With the Fly Circus and Aerial Arts spring showcase show, EleVatE fast approaching, I wanted to focus on some of our students that practice and perform on silks. Aerial silks are two pieces of long fabric that hang from a single point. A person can improve upper body strength by climbing the silks and progressing into poses, inverts, and drops. These are things that will be seen at the EleVatE show focusing on our many silk students. In this blog, we are welcoming silk student, Maya.
Maya wasn't always interested in aerial arts "I wanted to start rock climbing, but we had no climbing gyms in the area. I thought I would try aerial, and it turned out that I liked it better than climbing." Maya realized her mental health wasn't up to par and knew she had to take action, " Before discovering Fly I was depressed, anxious, and unhealthy. It felt like nothing in my life was going right . . . I led a sedentary lifestyle. I tried to get myself to go to the gym everyday, but I just didn’t enjoy it. I found that if you enjoy the way you exercise, progress comes naturally. " With that, Maya had to find an alternative way for exercise, " I discovered silks during a gap year after high school. At that point all I was doing with my life was working and saving money for college. I figured I’d use some of that money to invest in my own health and happiness. A part of me thought that aerial wasn’t meant for someone like me. I’m glad I didn’t listen to myself though, because signing up was one of the best decisions of my life." Maya took the plunge and signed up for her first class at Fly Circus and Aerial Arts. "My first class was a silks class, and it was a lot more challenging than I expected it to be, but in a good way. It was something I needed for sure because I didn’t realize how out of shape I was. I had my first class about a year and a half ago but took a long break for school. I’d say in total I’ve had silks as a serious part of my routine for a year." Maya realized putting in the hard work paid off, "I’m the strongest I’ve ever been and I just keep getting stronger. I never thought I would ever be able to do a single pull up in my life. My stamina has increased tenfold. I’m way more flexible, I can do a middle splits now. (Like, what!??) Appearance wise, I’m losing fat and becoming more toned. I never thought that I would ever be able to do the things I’m doing now. Most importantly, I’ve never felt more confident and happy." Silks has been Maya's apparatus of choice, " On the silks, there’s always new skills to learn or something to perfect. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of it! Something I’m working on right now is making inversions look smoother. I’m also working on trusting myself in drops." With that, Maya shared some great advice for those interested in aerial arts, " To someone who’s thinking about taking their first class, I would tell them that your body is capable of more than you think. You don’t need to be strong to start, starting will make you strong!" We always encourage people to check out Fly Circus and Aerial Arts, " The atmosphere at Fly is so accepting, energetic, and encouraging. It doesn’t matter what you look like or what your fitness level is, Fly is a place for everyone."
Our silks classes are 60-minute small group classes that focus on progressing through the fundamentals of silks. Sign up for classes here or on the schedule house app!
Written by Alicia Schroder
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