tangledinair

Recreational to Professional

One of the questions I get asked the most is ‘how do you become a professional aerialist?’ and I still don’t have a answer. I used to think it revolved around a form of perfection and I ran into a bad spot chasing that tail. For me it’s not about strength, flexibility, body and otherContinue reading “Recreational to Professional”

Comparison

At the end of my research questionnaire I left a open comment box and I got 235 comments from aerialists about what affects their self-esteem (thanks to everyone who did this🤗). Many people mentioned how comparing themselves to others affected their self-esteem negatively. On social media, in class, in a training space, etc, comparing bodyContinue reading “Comparison”

Procrastination

This one is about procrastination as requested. What I know about procrastination is that it is a form of stress relief and NOT laziness. So, when I am looking at my to-do list and for example it says ‘make invoice’ I’m not stressed about the invoice. I am stressed about something going on in theContinue reading “Procrastination”

Fear

I’m curious to know if fear is a source of drive or retraction for you? Fear was a driving factor in my life for a long time. Fear of failure. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of rejection. Fear of not fitting in. Fear of my body. All of this motivated me in a way. I usedContinue reading “Fear”

Self-talk

As performers we get critiqued as part of our job and I used to think this made me more resilient but I’m not sure if it has or if I have just got better at pretending it doesn’t affect me. I think I have rarely been in a place in my life where I haveContinue reading “Self-talk”

Hello

I completed a psychology masters in 2021 focusing on different aspects of aerialists. I am posting about topics from personal experience combined with my research findings looking at psychology from an aerialists perspective. To read my ponderings you can choose topics or scroll through..

Toxic Productivity

As aerialists we are committed to a career / hobby / business that requires a fair amount of work. Whether that training, conditioning, lesson planning, stretching, book keeping, funding applications, creating, choreographing, etc. So, we have an infinite number of things that we can be ‘getting on with’. This can be SO overwhelming. How canContinue reading “Toxic Productivity”

Goals

The start of the year is perfect for letting go of habits and introducing new ones. However, when we are deciding these things it’s important to be aware of the why’s. Am I setting goals and habits because I want to and it will be good for ME? or because without them I am lessContinue reading “Goals”

Struggling

One of the biggest lessons I learnt this year through my research is that things are not as they seem. People are very good at hiding struggles. This time of year it seems like everyone is full of festive spirit when in fact it can be an extremely difficult time for so many reasons. SoContinue reading “Struggling”

Taking Breaks

So with Christmas around the corner it’s highly likely that a break, however little, is around the corner too. Breaks for the mind and body are great for us but for some of us they can be difficult. In the past I had so much fear of breaks and the changes that came with them.Continue reading “Taking Breaks”