Flying in the Desert

There is something very primal and right about doing aerial in the desert.

For a long time now i've been wanting to go out and do aerial in different landscapes, and 2 days ago i finally did. 

We were on the way back from a holiday and we stopped in the middle of the road next to a huge crater called "Makhtesh Ramon" where my rigger husband hanged my hammock and i did some aerial.

The feeling of the wind caresses your body when you are outside is so liberating and calming.
At the beginning i was a bit overwhelmed by the open space around me, but i got used to it quite fast, which left me "only" with my fear of height...

But, as you can see at the photos the hammock was hanged very low, so i could always take a look at the floor, and get my piece again.

It was very calming and liberating, and i am planning to do that again very soon.

Hope you will like the photos,
xxx

Emily

Warm-Up for aerial acrobatics - Beginners

Hi everybody,

I was asked to make a warm-up and stretches video - so i did :)

Warm-up is very important before starting to practice. It prepares your body and soul. It warms your muscles and it prepares you for all the stretches and the exercise you are going to do, and it also prevents injuries. So let's say it's not only important, it is inseparable from the practice.

This warm-up is for beginners, for people who just now starting to train and want to improve their flexibility.
On this video everything looks a bit faster than in life. Warm-up should take you about 20-30 min.

I know how difficult it is to start, so PLEASE try not to get frustrated if you can't do something or can't reach your knees, toes etc. IT WILL GET BETTER IN TIME - this much I can promise.

When i do my warm-up, i add strengthening exercises, i will put those on a different video.
Some say that it is better to do the strengthening exercises at the beginning of the practice, and some say that it is better to do it at the end. I think that if you are a beginner, it is better to do the strengthening exercises at the end, because you will ran out of juice very fast if you do those at the beginning of the practice...

So here it is, hope you'll enjoy it!

If you can't see the embedded video CLICK HERE to see it.

I also found this wonderful flexibility yoga video:

If you can't see the embedded yoga video CLICK HERE to see it.
 
I hope that these videos will help you, and please let me know if you have any questions.

The next video I will post will be the one to teach you how to go on the hoop for the first time ever, so be sure to come back :)

Have a great weekend!
 Emily Cage

How and where to grab the hoop

Hi everybody!

I have decided to make a series of posts about safety that I will post from time to time.

Safety is number 1 when you are dealing with aerial, so I think that it should be an inseparable part of my blog.
This time I will be talking about grabbing the hoop (this lesson is also good for trapeze grab).

The right way to grab the hoop with your hand, will be to put 4 fingers on the bar, and the thumb on the opposite side, right against the 4 fingers.

This grip is different than what we usually do, and I have noticed that this grip doesn't come naturally to most people, but this is VERY IMPORTANT!

This grip is safe because your thumb is closing on your fingers.

*Pole dancers tend to grab their pole with all their fingers at the same side of the pole, and because many pole dancers are used to that grab, they need to give extra attention not to grab this way the aerial apparatus.

So this will be the WRONG WAY:

And this will be the RIGHT WAY:

You put the hoop at the center of your palm, so you don't hang from your fingers but from your whole hand.

*          *          *          *          *

Now let's talk about the hoop, where should you grab the hoop?

Here is a short video about where you should grab the hoop:

 

If you can't see the embedded link, just click here to watch the video

 Of course there are always exceptions, and there are moves that requires to grab the hoop at the lower points, but this video is for the main positions

This is also for beginners who tend to prefer to grab the hoop at the lower points so that they can lean on the hoop instead of pulling themselves up.

If you have any questions i'll be more than glad to answer.

xxx

Emily Cage

Upside Down Straddle - Online Class

Hi everybody!

This week's online class is The Upside Down Straddle.
The Upside Down Straddle is a very move when doing aerial of all kinds.
We use this move to go on an element, but we also use it as a shift between moves (especially on silks and pole dance).
The Upside Down Straddle has some levels of difficulty (as i show on the video). If you are a beginner, you might find it hard to get into the position right away, so the best way is to find a way to put both legs on the bar first (doing The Ball), put you hands on the bar between your knees and slowly get into the position you want to end up in. This will help you understand where you want to end up.

The location of the hands in The Upside Down Straddle is different than The Ball position. This time your hands are holding the bar next to each other and between your legs.

On this video I put 2 levels of difficulty. I know The Upside Down Straddle can be a bit hard to learn for beginners but don't give up. It is a very good workout for your abs (even just trying to get into it) and a very important move in aerial.
I also use it as an aerial workout by doing sets of 10s going up and down slowly.

So here it is, hope you will enjoy it and please if you have any questions - don't hesitate.

Emily

If you read this blog on smart phone you might not be able to see the video embedded here so here is

a link for the video

What do I wear for an aerial lesson / training and why

Many of my students ask me what to wear for a lesson and why.
The best thing to wear for an aerial lesson or a practice is a leotard and tights. Never wear Lycra though.
Lycra is very slippery and that is why it is very dangerous. One of the most frighting things happened to me during one of my shows, when i found out that my tights were VERY slippery and i couldn't catch myself or hang on to the hoop with my legs (This is a good lesson also, to always try your costume with your aerial apparatus before the show).

Why do we wear leotard and tights? Why not a track suit? or just a shirt with some shorts?

Well, leotard and tights are tight to your body, and actually give you the best protection. If you will wear shorts you will most likely to get burns from the hoop. The same will happen with loose pants.
Besides the protection, if you are upside down and you are wearing a loose T-shirt, it can fall over your face, and you don't want this to happen to you.

What about your feet?
We usually train barefoot, this is the best way to catch the apparatus with your toes and fingers.
Always remember to take good care of your feet, wash them and clean them when and if you are sharing mattress with other people.
You can always put some ankle supports to protect your feet from the pain (i will post a link to ankles support at the end of this post).

Here is a great and a very funny video blog that I found about cloths for training and performing called:

The Great Boobie Caper – Aerial Necklines in Training & Performance

 

Here are some photos of what I wear when i practice

 

Here is the link i promised for ankles support

 

Enjoy and please let me know what you think of it. 

xxx
Emily

Inspiration for the day

From time to time you tell yourself "ahhhhh i will never be able to do this".

Most of the time YOU ARE WRONG!

I find myself saying that, in many occasions, when i really want someone to tell me "You can do it!"

Well, i'm here to tell you that you CAN do it. You can do anything you set your mind on doing, and this are not just words.

A lot of our time we act according to social conventions, and this makes us put ourselves boundaries that there is no reason to put them other than the fact that someone else on some newspaper / talk show / internet told us that we should put.

I find myself fighting a lot with the way i look, how old i am, what is the "right" thing to be and behave, but at the end of the day, i try to take all of these boundaries and put them in a little place up my brain and to acknowledge that they are there, but now it's time to shut them up and start do what i want to do, really want to do.

When i finish every practice i can't help but thinking if i'm tired because i'm not good enough / strong enough / flexible enough and so many other doubts, but then i remind myself that i'm doing it for the FUN of that, for the good feeling in that practice. I'm not on a race to anywhere; i'm not in hurry.

I should respect my body, enjoy it and take a GOOD care of it.

Criticism is good.

When i need some criticism, i turn to the RIGHT people, the people who understand the profession but also UNDERSTAND me. Criticism can hurt but it can also make you GROW and become BETTER.

But anyway, i always keep this video (it's a facebook link) to remind me that there is anything i can do if i set my mind on it, and give myself enough time:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200545947794836&set=vb.307551552600363&type=2&theater

All my love,

Emily

The Ball - A beginner's position

Hi there,

So here we go, the first video is online and i'm very excited!

For the first video i picked The Ball position.  It's a beginner's position.

That was my nemesis when i just started learning aerial hoop.

The hardest thing with this position is that in life we are not used to make our abdominal muscles to work in this way, so please, don't get upset if this doesn't work for the first time.

Practice again and again, do only part of this exercise if you can't do all of it, and i promise you that in time you'll get there.

*This video contains annotations so the best way to see it is on full screen mode and not on i-pad, i-phone etc. because annotations need flash.

If you can't see the video on the blog, here is a link:

http://youtu.be/T5aWer0SCos

If you have any questions, i will be glad to answer!

Kisses,

Emily Cage