Thursday, March 31, 2011

Spring is in the air... and so am I!





Let's not beat around the bush. 2010 sucked. I wasn't crazy about 2009, but I clearly didn't give it enough credit because it's successor brought everything but success for this DC Hawkeye. Health problems, financial problems, and working seven days a week was an unpleasant way to spend those 365 days. But I'm not here to complain about the past; I'm here to start 2011 off with a bang. There have been many wonderful changes in my life since December brought 2010 to a close and things are just now starting to settle down. Unfortunately, all the stress of the last year and the adjustment to starting a new job and changing my living situation has left me with a residual case of the blues. Drastic measures were needed. I didn't just need a little cheering up, I needed fun and excitement. I needed a reminder of how awesome life can be without even leaving the comfort of my own city. I needed to get active and rejuvenate my mind, my mood, my entire body. I needed trapeze.



Trapeze School New York (TSNY) has a permanent location in Washington, DC. Their flying trapeze classes are two of the most fun and exciting hours I have ever experienced. I took three classes back in 2009 (I told you 2010 sucked. It was a trapezeless year of my life, wasted.) I loved the trapeze from the first time I jumped off the platform and went soaring through the summer air. On March 17th of this year, I decided to climb out of my slump on St. Patrick's Day and up a 23-foot ladder to fly through the air once again.



I was nervous about getting back up there after so long, so I went through the entire ground school of instruction once again to get a refresher on all the safety guidelines. In 2009 I was on to learning my third trick, but I wasn't very confident after all of that time off so I decided to start with the first trick I ever learned (the knee hang) but by the end of class it had all come back to me and I was begging to try out my splits once again. The agreed and went over it with me once again. Eventually when I perfect the trick, I'll have someone on the next bar to catch me when I move from the split position. The video you see above is my first attempt at a split after my 18-month hiatus. It may not look like much on a tiny video file, but it felt fantastic!



I can't say that my case of the blues is completely cured, but it is definitely fading away. Flying on a trapeze is a great way to wake up your body and your mind. My body was awakened so much, it was practically screaming every time I moved a muscle the next two days. Ouch. I seriously need to start doing yoga this year.