Rim of the World

SR 18 is a two lane road that winds its way around the mountain top...its other name is Rim of the World Highway. And at 6,000+ feet above sea level, it certainly felt like we were living at the top of the world. We drove the same two mile jog of road for 11 long weeks and the view from the van window never grew old. Some days we could see straight down to Redlands and San Bernardino through the hazy sky...

And some days the cities below were completely concealed by the clouds and it felt like we were living at the top of Olympus, hidden away from the rest of the world below.

With views like these, how could one ever grow tired of them? Cell service always cut out on the same stretch of road during the drive between camp and the house. It was as if the mountain was reminding us to look up from our phones, look around us and take it all in while we still had the chance. 

I miss the mountain and feel forever changed after having lived there for these three short months. These photos don't do her any justice. I'm very thankful to have the memories of her beauty and to have been able to share it with so many friends.

NOTE: all of the photos above are unfiltered/unedited for color

Goodbye California, Hello Florida

This summer turned out to be pretty hectic, leaving me without much time or energy to write. Sorry for the noticeable absence from the blog. I can't believe 11 weeks in the California mountains already came and went! It's true what they say about time and having fun. I returned back to the the 'ol sunshine state this past Monday. And truth be told, I'm having a bit of trouble getting acclimated to Eastern Standard Time. I find myself only sleeping a few hours a night, only to nap periodically throughout the day. My goal is to get back on track tomorrow, which means NO NAPPING. (We'll see how it goes haha).

Over the next few weeks I will attempt to recap my summer in trapezeland. Once again, we'll see how it goes. ;)

Until then, I leave you with this sneak peek into circus camp:

Follow the White Rabbit

I took this photo exactly one year ago today.

I was sitting on the beach with my trapeze partner in crime and best friend, Alex, watching the moon set as the sun rose. It was beautiful and oddly poetic, a symbol of all the changes that were on the horizon. We camped at the beach the night before to celebrate our final days together before he and a group of friends ventured off to California. My trapeze home had closed up to relocate for the summer and with it was going the people I had come to consider my close friends and my family. It was a sad time for me and I struggled for months, coping with the loss of the place that brought me so much joy. Thirty feet up in the air was my therapy and sharing our joint successes (and set backs) as a group gave me such a sense of comraderie and kinship, it was pretty tough losing it all at the same time.

So as we quietly watched the night transition to the day (and snacked on white fudge Flipz) my thoughts wandered around my life and career, feeling like I was trapped as an observer, unable to control where they were going. I had no idea how I was going to break free and make the changes I needed in order to be happy. I watched so many of my friends chase their dreams and crush their goals. And while it was so inspiring, it was also incredibly difficult not to compare my life to everyone else's. I decided at that point that I needed to stop being paralyzed by the comparison game and start acting on creating the life I wanted for myself.

I was halfway done with my yoga teacher training and I knew that I wanted to teach yoga to some capacity in the future. I was already teaching flying trapeze and needed it in my life even though my rig was closed. Yoga and trapeze changed me in the best way possible and it was time that I figured out how to continue sharing my passions with others. It was a scary thought, it can be notoriously difficult to make either a lucrative career and both come with the possibility of burn out and exhaustion, but if I never tried, I'd always wonder what if. 

So it's now one year later since that night on the beach and my life has significantly changed. Since then, I graduated teacher training and I've been leading a group of friends through their yoga practice every other Sunday. It turns out that teaching yoga energizes and inspires me in a way that I never even knew was possible. Also, since last summer, I've managed to continue flying and teaching trapeze as well. 

And now as the moon sets and the sun rises once again, I am in a much different place than I was that night on the beach. 

This time as the trapeze rig makes its way back out west, with it not only goes my trapeze family, but also myself.

I'm following the white rabbit straight to California, where I will spend a summer teaching flying trapeze. Leaving my full time job is a risky (and terrifying) move, but I have an amazingly supportive husband and together we'll make it work. It feels incredible to be going after my dreams and I'm very lucky to have Alex supporting me 100%. It's uncertain what will happen beyond the summer, but we're embracing it with open arms and an open heart. 

The moon is setting on my old life and the sun is rising on the new...I'm nervous, I'm excited and above all, I'm ready.

How Are Your Hands? Part 2

"When you give a message, it is also a back scratch." (Kyla's 10 Ways to Spot a Female Flying Trapeze Addict). That is an extremely accurate assessment of a trapeze flyer's hands. Any mate of a bar-based apparatus student/teacher/performer can vouch for the legitimacy of this statement.

In my previous post about trapeze hands, How Are Your Hands? Part 1, I mentioned how we proudly wear our craft on the surface of our palms. In this installment, Trapeze Hands, Numero Dos, let's talk about hand care.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, so keep in mind I am just sharing what works for me. Please see your doctor if you have any questions about treatment and before caring for any open wounds.

Overgripping. Hot, humidity. Flying until my hands are screaming. I've ripped more times than I care to remember.

I am trying to be more conscious about my saving my hands, so I'm making hand care and hand mindfulness a priority going forward.

That being said, I've gotten my post-flying hand care routine down. I keep a pair of nail clippers in my grip bag. In the event that I rip, I try to trim off the excess skin as soon as possible. If I blister, I try to leave it alone and let it heal itself under its natural, protective layer. Which for me is a huge exercise in self control, because my instinct is to fidget with it until I can no longer take it and then clip it off.

Other supplies I also keep in my bag (pictured below) include unscented baby wipes and Joshua Tree Climbing Salve.

Baby wipes are awesome to remove the chalk from my hands, wrists (elbow, face...how the heck did I get chalk in the middle of my back?...) I prefer the unscented kind because they are more gentle on the skin.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I will fly until my hands are burning hot and yelling at me to stop. Regardless of whether I rip or not, I always try to soothe my hands after a good fly session. I had some cuticle cream lying around and decided to try it on my hands after flying one day. I noticed it helped calm my hands and moisturize my sensitive, roughed up skin post-fly. It was particularly useful when I would crack, softening up the skin and taking away the stinging pain.

A few months ago, Jen, my fellow lady flyer from across the pond, recommended Joshua Tree Gymnasts Salve. She said it saved her hands during a week-long trapeze vacation to the Dominican Republic. By the way, pop on over to her blog and read about her trip and her experience at Kaiceitos Circus, it sounds like a trapeze dream come true.

When she mentioned it, I remembered seeing some sort of Joshua Tree hand cream at the climbing store the week or two prior. I went there to check out the carabiners and ended up sampling the JT climbing salve labeled "try me." Coincidence? After checking out the JT website, I noticed that the ingredients in both the gymnastics and climbing salves appeared to be the same. So I decided I'd pick up some of their climbing balm next time I was out that way. (And by next time I was out that way, I mean, the next day I made a trip out to Travel Country specifically to grab some haha!)

Joshua Tree boasts that its organic, unscented products moisturize and promote healing of skin without softening the calluses. The balm does have a distinct scent to it, probably a result of all the natural herbs and essential oils. To me, it smells like tea tree, which is one of ingredients. I used the product after I ripped BAD and I noticed that it appeared to heal my hands faster than any of the other moisturizing treatments I've used.

Recently I have been practicing lyra quite a bit. This gorgeous gal was gifted to me by a good friend...she's 7/8" hollow steel tube...sighhhh...so dreamy...

As a result, my calluses have built back up nice and solid, but my roughed up hands wind up feeling pretty dry. I notice a huge different in how my hands feel after I apply a light layer of JT across my calluses. It is a bit oily at first, but then it soaks into the skin, leaving the hands soft to the touch. I wish I could place my palm on the computer screen for you to touch and feel how supple, yet strong my calluses feel haha. I have been applying JT after I fly as well and IT IS AWESOME. It's definitely worth checking out if you are looking for something designed for people who use their hands like we do. While I'm sure my husband loves the back-massage-slash-back-scratch combo, it's nice to be able to tone down the intensity of my "construction worker" hands (as they've often been referred to). I try to apply one coat in the morning and reapply as needed throughout the day. The full usage instructions are available on the JT website. I saw Joshua Tree products in climbing stores in Salt Lake City as well, so it appears to be widely available.

I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but I assure you, I have not been paid for this review, I just cannot say enough great things about this product. Thank you again, Jen, for the recommendation!!! Unwilling to commit to a product I was unsure about, I just grabbed a sample size. I will definitely pick up the large tub next time!

Side note, if you're looking to buy any steel props/apparatuses, I know a guy and would be happy to put you in touch with him...and yes, this one is a sales pitch. ;)

Leave me a comment and tell me about your post-flying hand care ritual. Happy Flying!

How Are Your Hands? Part 1

"How are your hands?"

I can't even count on both hands how many times I've heard that phrase around the rig. Also common is hearing the follow up phrase, "Let me see." (translation: how much more flying can you do before we have to call it quits for the day?)

The trapeze flyer's hands tell a story. Take one look at a trapezist's hands and you'll see their journey marked across the palm in a bumpy and crooked path, dotted with extreme highs and lows. Their hands are a visual representation of all the hard work and literal blood and sweat that was shed along the way. They are a symbol of pride and every callus and blister is worn as a badge of honor.

While roughed up, callused hands are much desired, they do take some time and consistent flying to build up. And at some point every flyer will experience the dreaded rip. And flyer be warned, washing your brand new oozing tear will be painful enough to make you want to cry and never wash your hands again...just kidding. But they will be uncomfortable and possibly cause some unwanted down time. Flyers work their hands pretty hard on the trapeze (and on other bar-based apparatuses).

We rely on our hands, yet we sometimes don't treat them so well.

As flyers we should probably strive to avoid rips altogether, yet sometimes we just push ourselves beyond what our hands can handle and the result is less than ideal. My hands usually warn me when to start easing off during practice and I know well enough to listen to them, but being so eager to fly, half the time I end up throwing caution to the wind, pushing my hands well past their limits. And in true-to-me form, I don't stop flying until my hands literally cannot take it anymore.

Don't be like me, listen to your body.

Grips are great ways to prevent rips. There are a variety of leather grips that are commonly used. Until recently, I was flying on palm guards-style grips that I picked up at Trapeze Texas (formally Trapeze Austin). However, earlier this year I ditched the grips in favor of flying bare-handed because I was flying primarily on gauze-taped bars and I loved how it felt in my hands. After some time off from flying, the calluses I had built up softened and peeled off, which made flying difficult for me. My hands were getting red hot so fast! I wanted to swing and swing and swing, but my hands were screaming NO and NO and HELL NO. So I found myself fastening some tape grips on the fly (hehe trapeze pun) to help prevent (prolong) blistering and ripping. These are the types of grip I typically make:

Recently, I made the transition into wearing dowel gymnastics grips. Prior to purchasing my grips, I spent some time researching and discussing the different styles of dowels before selecting a pair that would meet my needs. I've heard many mixed feelings about the usage of dowels and the proper type necessary for flying trapeze. I've heeded the warnings about the dangers and listened to the suggested benefits of using them. Ultimately, I went with a pair that felt right for me and so far I'm pretty happy with them. I've only used them during one training session, but they did save my hands and I was able to fly for about four hours with only minimal discomfort. I did end up ripping on my very last swing though. I'm looking forward to continuing the dowel grip flying experiment.

Hopefully, the next time someone asks me, "how are your hands," I won't reply, "they hurt, I only have a one or two more swings in me" or even worse, "they ripped."

Update on 2015 Flying Trapeze Goals

My 2015 trapeze season came to an abrupt halt a few months ago just as I was starting to gain some momentum with my flying. I made some major strides with my swing, dialing in the transition from sweep to seven, which really enabled me to effortlessly float up into position on my backend tricks. I regret not having taken any videos during that time because my current lack of flying as left me in a bit of a regression. I really wish I could check out the videos and see if I looked as good as the tricks felt. At the time I always figured I'd get some video "next time". On the few occasions I've flown since then, the tricks just haven't felt the same. While my coaches remind me that all rigs are different, it's difficult not to be hard on myself for losing my timing and struggling my way through tricks that were once second nature. 

Twice recently I fell out of a straddle whip...A STRADDLE WHIP. (For my non-flying friends, this is one of the first tricks a student learns, albeit my version is on the backend of the swing, which is a bit more advanced.) Most recently I fell out of the straddle while my catcher was hanging for my trick as we were both approaching the peak for the catch. It looked like this, but was on the front end of the swing so we were both approaching each other (going into position on this end of the swing in the photo is called the back end).

So, I was falling out of my straddle at the front right by my catcher and at the time, I contemplated just chucking myself at him like a shooting star but then wisely decided against it...that one had "here kitty kitty" written all over it. "Here kitty kitty" is a shooting star that goes long (aka lands further forward than it should...usually on the catcher...in this position...you get the point). JUST KIDDING I would have never made such a reckless decision (nor would laws of physics work in such a way because I was falling down, not launching up like in a shooting star) but it was funny to think about.

So yeah, my flying goals...let's see if I'm any closer to that layout full and returning like a damn rockstar...

GOAL #1 - Swinging and Returning

To recap the return, my focus is on: the timing in-hands, staying tight at the turn without twisting at the waist and remounting the board gracefully. -- Welp...this is definitely still a work in-progress. I spent the past weekend training in Salt Lake City, where my bff has set up camp for the next month at Utah Flying Trapeze. UFT just opened up their new indoor rig inside of the Olympic Oval, a swanky Olympic training center. This panoramic shot doesn't do it justice, this place is HUGE and NICE.

I threw splits across during staff fly and scored bragging rights of first round trip on the new rig. Even though I was nervous flying on an unfamiliar rig, I tried to remain calm and just allow my body to do what it's done many times before. I reminded myself to stay tight in my seven and not run away from my catcher too early. I could hear my fly girl CC reminding me to allow my catcher to launch me up sky-high before turning. That first catch and return felt INCREDIBLE and Rob and I agreed that trip across and back was our cleanest one to-date. It was unfortunate we did not get it on video. Here is our final catch of the weekend instead:

My swing has regressed a bit...hello dropped toes, late hollow and piked seven...so we spent a good portion of the weekend drilling my swing over...and over...and over...and over... The result was a pretty decent, powerful (for me) swing. I also used this opportunity to break-in my new dowel grips. I was reluctant at first, but I think I'll really like them once I get 100% comfortable wearing them. Here's my best swing of the weekend:

This video brings me to...

Goal #2 - Layout Done and Done

I really struggled with the layout in the past. It wasn't until I improved the technique on my swing that I really could get my head around the mechanics of the layout. I still have a long way to go, but on 4.11.15, I took this trick out of safety lines for the first time. It was scary and far from catchable, but it was a huge step in the right direction. This past weekend, I put back on the lines to work on my break and drive without the added pressure of flying OOL. Then I took the trick back out of safety lines again feeling more comfortable and confident. My goal for the year is to have this trick out of lines and on my own timing by the end of spring. I may miss this deadline, however, no doubt it will be achieved here this year. I will continue working on my set position, breaking deeeeeep and looooooong, driving with my hips forward into a nice handstand position with open shoulders sending myself hiiiigghhhh above the bar.

Here's my layout catch attempt...(read: FAIL). 

I got a nice kiss from the bar on the knees there and left SLC with a parting gift in the form of a giant purple bruise...but check out those catch hands though. ;)

No news to report on GOALS #3 (Cutaway Half) & #4 (Layout Full) at this time. With over eight months left of the year, I am remaining hopeful they are still within reach...so, with that, the journey continues...

Read Run Write with Kahrenheit 4.01

My dear sister featured me on her blog today. If you'd like to read more about yoga, flying trapeze and my vegetarian diet, please hop on over to Read Run Write with Kahrenheit. Once you're there, stick around and read her musings on food, travel, running and life. She's lived a fascinating existence so far, having spent 5 years in Japan and most recently traveling the world as a flight attendant. Follow her as she explores Orlando's food culture and hits the bricks along the way, running shoes strapped tightly to her feet, of course! Also, be sure to check out her flying trapeze adventures! Come Fly with Me and First Flight of 2014.