. And I am SO PROUD of every one of them, every day.
Now, how about you? Would you like to come transform yourself too? We’d love to have you.
