Take a Breath
Zina's Aerialosophy
(get it aerial + philosophy)
DECEMBER 2021
It's our holiday month… we have so much to do, so many places to be, including on our apparatus. First I'd like to take a moment and thank you for being a part of our studio family! I'm so thankful for the teachers using their God given talents and gifts, for the students who create this amazing community, and for my husband of excellence who makes it possible for me to live my passion and help people with movement and aerial everyday.
This is a season to stop and take a breath! Deep breathing is so important for relaxation response for the nervous system, brain health, and movement quality. It helps us process mentally better, it helps us move better, it helps us rest, digest and repair better. I've learned so much this past year on breathing from Dr. Arianne Missimer that I have to pass it on.
You have also heard me talk about the core as a cube. There's a great 3D animation on anatomy and I love this word picture - the core as a cube - meaning it has a front and back, two sides, and a top and a bottom. The top and the bottom are especially important when it comes to breathing. For a couple examples: if we only activate the top (super tense and not relaxed) and not the bottom, we can have core compensations. If we only activate the front and not the back we can't support the spine as well, and if we don't know how to activate the sides we lack breathing options and mobility.
So for this holiday season stop and take a breath whether it's before you eat, whether it is before class, whether it's before you're frustrated on a shape or flow you are trying to get, stop and take a breath!
Sometimes when we're feeling anxious (for whatever reason), stop and take a moment, breathe. Stopping to take a breath can help you decide the next course of action in a better frame of mind. You've got this!
P.s. Be on the look for our Aerial Fun Christmas card coming out called “The Shapes of Christmas”.
You do you, each day!
I celebrate you! Zina