You Know You're Hooked on Aerial Arts If…

Let's be clear here: aerial rigging is a highly technical skill that requires deep knowledge of structural engineering, rigging hardware, apparatus ratings, and safety protocols. The daydream is valid; the DIY attempt is not. Proper rigging involves understanding dynamic load forces, certified hardware, anchor points, and a whole lot of education that goes well beyond YouTube. So yes, dream big — but rig responsibly, with qualified professionals and proper equipment. The fantasy, though? Completely relatable. We've all mentally turned a Home Depot into a training facility at least once.

You Sign Up for the Next Class Before the Soreness Even Hits

You just finished a class. Your grip is jello. Your inner thighs have opinions. You walked to your car in what can only be described as a controlled shuffle. And yet — you are already on your phone booking next Tuesday's spot before you've even started the drive home.

This is not an accident. This is your body and brain doing what they do best after a truly exceptional workout experience. Aerial training is uniquely rewarding to the nervous system in ways that most conventional workouts simply aren't. It stimulates your proprioceptive system — your body's ability to sense where it is in space — in a way that challenges and sharpens your coordination at a deep level. Your vestibular system, responsible for balance and spatial orientation, gets a full workout every time you invert, spin, or hang. The physical sensation of fabric wrapping around your body provides rich sensory feedback that grounds you in the present moment and activates calming pressure receptors across large surface areas of the body.

And then there are the endorphins. Because aerial is both a strength training and a skill-mastery activity, the brain rewards you doubly — once for the physical exertion, and again for the cognitive win of figuring out a complex movement sequence. That combination is genuinely addictive in the best possible way. Your body remembers that feeling, even when the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) sets in the next morning, and it wants to go back. So you book the class. Possibly two.

You Conquered a New Move and the Whole Internet Is About to Know About It

You finally nailed that new challenging move. You've been working on it for three weeks. Your instructor spotted you, talked you through it fourteen times, and today — today — your body figured it out. And it felt like flying.

You cannot keep this to yourself. Not even for twenty minutes. Before you've fully landed, you're already thinking about what filter to use. The video goes up, the caption is enthusiastic and probably contains the phrase "you HAVE to try this," and you spend the next forty-eight hours personally recruiting everyone in your social media circle to come take an aerial class.

This is one of the things that makes aerial unlike almost any other fitness pursuit. You're not just completing a workout — you're solving a three-dimensional physical puzzle and then performing the solution in the air. There's an intellectual satisfaction layered on top of the physical accomplishment, and when the result looks as beautiful as it feels, the urge to share it is completely understandable. You're not showing off (okay, maybe a little). You're genuinely excited, and that excitement is contagious in the best way. This is how the aerial community grows — one enthusiastic Instagram reel at a time.

You Have a Performance Playlist, a Costume Wishlist, and Zero Upcoming Performance Dates (Yet)

Somewhere on your phone there is a playlist titled something like "Future Aerial Performance 🎶" and it has seventeen songs on it. You have not been asked to perform. There is no show on the calendar for you right now. That is irrelevant.

You also have aerial costumes saved in at least two online shops, and a mental list of moves you want to string together "when the time comes." The vision is fully formed. The choreography exists in your head. You just need the opportunity.

Here's the good news: the opportunity is closer than you think. At Eternal Aerial Arts, our next Student Showcase is scheduled for June 27th, and spots are already filling up. If the performer inside you has been waiting for a reason to take the leap, this is it. You can book a one-on-one consultation with one of our teachers now to begin mapping out your choreography and start building your routine. The playlist is already made. Let's build the perfect performance flow to go with it.

Your Trophies Are… Unique

For some aerialists, the trophy is literal — ribbons, medals, and competition placements that live on a shelf and remind you of what you've earned. For others, the trophies look a little different. A bruise in the exact shape of your hip bone from finally nailing a roll on the lyra. A silk burn on your arm from a particularlly difficult hold you've been building toward for weeks. A callus on your palm that wasn't there six months ago.

These are the marks of someone who is working. Really working. Each one represents a sequence that was hard, a skill that pushed you, a moment when your body said "no" and you said "not yet." If you are someone who is quietly proud of these earned badges — we see you, and we respect it deeply.

If you're the kind of aerialist who is ready to take that drive to the next level, we offer both quarterly and yearly competition team options at Eternal Aerial Arts. Right now, we are building our ensemble teams for Aerialympics Nationals in Kansas City, Missouri in early August 2026. Competition gives you structured goals, professional judging feedback, and the kind of growth that only comes from committing to a standard and being evaluated against it. If that stirs something in you, come talk to us.

You Have a Mental Wishlist of Moves You've Found Online

Your instructor knows you. You come in approximately once a month with a video saved on your phone — something you found on YouTube or Instagram — and you say some version of "Can we learn this?" This is not a problem. This is enthusiasm, and we love it.

We love that you are dreaming. We love that you are watching, researching, and building a vision for where you want to go. We do ask for one thing in return: trust the process. Every aspirational move you're eyeing has a list of prerequisite skills, strength benchmarks, and body awareness requirements underneath it. When we ask you to keep building a foundational skill before we move on or teach you a skill from your list, it's because that foundation is what keeps the exciting move safe, controlled, and actually beautiful when you get there. We're not gatekeeping — we're building you up so that when you get there, you own it completely.

One More Sign You're Truly Hooked

Research in the performing arts and physical education consistently points to something called flow state — that deeply absorbed, almost meditative mental state where you are completely present in what you're doing, time disappears, and performance feels effortless. Aerial is one of the most reliable pathways into flow that exists in movement-based activities. The combination of physical challenge, creative expression, spatial problem-solving, and sensory immersion creates the exact conditions for it. When people describe a great aerial class as feeling like "flying" or say they "forgot about everything else for an hour," they're describing flow. It's real, it's measurable, and it's one of the most compelling reasons that once people try aerial, they don't stop.

If you read this whole list and thought this is me — welcome home. You were made for this. Whether you've been flying for two weeks or two years, whether you're chasing your first showcase or your first competition medal, you belong in the air.

Come fly with us.

With love, faith, and excitement,

Peggy Ployhar Owner, Eternal Aerial Arts