Aerial Friends Are the Best

Best Friends Day is Tuesday, June 8! At Uplift Active, we’re celebrating the beauty and joy of a friendship like no other… one that is forged in the air.

Whether you’re dropping into a new aerial yoga class or working closely with another seasoned aerial artist, the relationships you make in aerial arts can bloom into something truly priceless.

Many aerial besties create lifelong friends. You may see each other through successes and challenges and the passions of various apparatuses. They will be there both when you are at the top of your game and when you’re grounded due to an injury. Ultimately, a good aerial friend will help you to keep getting back up. 

You will value your aerial BFF’s presence in your life for many reasons, but partly because they have insight into your deepest ambitions... since they probably share them, too.

Support and motivation

As aerial artists, we get a lot of comments about how strong we are and how much it really takes to do aerial work. Well, that is certainly true. But only another aerial athlete can truly empathize with those aching muscles, that hidden fear of heights, and what it actually means to run out of rosin at a gig.

Aerial friends can also offer peer-to-peer insights into things like technique and style, which may be easier to hear from someone who’s in your close circle.

Healthy competition

As we cheer each other on, aerial friends can also give us a dose of healthy competition. This dynamic is actually good for you and can help everyone to feel more empowered.

Photo from @masjenka77

As the Dalai Lama says:

There is competition, but it is used in a good way. It is positive to want to go first, provided the intention is to pave the way for others, make their path more easy, help them, or show the way. Competition is negative when we wish to defeat others, to bring them down in order to lift ourselves up. 

A healthy aerial friendship will involve all members feeling supported and motivated to grow.

Trust and closeness

Aerial arts are a lofty endeavor, and there are always peaks and valleys along the way. Aerial friends -- and the larger aerial community -- can help get you through those moments of doubt. 

When working on a new aerial move, you can call on that BFF to spotting duty which can strengthen your sense of safety with them.

If you and your bestie choose to explore the world of doubles work, you’ll be trusting each other with your very lives! 

Celebrating friendship

Many people have never heard of Best Friends Day, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t celebrate! After the extreme hardships of the recent past, it’s important to find cause to appreciate the good things in life. A best friend in aerial arts is a wonderful relationship to celebrate. 

So take a moment to let your bestie know how much you value their friendship and all the things you do together. After all, that’s what friends are for!