Taking an aerial class has been on my bucket list for a while. This involves two silks hanging from a tall ceiling that you use like Cirque du Soleil would (please don’t think for a second I think I’m ready to join Cirque du Soleil). They refer to it as ‘circus.’
Most of the Personal Euphoria team wasn’t available to attend, but Jeannine and I thought we’d go anyway. After a dynamic warm-up, they got us in the silks. Honestly, I was surprised at how much we could both do. I was a little worried this might wind up like the pole dancing class we once took as a team. None of us could even begin to do the moves. But here, Jeannine and I could actually (with assistance) get into the positions they prepared for us. A big part of that was that they selected moves that were manageable but still made us feel like we were doing something cool—flipping upside down, arching into a backbend like a crescent moon hovered in the air.
I’ve never been able to climb a rope—not in elementary school gym class and not when I ran a race with various obstacles. At the race, when I hit the rope climb, I had to do 20 burpees instead to pass onto the rest of the race. Here the instructors taught us how to climb the silks—wrapping your foot into them so you have some support and don’t have to lift all your body weight with your arms. When my legs can lift me, I have no problem getting up. It felt great because it’s always annoyed me that it’s something I can’t do. Now I want another try at those ropes to see if I can use my legs more.
When I got home, Matt was bummed I hadn’t invited him. He’s a bit of a gymnast at heart. He’s tried trapeze and loves doing flips and various moves in the air on our yoga swing. He loves climbing trees. So, we scheduled another date to go try again. This time the moves were harder. Matt excelled. I was at moments laughably bad.
It’s one of the reasons it’s always good to try new things. People presume because I’m a Pilates instructor that I’m naturally good at sensing my body in space. When I’ve done something for a long time, I know my body well and I am good at body awareness. But that skill does not come naturally to me. When I’m learning something new or you flip me upside down, I have a really hard time tuning into my own body especially when I have no point of contact with the ground.
At one point I said to the instructor, “You have a real keen awareness of the silks and where they are in space.” She said, “No, I know where my body is in space.” Ah, yes. A key factor in movement.
Learning to feel our body is a challenge, but it’s a skill we can develop. I know. I have improved this skill and I’ve seen others do it too. Floundering while you learn a new move can feel like a failure, but it’s part of the process. The body just needs to find itself again. And with practice, it will (presuming you are interested enough to practice). 
For one of the moves I was struggling with, I got down on the floor and mimicked what I was supposed to do in the air. Breaking down the steps in a place that felt more comfortable helped me recreate that in the air when I got back in the silks. When I got back up to try again, Cirque du Soleil would not have handed me a contract, but I did complete the task at hand. It was choppy, slow, and wobbly, but I got through the steps, unlike the first time when for a moment I thought I was going to accidentally wind up mid-air in a split.
Trying new activities is good for our brains. It’s good for our body. It can help keep us humble. But even though it may not feel like it in the moment, it really helps us understand our body better. And that is always beneficial.
Has there been a new style of movement you’ve wanted to try? I’d love to hear what’s on your bucket list.
And if it’s Aerial Silk, I’d suggest checking out where we went: https://www.ctaerialyoga.com/about-connecticut-aerial-yoga/
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