Featuring Lindsay Culbert-Olds and Kia-Melinda Eastman (www.KLTrapeze.com), photo byYolanta Birkhāne “ARMS UP! NOW, DRAW YOUR SHOULDER BLADES DOWN AND BACK! ENGAGE YOUR SHOULDER MUSCLES!” How many times have you heard this verbal cue in the context of circus arts, yoga, pilates, or dance? I
I just spent the greater part of last weekend in cars and airplanes, and my body absolutely hates me. My neck hurts, I have a headache, and my hip flexors are so wound up I can hardly stand up straight.
Artists: Kia-Melinda Eastman and Lindsay Culbert-Olds, www.KLTrapeze.com Photographer: Yolanta Birkhane When I say "rotator cuff strengthening," what's the first exercise you think of? Those horrendously boring theraband exercises, right? Yes. Those. Boring band exercises are a great place to start with strengthening
Handbalancer: Zoe Jones, @handstandswithzoe Thoracic mobility to physiotherapists is kind of like coconut oil to hippies…it fixes EVERYTHING. Low back pain? Shoulder pain? Bet your thoracic spine is stiff. Neck problems? Hands ripping? Fear of heights? Time to work on t-spine
Your pectoralis minor might just be the evil villain to your circus fairytale
Photo by Amourpropre Photography; Featuring Mark Keahi and Jen Crane My last post discussed the basics of latissimus dorsi anatomy, mechanics, and how you know if your lats are an issue in your circus training. I also shared my favorite test to
Every aerialist I know has a love-hate relationship with their lats. We love how they help us scale a 10-meter silk, we hate how they make clothes shopping SO difficult. An aerialist (who shall remain nameless) once told me "Its
Not surprisingly, the most commonly injured joint among circus artists is the shoulder. A study done on performers in Cirque du Soleil found that this was the case among acrobats, aerialists, and hand balancers; across genders and ages (see details here). Whether