EXPANSE
A Breathing Master Class
for Aerialists & Pole Dancers
Use BREATH to get your dream skills (yes, really 🤯)
HAVE YOU WONDERED...
WHY YOU ARE STILL STRUGGLING WITH THE SAME FOUNDATIONAL MOVES?
- Fail to lift your legs past 90 degrees no matter how hard you try?
- Don’t know how to stop holding your breath in the air?
- Bottom out in anything using momentum?
- Making zero flexibility progress despite putting in so much time?
- Feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of different drills you need in your warmup?
INTRODUCING
EXPANSE
This two-hour master class will show you step-by-step how to use breath to increase your access to power and build endurance in the air.
WHY YOU NEED THIS CLASS NOW.
- Low Cost, High Reward – For the cost of just one aerial class, you will walk away with strategies that will help you get more out of every training session going forward.
- No Equipment Required – You can improve your aerial practice without even touching an apparatus.
- It’s Simple – Once you understand my framework, you’ll be able to implement it in the air and into high-level skills.
- It’s Actionable – You will actually experience my methods in the class and immediately feel the difference in your own body.
- It’s Evidence-Based – You don’t have to just take my word for it. Although I have developed my own methodology, it is grounded in the latest breath, nervous system, fascia, and biomechanics research.
After just 2.5 hours, you’ll have everything you need to start to transform your aerial practice.
In Expanse, I break the master class into 4 learning phases:
PHASE 1: CALM
REGULATE YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM
Learn how to regulate your nervous system with a breathing toolkit and checklist that you can use before, during, and after your training sessions.
This module includes:
- A 30-minute crash course on how breath impacts your nervous system and how you can use breathwork to self-regulate and improve the quality of your aerial practice.
- A breathwork experience with before and after muscle testing.
- A self-assessment checklist and breathing toolkit that you can use before, during, and after your training sessions so that you are working together with and not fighting against your nervous system.
After this section, you'll know how to calm your mind and body for training.
PHASE 2: POWER
PRIME THE PUMP
Next, I’ll explain how breath influences the psoas, helping you to find the muscle and feel how breath influences it.
This module includes:
- A 30-minute primer on core function and exploration of the psoas muscle and its connection to the diaphragm.
- A series of somatic exercises that will help you find the psoas and then use it in standing drills.
After this section, you’ll be able to lift the leg higher and quit “gripping" with the quads.
PHASE 3: ENDURANCE
HANG IN THERE
It’s not enough to know how to lift the legs; you have to be able to hang from your arms too! So I’ll go through how breath can help you move the upper back, stack the spine, and stabilize the shoulder blades.
This module includes:
- A 30-minute exploration of the thoracic spine, rib cage, and scapula, and how they are made to move with breath.
- A series of Gyrotonic movement-based drills that will help you set your scapula on your ribcage so that your shoulders feel responsive and connected to your spine in the air.
After this module, you’ll be able to increase your airtime.
PHASE 4: INTEGRATION
BUILDING A BOMB WARMUP
Now that you’ve got all of the pieces, let’s make a puzzle. I’ll help you put together a breath-based warm up so that you are priming the body for aerial movement, programming new efficiencies, and building your capacity, power, and endurance.
This section includes:
- A 30-minute discussion of how to integrate this work into your movement preparations.
By the end of this piece, you'll have maximized the little time you have for your warmup and understand how this work applies to conditioning and skill acquisition.
HI, I'M JESSICA!
I stumbled upon aerial as an adult, and I was hooked from my first silks class. But a series of injuries early in my journey led me to investigate a better way of both preparing the body for circus work.
I began to understand the power of breath through a deepening of my Gyrotonic movement practice. I eventually became a Gyrotonic and a Gyrokinesis trainer, spending thousands of hours studying with master trainers and working with clients in a rehabilitative setting. I saw how breath could move people out of pain and into more easeful movement and was eager to apply those principles to aerial.
I now work with circus artists across the globe to level up their skills and increase their longevity. My signature methodology uses focused breath as a component of each training session. I believe breath is at the foundation of sound technique and unbounded artistry.
Whether you’re new to aerial or you are just looking to learn a new technique, I look forward to taking this journey together.
As an aerial coach with a background in dance and somatic practice, I naively thought I had a good understanding of breath. But what I learned from Jessica has revolutionized how I think about breath in relation to the demands aerial places on each individual’s unique body.”
____ Jess Allen, Coach & Rope/Sling Artist
"When I worked with Jessica to get my straight-arm inversions, I learned new ways to practice the timing of my breath in connection with the movement of my inversion. Her knowledge of breathing assessment and exercises helped me achieve my goal and get me interested in learning all I can about breathwork."
____ Frieda Austin, Coach & Fabric Artist
Finally comprehending the relevance of breath in every aspect of my work has literally changed my life. Specific applications of breath have unlocked skills for me that I had been chasing for 10+ years. . . . straight arm inverts, breathing comfortably in a back flag, deadlift to meathook, and deeper back bends. Jessica taught me how to make every breath a priority in my training."
____ Brit Crumpton, Coach & Aerial Hoop Artist
Join me for
EXPANSE
This 2.5-hour recorded master class will help you increase your power and endurance in the air.
