WEBVTT
00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:10.000
Welcome to the Between the Lives Podcast.
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:25.199
I'm your host, Sarah Kaiser, and in this episode, I'm going to be sharing a pretty big update about my business and my work, and I am also inviting you into the conversation around what you are stepping into next.
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.000
What is around the corner for you?
00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:44.079
In order to tell you where I am now in my journey, we have to go back to 2018 when I first started teaching Ariel out of a yoga studio in a rural mountain town in California.
00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:47.679
This was not something that I had planned really in advance.
00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:50.320
It was very much emergent in my life.
00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:59.439
I moved to Bishop, California on New Year's Eve 2017, knowing that I wanted to embrace a completely different life.
00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:01.520
I had ended a relationship.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:09.200
I didn't know that.
00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:16.560
And I was sleeping in my car and living in this house full of climbers in Bishop.
00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:30.159
And there was something about this chapter of my life that was just magnetizing the right people, the right opportunities, the right support, all the open doors and all the yeses.
00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:35.439
So as I began to realize that Bishop had no aerial scene.
00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:37.120
Nobody was teaching classes.
00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:39.040
There was no history of classes.
00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:40.959
It was basically a blank slate.
00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:47.680
There were maybe a couple people here and there who had done a thing here and there, but nothing had ever taken root.
00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:52.159
This is when I created Wakeful Ascent Aerial Arts.
00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:57.760
And this started as a six-week course in that yoga studio.
00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:06.079
I put up physical flyers around town and maybe one flyer on Facebook, and the course quickly filled.
00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:16.879
This ended up being the beginning of a journey that was bigger than I could have possibly imagined, that was more deeply rewarding than I could have known.
00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:27.520
I found out how much I loved teaching Ariel, and I distinctly remember this moment a couple years in, this huge smile on my face.
00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:31.360
Like always, class always felt like that.
00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:37.599
And I was understanding that this was meant to be something more for me.
00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:42.560
My journey has not been smooth and it's not been linear.
00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:57.120
The pandemic came shortly after Wakeful Ascent was born, and after that, I had the experience of having to close my studio, which was incredibly heartbreaking, incredibly disorienting and destabilizing for me.
00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:02.319
And there was so much aftermath that was so painful that came with it.
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.960
I don't think I can do this anymore.
00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:25.120
It hurt that much.
00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:44.080
This has been really a big part of my psyche.
00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:51.840
And what actually came out of it was not ultimately defeat.
00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:56.800
I was a hair's width away from giving up.
00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:10.639
But I think I knew deep down inside that nothing is actually stronger than my love for the art form, even though I didn't want to look at my silks.
00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:12.159
I didn't want to think about it.
00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:14.319
My body physically hurt.
00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:19.439
I couldn't imagine feeling joyful in the air.
00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:27.920
The closure of my studio could have been an off-ramp from the aerial world.
00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:30.240
And I almost let it be that.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:46.399
And it might not be a nice bridge.
00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:01.199
But there is something on the other side, and you can sense that.
00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:14.000
This takes us back to the magical era of wakeful ascent, some of the most beautiful, inspired, connective, and synchronistic days of my life.
00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.439
I was not trying to make anything happen.
00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.160
I was seeing what was possible.
00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.160
And there was so much open-mindedness.
00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:27.839
There was so much openness within me, the people around me.
00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:32.160
It was a time of let's see what can happen.
00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:34.800
And this is important for all of us.
00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:43.199
To allow there to be this organic part of our becoming, of our emergence.
00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:46.399
Let the world do its part.
00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:51.120
Let the ideas come instead of trying to force them into place.
00:05:52.079 --> 00:06:02.160
Because there is this intelligence, there is this intuition that is accessible when we are open to what is right for us and what is in alignment.
00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:08.079
And I've also deeply experienced the other side of, let me make this happen, let me make this work.
00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:09.279
How do I configure this?
00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:10.720
What's the best way?
00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:16.000
And that energy, it just doesn't produce the same results.
00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:29.920
And so what I thought was an off-ramp, not only from the closure of my business, but then another off-ramp that I voluntarily took to stop working for somebody that I had been working for for several years.
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:41.519
Finally, I had the space, the blank canvas, the what's next, and the allowance for that idea to come.
00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:44.800
And that idea was Bloom.
00:06:45.040 --> 00:07:04.480
Building Bloom has changed and developed me so significantly that as I continued to grow and evolve myself as I created this program, I knew more and more that this is no longer Wakeful Ascent.
00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:09.759
And I started subtly not using the phrasing in different places.
00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:20.800
I changed my Instagram handle and I started just putting it kind of kind of more behind the curtain because I didn't know what was next, but I knew it wasn't that anymore.
00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:24.319
Wakeful Ascent was local.
00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:29.519
Wakeful Ascent was the magic of beginnings.
00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:33.600
Wakeful Ascent was being in CrossFit at 9 p.m.
00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:41.439
as the men doing their workouts ran toward us, carrying some kind of farm equipment-inspired thing behind them.
00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:47.680
Wakeful Ascent was Earth Day in the park doing our tricks for everybody to see.
00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:59.680
Wakeful Ascent was a tiny core group of people that kept showing up that gave me a reason to keep going.
00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:05.199
And honestly, no part of my journey has been easy.
00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:10.560
Every part has been beautiful and rewarding, but no part has been easy.
00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:46.960
And what always keeps me going, why it's worth it to me, why I don't just hop over to an industry that would be easier and more lucrative and all those things is not only my love for Ariel, which is, you know, that light that will never be snuffed out, but also all the people that I have already met, and all the people that I have not yet who I get to support and inspire in this journey.
00:08:47.200 --> 00:09:11.039
If you're listening to this podcast, you know how meaningful this journey can be, how life-changing, how it can change how you perceive yourself, how it can change what feels possible in your life, how it changes how you fundamentally feel, move within, and relate to your body.
00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:21.440
I know firsthand how transformational aerial arts is, and I've witnessed it over and over again in my students out there in the aerial community.
00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:25.360
This art form is really, really special.
00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:45.200
Anyway, this is a wandering, twisting pathway to come back around to how it has evolved and changed, and it has come out of the most beautiful roots of wakeful ascent, and now we are embodied Ariel.
00:09:45.679 --> 00:10:30.000
This new name takes us into the awareness of how deeply Ariel changes us from the inside out, how we are learning not just tricks but real movement intelligence, aerial intelligence, body awareness, and remembering that it is that deep, that we are not just showing skills, that we have the opportunity to support our students so much more deeply, how they inhabit and organize their bodies, how they relate to the apparatus, what it means for them, letting it mean something completely different for each person, letting the meanings change for ourselves.
00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:41.279
Being part of a community across history, across the world of people who delight in flipping our bodies around in the air.
00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:48.240
Now let's bring this back to you, the listener, the most important person in this room.
00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:53.840
The first thing that I want this episode to be for you is permission.
00:10:54.720 --> 00:11:02.799
Permission to embody your practice in the way that feels inspiring and good for you.
00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:10.159
I know that we live in this time of social media where seeing what everybody is doing.
00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:14.960
Maybe you're seeing people even in person, in class, doing things, thinking, should I be doing those things?
00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:16.399
Should I be performing like that?
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:17.600
Am I missing out?
00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:18.720
This or that.
00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:36.240
Bring it back to your light and the heart of your practice and give yourself permission to focus your energy, your time, and attention on what truly excites you in Ariel.
00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.080
Just sit with that for a moment.
00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:47.759
If there was nobody to show your videos to, nobody to perform for, what would your practice look like?
00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:51.519
And next, I want to invite you to imagine.
00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.960
What do you want for yourself in Ariel?
00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:00.320
It doesn't have to be big, but it's okay if it is.
00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.519
What does your next step look like?
00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:07.759
What does your next chapter look like, feel like?
00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:12.639
What stays the same and what gets left behind?
00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:18.480
And I don't even necessarily want you to answer these questions.
00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:28.000
Because if we hearken back to the wakeful ascent wisdom, it is to let there be a certain amount of allowing and receptivity.
00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:36.399
Let your intuition light up, let it guide you, be open to anything that might feel unexpected or impossible.
00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:41.200
And if you want to take this beyond Ariel, by all means, please do.
00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:52.480
You've probably, if you're a listener of this podcast, already gotten the sense that we are pushing the edges of this just being an apparatus or skill-focused kind of conversation space.
00:12:52.639 --> 00:13:06.000
We know, you know, we are we are going deeper and we are going broader than that because Ariel is something that we anchor into, but it touches many other parts of our lives.
00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:16.559
And if you've had an off-ramp recently, and I've talked to a lot of you who have, don't rush it.
00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:40.000
But if it feels right, let there be a possibility in your mind that what looks like and feels like an off-ramp may actually be a bridge to the next thing that you're going to build, to the next version of yourself that you're going to become.
00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:54.399
If my studio had never closed, I wouldn't have Bloom, I wouldn't have embodied Ariel, and I wouldn't have whatever unexpected surprises are around the corner.
00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.120
I hope you've enjoyed our conversation today.
00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:00.159
Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:10.000
Welcome to the Between the Lives Podcast.
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:25.199
I'm your host, Sarah Kaiser, and in this episode, I'm going to be sharing a pretty big update about my business and my work, and I am also inviting you into the conversation around what you are stepping into next.
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.000
What is around the corner for you?
00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:44.079
In order to tell you where I am now in my journey, we have to go back to 2018 when I first started teaching Ariel out of a yoga studio in a rural mountain town in California.
00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:47.679
This was not something that I had planned really in advance.
00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:50.320
It was very much emergent in my life.
00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:59.439
I moved to Bishop, California on New Year's Eve 2017, knowing that I wanted to embrace a completely different life.
00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:01.520
I had ended a relationship.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:09.200
I didn't know that.
00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:16.560
And I was sleeping in my car and living in this house full of climbers in Bishop.
00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:30.159
And there was something about this chapter of my life that was just magnetizing the right people, the right opportunities, the right support, all the open doors and all the yeses.
00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:35.439
So as I began to realize that Bishop had no aerial scene.
00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:37.120
Nobody was teaching classes.
00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:39.040
There was no history of classes.
00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:40.959
It was basically a blank slate.
00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:47.680
There were maybe a couple people here and there who had done a thing here and there, but nothing had ever taken root.
00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:52.159
This is when I created Wakeful Ascent Aerial Arts.
00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:57.760
And this started as a six-week course in that yoga studio.
00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:06.079
I put up physical flyers around town and maybe one flyer on Facebook, and the course quickly filled.
00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:16.879
This ended up being the beginning of a journey that was bigger than I could have possibly imagined, that was more deeply rewarding than I could have known.
00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:27.520
I found out how much I loved teaching Ariel, and I distinctly remember this moment a couple years in, this huge smile on my face.
00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:31.360
Like always, class always felt like that.
00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:37.599
And I was understanding that this was meant to be something more for me.
00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:42.560
My journey has not been smooth and it's not been linear.
00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:57.120
The pandemic came shortly after Wakeful Ascent was born, and after that, I had the experience of having to close my studio, which was incredibly heartbreaking, incredibly disorienting and destabilizing for me.
00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:02.319
And there was so much aftermath that was so painful that came with it.
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.960
I don't think I can do this anymore.
00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:25.120
It hurt that much.
00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:44.080
This has been really a big part of my psyche.
00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:51.840
And what actually came out of it was not ultimately defeat.
00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:56.800
I was a hair's width away from giving up.
00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:10.639
But I think I knew deep down inside that nothing is actually stronger than my love for the art form, even though I didn't want to look at my silks.
00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:12.159
I didn't want to think about it.
00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:14.319
My body physically hurt.
00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:19.439
I couldn't imagine feeling joyful in the air.
00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:27.920
The closure of my studio could have been an off-ramp from the aerial world.
00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:30.240
And I almost let it be that.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:46.399
And it might not be a nice bridge.
00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:01.199
But there is something on the other side, and you can sense that.
00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:14.000
This takes us back to the magical era of wakeful ascent, some of the most beautiful, inspired, connective, and synchronistic days of my life.
00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.439
I was not trying to make anything happen.
00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.160
I was seeing what was possible.
00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.160
And there was so much open-mindedness.
00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:27.839
There was so much openness within me, the people around me.
00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:32.160
It was a time of let's see what can happen.
00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:34.800
And this is important for all of us.
00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:43.199
To allow there to be this organic part of our becoming, of our emergence.
00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:46.399
Let the world do its part.
00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:51.120
Let the ideas come instead of trying to force them into place.
00:05:52.079 --> 00:06:02.160
Because there is this intelligence, there is this intuition that is accessible when we are open to what is right for us and what is in alignment.
00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:08.079
And I've also deeply experienced the other side of, let me make this happen, let me make this work.
00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:09.279
How do I configure this?
00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:10.720
What's the best way?
00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:16.000
And that energy, it just doesn't produce the same results.
00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:29.920
And so what I thought was an off-ramp, not only from the closure of my business, but then another off-ramp that I voluntarily took to stop working for somebody that I had been working for for several years.
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:41.519
Finally, I had the space, the blank canvas, the what's next, and the allowance for that idea to come.
00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:44.800
And that idea was Bloom.
00:06:45.040 --> 00:07:04.480
Building Bloom has changed and developed me so significantly that as I continued to grow and evolve myself as I created this program, I knew more and more that this is no longer Wakeful Ascent.
00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:09.759
And I started subtly not using the phrasing in different places.
00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:20.800
I changed my Instagram handle and I started just putting it kind of kind of more behind the curtain because I didn't know what was next, but I knew it wasn't that anymore.
00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:24.319
Wakeful Ascent was local.
00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:29.519
Wakeful Ascent was the magic of beginnings.
00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:33.600
Wakeful Ascent was being in CrossFit at 9 p.m.
00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:41.439
as the men doing their workouts ran toward us, carrying some kind of farm equipment-inspired thing behind them.
00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:47.680
Wakeful Ascent was Earth Day in the park doing our tricks for everybody to see.
00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:59.680
Wakeful Ascent was a tiny core group of people that kept showing up that gave me a reason to keep going.
00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:05.199
And honestly, no part of my journey has been easy.
00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:10.560
Every part has been beautiful and rewarding, but no part has been easy.
00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:46.960
And what always keeps me going, why it's worth it to me, why I don't just hop over to an industry that would be easier and more lucrative and all those things is not only my love for Ariel, which is, you know, that light that will never be snuffed out, but also all the people that I have already met, and all the people that I have not yet who I get to support and inspire in this journey.
00:08:47.200 --> 00:09:11.039
If you're listening to this podcast, you know how meaningful this journey can be, how life-changing, how it can change how you perceive yourself, how it can change what feels possible in your life, how it changes how you fundamentally feel, move within, and relate to your body.
00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:21.440
I know firsthand how transformational aerial arts is, and I've witnessed it over and over again in my students out there in the aerial community.
00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:25.360
This art form is really, really special.
00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:45.200
Anyway, this is a wandering, twisting pathway to come back around to how it has evolved and changed, and it has come out of the most beautiful roots of wakeful ascent, and now we are embodied Ariel.
00:09:45.679 --> 00:10:30.000
This new name takes us into the awareness of how deeply Ariel changes us from the inside out, how we are learning not just tricks but real movement intelligence, aerial intelligence, body awareness, and remembering that it is that deep, that we are not just showing skills, that we have the opportunity to support our students so much more deeply, how they inhabit and organize their bodies, how they relate to the apparatus, what it means for them, letting it mean something completely different for each person, letting the meanings change for ourselves.
00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:41.279
Being part of a community across history, across the world of people who delight in flipping our bodies around in the air.
00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:48.240
Now let's bring this back to you, the listener, the most important person in this room.
00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:53.840
The first thing that I want this episode to be for you is permission.
00:10:54.720 --> 00:11:02.799
Permission to embody your practice in the way that feels inspiring and good for you.
00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:10.159
I know that we live in this time of social media where seeing what everybody is doing.
00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:14.960
Maybe you're seeing people even in person, in class, doing things, thinking, should I be doing those things?
00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:16.399
Should I be performing like that?
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:17.600
Am I missing out?
00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:18.720
This or that.
00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:36.240
Bring it back to your light and the heart of your practice and give yourself permission to focus your energy, your time, and attention on what truly excites you in Ariel.
00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.080
Just sit with that for a moment.
00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:47.759
If there was nobody to show your videos to, nobody to perform for, what would your practice look like?
00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:51.519
And next, I want to invite you to imagine.
00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.960
What do you want for yourself in Ariel?
00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:00.320
It doesn't have to be big, but it's okay if it is.
00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.519
What does your next step look like?
00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:07.759
What does your next chapter look like, feel like?
00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:12.639
What stays the same and what gets left behind?
00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:18.480
And I don't even necessarily want you to answer these questions.
00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:28.000
Because if we hearken back to the wakeful ascent wisdom, it is to let there be a certain amount of allowing and receptivity.
00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:36.399
Let your intuition light up, let it guide you, be open to anything that might feel unexpected or impossible.
00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:41.200
And if you want to take this beyond Ariel, by all means, please do.
00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:52.480
You've probably, if you're a listener of this podcast, already gotten the sense that we are pushing the edges of this just being an apparatus or skill-focused kind of conversation space.
00:12:52.639 --> 00:13:06.000
We know, you know, we are we are going deeper and we are going broader than that because Ariel is something that we anchor into, but it touches many other parts of our lives.
00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:16.559
And if you've had an off-ramp recently, and I've talked to a lot of you who have, don't rush it.
00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:40.000
But if it feels right, let there be a possibility in your mind that what looks like and feels like an off-ramp may actually be a bridge to the next thing that you're going to build, to the next version of yourself that you're going to become.
00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:54.399
If my studio had never closed, I wouldn't have Bloom, I wouldn't have embodied Ariel, and I wouldn't have whatever unexpected surprises are around the corner.
00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.120
I hope you've enjoyed our conversation today.
00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:00.159
Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
