By Becky Garcia
Paralegal, AIReal Yogi & Beginning Aerialist

Challenge Accepted.

My real transformation took place when I joined The Aerial Studio for their “21 Day Challenge.” I made the commitment to take a class every day, for 21 days… starting, the Monday after my very first aerial class. Here I go, jumping into the deep end learning how to fly.

I was so excited to meet all the different teachers and try the different types of classes and learn new skills and tricks on the apparatuses! I signed up for my classes in advance, sometimes I even took two when I was feeling adventurous.  I alternated between Beginning Aerial, AIReal Yoga, Aerial Conditioning and any other class I could fit into my schedule.  Matt (my husband) signed up for the new client unlimited 30 day special The Aerial Studio was offering too. It was a lot of fun learning new things together. 

At the beginning of the challenge I could barely climb up the silk using my left or right foot, I could not tuck over onto the hammock or the trapeze my own, my hands and forearms were so weak I had to stop and stretch in between each skill I was learning and trying, and forget pull ups! I was discouraged, at first, because everything was so hard and I was barely strong enough to do the most basic skills. Oh, and my whole body was so sore from the discovery of new and unused muscle groups. 

However, even though it was really hard some days, I really tried to keep a positive attitude, and it worked, because with every class I attended I seemed to be more flexible and stronger too. 

I think it was helpful that Matt was super supportive and encouraged me to stick with it and win! He noticed I was more bright and shiny and had a new passion; I would come home after each class if he couldn’t go and tell him all the new things I was learning and when I finally accomplished something new.

This was one of the most challenging things I have done in my life, but I did it, everyday, and all my hard work was rewarded with the best feeling ever, the satisfaction of reaching my goals! 

I'm finally able to tuck over on the hammock without help, climb up the silks (relatively easily) with both feet (still not to the top, yet) and I can pull off a knee hang on the trapeze and lyra.  

I am feeling more confident about my body, my posture has improved, my clothes are fitting better, and I am inspired to live an active healthier lifestyle.  

Oh, and I am looking forward to the next 21 day challenge to push me even farther!


Until next time… keep soaring!

~Becky

By Wren Schaefer 
Trapeze Enthusiast, AIReal Yoga Instructor & Office Goddess

Using a Pull Up Bar:


1. Shoulder Shrugs (2 sets of 10) 

Hold on with your thumbs around the bar. Release your shoulder blades out of their sockets and reengage them. Most people want to bend their arms and do a little pull up because they want to be strong! Don't worry, my friends, we'll get there. This is solely to work the muscle to keep your shoulders engaged. So, you aren't dead weight hanging from a bar. That would make everything much more difficult. 

Modification - 2 sets of 5.

2. Leg Lifts (3 sets of 10) 

Keeping your shoulders engaged, hang completely straight from the bar. Engage your core, keep your body tight. Then lift your legs, piking at the waist. Try to pick a spot in front of you and see if you can continue to reach your toes to that mark. Point your toes! This makes it look prettier, but also helps keep your legs engaged. Eventually, the goal is to hang straight and lift your toes to the bar that you are holding on to, bringing you into a hanging pike. This is the goal, but we all have to start somewhere! 

Modification - Keep your legs in a tuck position. 

Floor Exercises: 

4. Plank (Hold 30 sec, rest/downward dog, repeat 3 times) 

The plank is everywhere! It is a fundamental yoga posture, a start point for any pushup, and a fun way to hang out with your dog (because they lick your face). Find a mirror and make sure you are in alignment. Look at your hands, spread your fingers wide and place weight between your 1st & 2nd finger knuckle. Stack your shoulders over your wrists. If you are hyper mobile, slightly bend your elbows. Start in a table top position and extend one leg out at a time. Tuck your toes, reach your heels back. Curl your tailbone under. Draw your navel in and up. Press the floor away from you and think about lengthening your spine. Who knew there was so many things to do in a plank? 

Modification - Keep your knees on the ground.

5. Shoulder Taps (3 sets of 10)  

The only thing more fun than a plank, is a moving plank! Stay in the plank position and steadily shift your weight onto your right palm so you can tap your right shoulder with your left hand. Then shift your weight over to your left palm, so you can tap your left shoulder with your right hand. And repeat! This will get you shoulders working! Make sure you keep in mind your alignment, it is so important! It is much better for your body to be in a supportive position working, then to be in a potentially dangerous position. 

Modification - Come into a table top position with your palms under your shoulders and knees under your hips. 

6. Tuck Ups (3 sets of 5) 

Slow and controlled is the name of this game. Lie on your back with your arms extended straight up over your head. Draw your shoulders back and down activate your core tuck your pelvis under so that there is no space between your lower back and the floor. Tuck your knees into your chest and keep your toes pointed touching the floor. Keep your heels as close to your bum as possible and slowly try to bring your knees up to your nose. If you get to a point where your knees cannot go up any higher, come back down and repeat. Try to use as little momentum as possible and keep looking at your knees. This will build the strength to get your hips up over your head and work on your strong core!

7. Plow Holds (5 sets) 

Before we fly, we must learn to flap our cute, baby wings. Similarly, it is helpful to hold an upside down pike on the floor before we do it hanging from a trapeze bar. Lie on your back and draw your shoulders back and down. Activate your core, tuck your pelvis under, so that there is no space between your lower back and the floor, just like the tuck ups. Then extend your legs straight up to the ceiling. Place your palms on the floor and slowly bring your hips up and your toes reaching towards the floor behind you. Bring your hands to your hips for support, or you can work on reaching your hands above you, as if you were grabbing a bar and finding the balance between bringing your hips back and reaching your toes forward. Keep your head slightly tucked and don't move your head around. This can cause injury to your neck. 

Shoulder Stretches:

I have to go on a little bit about how important stretching is! With the trapeze, it is more important than ever to make sure your shoulders are strong and stretched. Take it from Trigg (my dad). He did pull ups my whole life with little stretching, and now he can't straighten his arms over his head. Supple shoulders, happy body! 


8. Forward Fold with Interlaced Hands (hold one minute both sides)

I've learned from my mentor, my boss and the amazing AIReal Yoga founder, Carmen Curtis, about the wonderful benefits of the forward fold. So, why not throw in a shoulder stretch with it. Start standing with your arms over your head and dive forward leading with your chest. Release into a forward fold, keeping your knees bent. Interlace your hands behind your back or use a strap if it is difficult to clasp your hands together. Gently tuck your head to your chest and start to pull your arms toward the floor. If you feel okay with this, straighten your legs up, otherwise keep them bent. To come out, bend your arms to your lower back and unclasp your hands. Take a break and then interlace your hands with your opposite thumb in front. 

9. Shoulder Stretch on the Floor (2 minutes each side) 

This one is hard to explain and doesn't have an official name, but I love it! Lie on your belly with your arms bent at a 45 degree angle (cactus arms). Tent your right hand. Bend your right knee and start to rotate your hip open until your foot comes to the floor. Drop your head down. This should be a big should stretch if you have tight shoulders. Repeat on the opposite side. 

10. Shoulder Stretch using Prop (against a wall, table edge, or a hammock! ;) 

Everyone needs a buddy sometimes. Let's use a prop! Stand with your feet under your hips and start to hinge forward. Place your hands against your prop. Keep your hands shoulder width distance with arms straight. Drop your head through, reach your tailbone to the sky and drop your belly. This should be a nice way to stretch your shoulders while using the weight of your own head!

Hi, my name is Becky and this is how my journey starts…

It was 4:30 on a Wednesday afternoon; an attorney I work with was stuck in a mediation and there was no way it was going to finish in time for her to make it to Belinda’s 5:30 AIReal Yoga class… it was too late for her to cancel, so she asked me if I wanted to go in her place. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I was up for the challenge. By 6:35 I realized my life had changed, and I would be back for more. 

I am fairly new to yoga, but I grew up as a dancer, so I love the flow, grace, stretching, and focus elements yoga offers. When I walked into my first AIReal Yoga Class, I was intrigued by the fabric hanging from the ceiling in a circle around the room, and I was little intimidated by the small class size, knowing there was no way I could blend into the back of this class. I took a few deep breaths, found my heart center, and determined to keep an open mind, being joyful and relaxed.

There were many elements and postures to the class that I recognized, except they utilized the silk hammock. Towards the end of the class, we did what is called a lotus inversion (when you go upside down) and it was a little terrifying, exhilarating, and finally relaxing! 

For a few months, once a week, after work, I would take an AIReal Yoga class with Wren or Belinda.

Like many yoga practices, we ended in savasana, but in here we are truly weightless, suspended in the silk hammock like a cocoon, completely relaxed. 

As I was leaving the intimate yoga studio, I noticed the rest of the facility: the Cirque du Soleil apparatuses suspended from the beams far above, the most amazing kids, teens, and adults doing these magical things on them that I could only dream of… 

...and indeed, that night, I dreamt that I was flying too. 

One day I was sharing my excitement with my husband, and I convinced him to take an Introduction to Aerial Class with me on a Saturday morning (and on Saturdays, he sleeps in.) Laura was our teacher. She introduced us to some of the circus aerial apparatus, the Silks, Hammock, Trapeze, and Lyra. We stretched and learned proper form (shoulders down and back), how to climb (and come down, hand over hand), and how to sit up in the hammock. 

In my very first class, Laura had to help me tuck into the hammock because I wasn’t strong enough to pull my hips up and over or maybe I was afraid to trust the silk. I never knew my hands and fingers could be so tired and sore. I could only keep my grip on the trapeze for 15-20 seconds at a time. It is challenging, but I won’t give up because I am getting stronger, and I able to do something new every time! 

For now, my desire is to perfect my climbing, the standard and the russian, I want to climb to the top and I want it to look effortless and beautiful. The silks go so high, but I am getting braver every day. I know it might not seem like the most glamorous trick, but climbing is the foundation and the most important skill on the silks. I really enjoy learning new things on the hammock because I feel supported and secure, and my hands don’t get tired like they do when I am practicing with the trapeze or lyra. 

Now that I’m really using my body at The Aerial Studio, I’m finding I’m naturally making more time to stretch and move my body in life. I am focusing on my core strength, flexibility, and upper body. I am seeing great results on an ongoing goal that I have had since I was a child. I am striving for the day I will be able to do the splits again, and the center splits for the first time! 

Thanks to that fateful Wednesday afternoon, my life has become vibrant again, and I am excited about the possibilities ahead. 

Until next time… keep soaring!

~Becky