New Year, New Aerial Goals

It’s no exaggeration to say that 2020 has been a year that threw many of us for loops we never saw coming. Our jobs, family lives and even our aerial practiceswere completely upended, with many being unable to practice their craft for months on end. As we begin this new year, there’s never been a better time to evaluate where we stand in our journey, and to form a trajectory for where we envision ourselves going.

The Big Picture

Photo from @dammitgracie777 in our Red Aerial Silks

When setting goals for your aerial practice, it’s a good idea to start off with your big picture goals. This is a general idea of something you’d like to accomplish that you may consider to be a “big deal.” For instance, maybe you’d like to perform in a showcase or some other event. Maybe you’d like to become a certified instructor. Or maybe you’d simply like to have more fluidity in your aerial routine. Once you know what your big picture is, write it down in a journal or somewhere else that you can refer back to any time you feel discouraged. These little reminders help to keep us focused on our ultimate end goal, no matter what comes up along the way. 

Ready, Set, Action!

Now that you have your big picture in mind, it’s time to create actionable steps to get you there. If your big goal is to perform, then a smaller goal would be to practice staying in the air for longer periods of time. You could also gather a handful of moves that you feel comfortable with and experiment with piecing them together in different ways. Make your action steps focused around creating sequences, rather than one-off tricks.

Photo from @yours_treely in our Aerial Hammock

If your goal is to become an instructor, then you could start by carving some time out of every week to study for your certification or to research available training programs. Spend some time weighing which certifications are the best fit for your goals and build your plan from there.

If your goal is along the lines of feeling stronger or more fluid in the air, then consider more conditioning exercises for the muscle groups that you struggle with the most. When you have your big picture in mind, the smaller actions will naturally occur to you along the way. Follow as many little steps as you need, and you’ll be arriving at your big goal before you even realize it. 

Trusting the Process

Photo from @flying.with.raq in our Height Adjustable Aerial Rig

If you spent the better part of this year on lockdown, furloughed or separated from your favorite studio, you may feel like you are starting over from scratch. Rather than focusing on all of the progress that may have escaped us in 2020, let’s shift our attention to the new beginnings and possibilities that every new year invites. By looking forward, you can go into the new year with a renewed vision for this year and beyond. Offer yourself plenty of grace and trust the process as you go. 

Cover photo from @safari_design_yoga with our Pink Champagne Yoga Hammock.