Paralyzed Aerialist Performs

In 2012, AirAligned Artistic Director Tresa Honaker lived every aerialists’ nightmare. She sustained a spinal injury from a fall that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She performed, along with members of AirAligned, at TEDx Talk in Sacramento back in June of 2015. The video has just been released, so we thought we would share. Tresa’s story serves as a reminder for every aerialist to keep safety a priority.

You’ll get to watch three performances total. The first is from the amazing Jerusha Horlick (my favorite is the clean exit from double footlocks into a double knee hook climb). The second performance features a duet by Joseph Simms and Marni Marshall.

Tresa shares her story and then performs with David Taylor-Gomes on piano. David wrote on his Facebook page, “[Tresa] is so inspiring to me, and I am so fortunate to have met her. This is also the only time I’ve ever been in a theater where EVERY single person gave a standing ovation.” I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience after her performance. I’m so glad she got up there and did that, and it’s great to hear her fighting through her injury. You go girl!

The Best New Year’s Resolution

The best New Year’s Resolution you can make is to

MOVE. As much as you can.

Every day.

Let me tell you why this is the best thing you can do for your life:

You’ll get more flexible. People are always asking me what they can do to make gains in flexibility. Many people are too narrowly focused on stretching to accomplish their goals. While stretching is good, and that is a part of it, stretching alone will not do it. I don’t want to simply stretch out my tendons (which is not healthy and can lead to injury). By focusing on movement in every joint instead of stretching muscles, you’re creating a system that is sustainable and will have longevity. Remember back to when you were a kid. Do ever remember feeling stiff in your muscles? Or ever being tight? Probably not. And it had nothing to do with your stretching routines. It was because you moved. When you were born, you started crawling as soon as you could. Then you started walking. Then you started running. Then you got shy or lazy about moving. You gave in to the culture around you, joining in the fun of sitting on the couch. Reverse what sitting has done to you. Get up and MOVE.

Continue reading “The Best New Year’s Resolution”

Take This Survey (If you’ve been pregnant)

Calling all aerialists who have been through pregnancy! We want to know what it was like to be you. What sorts of things did you have to change when you found out you were pregnant? What sorts of crazy things were you doing up until the day you gave birth? The crazy thing is that every story is different, so there’s no way I’m looking for a “one-size fits all” story.

By gathering different stories, we can get a glimpse into the unique way that someone who is high on movement approaches pregnancy. For some, it means giving up movement for 9 months. Some feel ready to do this – as they fall in love with the kid that comes at the end of it. For others, pregnancy is a tortuous time. Others find it amazing. Most people experience both emotions and everything in between.

My goal is take all these different perspectives – your perspectives – and add them into the book that is brewing on the editing shelf: the Prenatal Aerial Yoga Manual. Although aerial yoga sequences are the main focus of exercise, the book is an approach to being pregnant as a mover no matter what form of aerial you practice. The book is designed for teachers who are looking for more information about prenatal exercise so they can better coach their pregnant students. And of course, this book is designed for all aerial women who find themselves pregnant – whether it was expected or unexpected – and they are curious about what others before them have experienced.

If you have ever been pregnant and you are an active practitioner of the aerial arts, we invite you to take place in the country’s largest data collection ever attempted on the topic of pregnancy as an aerialist known to this author:

http://www.rebekahleach.com/preggo-survey.html

The survey will take a bit of time, so set aside about 20 minutes or more, depending on how thorough you would like to be.

All entries need to be in by January 31, 2016. The results will be in the upcoming book as well as posted on our discussion board for members of AerialDancing.com.