BIG AERIAL GOALS TAKE MORE THAN PRAYERS

The Conclave includes:

• a short, medium, and longterm goal and values assessment (via email)
• a custom mobility, strength, and technical evaluation (via video)
• a fully custom 13-week progressive, periodized training program split into two 6-week training cycles (with a recovery week in between) delivered via the TrueCoach app
• regular form checks, feedback, and messaging with your coach within the TrueCoach app
• weekly check ins to report how the program is going and adapt your program for the week ahead
• one 30-minute 1-on-1 session (via Zoom) to discuss your evaluation results and programming specifics (a $250 value)
• a 2-hour call on aerial mindset with behavior analyst & life coach Kaitlin Wilder
• 24/7 ability to submit questions with thorough video responses
• an easily searchable database of questions asked & answered during prior Conclave cycles
• an online group full of alums to provide community and support

You will have access to the program on TrueCoach through the last day of the month when your cycle ends (unless you place a deposit for the next cycle). You can also receive a text-only export of your program via email at the end of the program.

Each drill in your program comes with a video where I or another coach demonstrate the exercise with a text explanation of the movement. If you have any questions about any exercises during the program, you can use the TrueCoach app to ask questions or get a form check. You can also submit questions through the Q&A submission form to get a thorough video response.

Although this is a fully customized program that meets you where YOU are, the program requires at least a 4 hour per week time commitment to your training AND room in your schedule for at least 2 hours per week dedicated to Conclave programming.

I want you to see results, and if your schedule is non-negotiably full of classes, so I have no input into your training, I will not be able to help you to meet your goals.

I will also be here to tell you if I see that you are OVERTRAINING. Recovery is where the gains are made.

This program is 3 months long and designed to get you maximum results within that timeframe. I decided to retire my 7-week custom programs, because it felt too damn short for the gains I was looking for in my clients.

It's up to you to put in effort, but I'll be here cheering you on. Remember that sometimes results are visible and other times they are a feeling of comfort or lack of pain or restriction. I am stoked for you (and your circus shoulders) to feel amazing at the end of this program.

If you have been cleared by a physio to return to your activity, you may begin this program. If you have any limitations or rehab protocols due to prior injury, please let me know in your intake questionnaire and I am happy to work them into your programming. Comprehensive means comprehensive.

If you regularly upload videos for feedback into TrueCoach, you will receive regular form checks, which is necessary to help me progress your exercises. The more you engage with the app, the more feedback you will receive. According to past Conclavers, the consistent feedback is the highlight of this program.

Yes. Circus Mobility coaches clients from all over the world. Previous Conclave cycles have included folks from all over the US, Canada, Australia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Europe.

The group meetings will be scheduled to best make the time zones represented in your cycle. Recordings will be made available. I'll also take questions via email before the sessions to ensure that your questions are answered even if you cannot attend.

You will be responsible for scheduling your own 1-on-1 through Acuity. I will make slots available to accommodate all time zones represented in the cycle.

The Conclave is a group of intermediate through advanced hobbyist and professional aerialists and pole artists. It's not about the tricks that you can do in The Conclave. It's about your investment in and your goals for your practice.

I want to work with folks who are motivated beyond it being a mere phase, have clear technical goals, and are used to training hard to achieve them. Not sure if that's you? Just ask!

All of the programming is based on what you have access to during this 3-month cycle. That being said, I might ask you to purchase some inexpensive supplies (mini-bands, peanut, etc) that can readily be procured on the interwebs, if you do not already have them. They're worth it.

Once you're accepted into The Conclave and make your first payment, you'll receive your membership forms, which will be be due 3 days after receipt. Programs will be delivered on the week of February 13th. The program officially begins on February 28th and ends on May 29th.

That's me.

I'm Jessica John (she/her).

I'm a coach and mentor to performance artists across the globe. With over 30 years of high-level sport experience, I'm a premier skill acquisition specialist for circus artists and pole dancers, from Cirque du Soleil professionals trying to stay healthy on tour to committed enthusiasts trying to fit in training between careers and kids. I draw from my own rich movement background as a circus artist, dancer, and competitive athlete, as well as a former career as an intelligence officer and lawyer, to offer a unique opportunity to learn what it takes to reach high performance goals.

My human-centered coaching philosophy is evidence-based and multidisciplinary, addressing technical, strength, mobility, nutrition, psychological, and creative challenges. I use sport and exercise psychology theoretical frameworks to design performance programs that help my clients achieve their goals through habit-based behavior change interventions. What that looks like in practice is a relational approach to high performance coaching, aimed at helping driven aerialists reach their highest potential while still retaining their autonomy and creative voice.

In a past life, I worked as a leadership analyst with the CIA for more than a decade, where in addition to living in Africa and the Balkans, I developed training programs in applied political psychology. My background in assessing world leaders from a distance has inspired my innovation in working with and addressing mindset challenges in circus artists from afar. In additional to a bachelor’s degree from University of Colorado at Boulder—where I graduated with a degree in political science while immersing myself in physical and cultural anthropology—I also hold a law degree from Boston University and a master’s degree from George Washington University where I concentrated in political psychology.

I am a lifelong learner and my education did not stop at university. My movement education began as a GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Trainer, and I continue to take specialized courses, such as Therapeutic Applications for the Shoulder Girdle, the Pelvic Girdle, and Scoliosis, that inform my coaching and practice. I am a Girls Gone Strong Women’s Coaching Specialist and a NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist, and am certified in the Functional Movement Screen Level 1, Progressing Ballet Technique Levels 1 & 2, Integrated Kinetic Neurology Level 1, and Precision Nutrition Level 1. I have participated in a Dance Movement Analysis course and Katie St. Clair’s Empowered Performance program to up-level my assessment and programming abilities. I am currently in the middle of Clinical Somatics Education Level 1 certification.

I view coaching as a relational practice and an opportunity to shape circus and pole culture. I am a trauma-informed space holder and a graduate of Katie Kurtz’s program Cultivate. I have participated in James-Olivia Chu Hillman’s 6-month Disobedience School and Fleur Lawson’s Power With Not Power Over: Accountability in Action for White Women. I am currently participating in an 11-month feminist power-building and culture-building program We Are The Culture Makers by Kelly Diels.

I founded and direct Alter Circus, a contemporary circus, dance, and performance company. I am a Galen Hooks Method and Jacob Jonas the Company Digital Intensive alum.

I am not afraid to ask if I don't know the answer, and I use a range of outside advisers and referrals to help clients meet their goals.

I hold a systemic analysis and my feminism is inclusive and about justice. I believe that empowerment is a collective practice and a collective outcome. I believe in using my positional power as a coach to shape circus culture to cherish all bodies. I know that gender is a social construct, and I am in solidarity with my trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming siblings. I enthusiastically support Black Lives Matter and the movement to dismantle white supremacy. I believe that Fatphobia and Diet Culture are social justice issues. (H/T Kelly Diels)

YES! The Concave is expected to run 2 or 3 times in 2023.

This program requires a significant time investment up front for custom programming as well as daily feedback. As such, I cannot offer scholarships or financial aid for this program. I do, however, offer a significant number of other free resources to the community that I encourage you to check out.

Getting your first straight-arm inversion. Reaching touchdown in your middle split. Eliminating shoulder discomfort in back flags.

The types of results you can expect from The Conclave are dependent on your own goals. What is achieving your goals worth to you? 🤷🏼‍♀️

If something difficult is happening in your life, and you're struggling to keep up with the program, I will work with you privately and give you extra support to help you feel successful, which at my discretion might include moving you to a subsequent cycle. However, I do not offer refunds. My commitment to you and prep work begins on the day you enroll. Please check in with your gut, your schedule, and your bank account to be sure you're a "hell yes" before applying.

If you are not sure that the program is right for you, you can email me at [email protected] to discuss your situation and ask questions.

If you have not worked with me previously, I highly suggest taking a few mobility classes, either live or through recordings in The Parish, before the program begins. This will give you a sense of my style of programming and the tools that I frequently use. I also suggest that you spend some time thinking through what you would like to focus on in our time together.

After enrolling in the program, you will receive information about goal refinement, an intake questionnaire, and a list of photos/videos for your intake assessments.

Yes!

• Take full advantage of the feedback within TrueCoach. Upload videos for feedback and ask questions if you are unsure if you are doing something right.
• Ask! If you need to cut a training session from 2 to 1 hours, if you need a substitute exercise, if you need a progression, if you need a pep talk, if you need to understand WHY you're doing something. Ask.
• Carve out time for your training sessions and make that time nonnegotiable.
• Use the alums! They've been there, gone through what you're going though, and love to help.
• Show up and contribute in the Telegram group chat. Get to know the group. There are not many people in the world who would make this type of investment in their circus training. These are your people.

Yes. But truth? There will be some growing pains.

The primary delivery mechanism for this program is the TrueCoach app, and it is not without annoyances and glitches. I will do my best to overcome them, but I cannot control the app or platform.

Although you might choose to record each exercise in your session, uploading each to the app is time consuming. You will have to find a system that works for you. Use the alums to get ideas for streamlining your process.