RGF Ambassador Guest Post by Natalie

In the last year, I have had an x-ray, two ultrasounds, an MRI, two bouts of physical therapy, and a (minor) surgery. My left shoulder had an impingement, I had a cyst identified and removed, and I have unknown nerve damage in my right shin. These things have obviously all drastically affected my aerial journey.

Over the past year, I’ve learned many things about how to love my body while practicing this sport. Here are my top 5 mantras I now live by:

Preventative healthcare is JUST AS IMPORTANT as reactive healthcare

Last summer, I started feeling a sort of tweak in my shoulder when I raised my arm. It progressed to where I was getting sore at every practice. The old me would’ve just continued through the pain, but something this time told me to stop the pain before it got worse. Shoulder tweaks aren’t the end of the world, but I was concerned about injuring myself worse by letting this go on any longer.

This may be a weird analogy but stick with me. Our body is a super amazing GIFT that we were given by, well, whoever/whatever you believe gave you life as a physical being. I know when I get a really nice gift, I NEVER want it to get broken, so I take care of it, so it doesn’t break. We buy cases for our phones. We get tune ups for our cars. Shoot, I even bring my engagement ring in for a monthly check-up. So why, in the past, was I willing to “tough it out” when my body was in pain? The best thing I can do for my body, the one and only body I was GIFTED, is to care for it before it breaks.

Your “normal” is not everyone’s “normal”

Despite having learned my first lesson, I was still pretty self-conscious about going to a physical therapist for a minor non-injury. These fears increased ten-fold when my therapist tested my range of motion on my afflicted shoulder and found it to be just 10º below “normal”. “Oh man, was I overreacting?!?” I thought to myself, “ten degrees off is still perfectly functional, why am I here?!”. Then he tested my “good” arm for comparison and showed me MY normal range of motion was 10º OVER the typical range. My therapist was phenomenal at understanding that my expectations of my shoulders were different than other people. My therapist set my end goal of my sessions to be obtaining symmetry of motion with both my shoulders. I’ve taken this lesson to my aerial practice now as well, trying not to compare myself with others. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We all have our good days and our bad days. As Walt Disney said, “The more you are like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.”

Respect the Healing Process

I am NOT one to “take it easy”. I haven’t been since I was a kid. Got a cold, keep running around. Hurt my knee, dance practice stops for nobody! After my first surgery in college, I even popped my stitches because I didn’t heed my doctor’s 10 lb. weight limit…. And gave my little cousins piggyback rides. Oops. This time, I wanted to respect my body. I listened to all my doctor’s directions and let my body heal. This time, I had no complications during the healing process. Shocker. Ha-ha. Even once I was cleared to go back to practice, I continued to try to listen to and respect my body. Whenever I found myself frustrated at my loss of stamina, strength, and flexibility, I would just remember that my body is still using energy to heal. My body was working twice as hard, even when I felt so out of shape, and I wanted to respect that. That being said…

My mortal body is STILL a goddess body

I JUST GOT A SMALL MASS REMOVED FROM MY BODY LESS THAN A MONTH AGO AND IM BACK IN TIER SIX POLE CLASSES! MY BODY IS A BEAST! I’m always so impressed and inspired by my fellow goddesses who take weeks, months, even YEARS from aerial classes for whatever reason, and have the strength, courage, and confidence to come back to the studio. Readers and fellow goddesses, YOU. ARE. INCREDIBLE. YOUR BODY. IS. INCREDIBLE. It’s easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to your classmates and fellow goddesses when you first get back from a break. I know I felt intimidated and not able to keep up physically.

Two things:

1. How many people outside the studio do you know who can CLIMB A LITERAL VERTICAL POLE?!?! YOUR BODY’S AMAZING!

2. Everyone grows and heals at their own pace, and that’s ok. I’m so proud of my body for taking so many hits, recovering, and then being able to flip around on a pole, or swing around on a lyra. That’s amazing, and that’s what I like to focus on.

And most importantly:

Your aerial family will always be there to welcome you home

I’m not going to lie, I felt awkward walking back into the doors of the studio after my post-surgery hiatus. It felt like I had been sitting so still during my recovery while the world kept moving forward without me. I felt lost…. For the first five seconds. Then I ran into my first fellow goddess. I’m sorry to say I can’t remember who exactly it was, but that’s just because EVERY goddess who saw me greeted me, welcomed me back with a big smile, and/or asked me how I was feeling. And in that moment, it felt like I had never left. My fellow goddesses, whether they know it or not, have been my cheerleaders and support through all the frustrations my body has thrown at me the last year. I couldn’t be more thankful for that.