26/10/2025
Yesterday I taught a handful of mostly neurodivergent, mostly very traumatized preteen girls how to spin a plate on a stick. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? Quite the opposite! It was incredibly inspiring to observe the individual and collective journeys that took them through mountains and valleys of frustration, self judgment, comparison with others, momentary despair, followed by perseverance, rays of hope, minor satisfaction, allowing themselves to believe in success, and finally AWE as, one by one, they managed to get the plate spinning, then shared their joy with each other, starting to pass the plates or try to throw them in the air and catch them on the stick. Every one of them left a little taller, with big smiles on their faces, expressing newfound optimism in their own ability to learn something new, and healthy pride in their hard work.
The effects of AWE on us as humans have been researched over the last couple of decades. When we feel awe, we can decrease stress and inflammation, improve brain function and even change our hormonal output in a positive direction. And what's great is, we can CHOOSE awe. We can take a few deep breaths and feel the change in our bodies, engage in the simple pleasure of looking at the clouds, or get lost in the details of an installation at an art gallery.
Learning circus arts is nothing short of awe-some. That's why it's a great idea to pair the circus arts with a support group - so that we can experience the awe and then reflect upon and learn effective and viable strategies to bring more of it into our everyday lives! Join us 7.11-12.12. The group is in Czech with English as necessary! (we can manage beginner Czech as well :-).) Please get in touch if you are interested!
More info here if you can't read the QR code: https://app.lektory.app/item/5f0f43ad-5f4b-4e42-a9cc-1fd12e4f4da9
