Sky bath – a cleansing of the soul
After nearly half a year with my feet on the ground, I’m happy to say I made a successful return to the sky this weekend – despite Mother Nature’s best attempts at keeping me grounded.
Early last week at physical therapy I was officially cleared to skydive. The caveat was that I had to feel really good to make a jump. Needless to say when I woke up on Friday and my shoulder was feeling a bit “crunchy,” I was concerned that my return would have to be postponed yet again. Luckily come Saturday morning the only pains I awoke with were the painful cravings to sky jump.
As I arrived at The Farm (which is my new home dropzone after moving to The South) the winds were not playing as nice as I’d hoped. The swoop competitors who were in town for the FLCPA swoop meet were grounded due to gusty winds, so that was my indication to keep my feet firmly plated on the ground.
So, I took the time to plan my first jump back, do some dirt diving, and even network a bit for Jump for Diabetes (more to come on that later). Once the winds stated behaving I got on the first load that would take me – an hour and 1/2 later. Lucky for me it ended up being the sunset load. Simple two way freefly, knee lock into sit, where I got to test out all those skills I refined in the tunnel over the winter. One foot dock and lots of smiles later it was time to pull. Thankfully, I decided to pull high as my deployment included a number of line twists that required some deep breathing and lots of kicking. All was good in the end.
The sky was wonderful and peaceful, it was the cleanse that I needed. It’s amazing how much lighter I feel after a good skydive. All my cares and worries are left in the door of that airplane and nothing else matters but the moment – it’s like a cleansing of the soul.
The rest of the weekend didn’t play nice wind wise, but lots of time was spent outside…I’ve got the sunburn and mosquito bites to prove it. All in all it was a great couple days and I can’t wait to do it again next weekend.
Love and blue skies!
Ashley
p.s. It’s been a while since you’ve seen one of these on my blog, but here’s a look at my first flight back!
Injury Overload
Right around this time last year I had a self-inflicted (read: no-flare landing) injury that I was going through physical therapy and 3x/week chiropractor appointments.
During that time, I got to see an x-ray of my spine – I have more permanent problems than just the hip injury I was there to fix – and therefore continued with my chiro appointments on a monthly basis as a way to maintain my health.
After moving I was a bit lazy in finding a new chiropractor, but I did my research and found a guy. He’s good. He took x-rays to asses my latest shoulder injury (that I was REALLY hoping could be fixed by chiropractic and rehab rather than the proposed cortisone shots and potential surgery that traditional medicine was tossing my way), and I have to admit that I was absolutely stunned to see what my spine looked like, compared with a year ago.
Aside from the scary sight that was my shoulder, my spine looked almost normal. Last year at this time, it looked like someone’s fist had impacted my spine, the scoliosis was so severe in my lower/mid back. This year, it looks like a minor ripple in my spine. I’ll take a minor ripple here people!
Chiropractic is amazing stuff. For people who think it’s a bunch of quacky shit, well, sometimes it is. You have to do your research, find the right guy. Growing up I went to a family friend who was an MD first, then pursued his chiropractic certification. He was very good. My chiro in Chicago was amazing. He was in an office where they did massage therapy (not the frilly kind, but the kind where you’d be in complete pain the whole time but would walk out feeling like a million bucks) and his wife was the physical therapist on staff. Very much rehab focused.
Same with my new doc. No quack talk, just down to business. I do wish he had massage therapists on staff, but I get electro stim on my shoulder and lower back along with a weekly adjustment. I’ve only been twice, but so far so good. I can already tell a difference.
So this blog post about injuries turned out to be more of a promotion for chiropractic, which totally wasn’t my point.
What the hell was my point? It’s this…
Being injured and grounded totally sucks. The blue skies and warm southern weather have been calling my name, and I’ve yet to have the chance since moving over a month ago to get out and make even a single jump, but keeping my fingers crossed that the opportunity will come soon. In the meantime, I’m trying to remind myself that being on the ground is for the best, and finding other activities I love like yoga, hiking and my bocce ball league are keeping me busy and sane. But that doesn’t make my cravings for freefall any weaker, I must admit.
With time off comes improvement in health. I’m a firm believer in the RICE treatment, I’ve got the rest, ice and compression down, now it’s just time to get a little elevation to make my experience that much better.
Blue skies my friends!
Ashley
The Power of Positive Thinking
I’ve always been a big believer in going out into the world and throwing your positive energy to the universe, knowing that what you’ll get in return is bound to be positive.
Part of that belief comes from the understanding that you never know what someone else is going through. Treating them in the nicest way possible, even if they aren’t the nicest people ever, may just turn out to be the best thing you could have done – for both of you.
The other part I learned after skydiving…
As skydivers, positive thinking is a must. Sure, you want to be prepared for the worst, but if you go into every skydive focusing on the worst, that’s what you’re going to get. You may not get a malfunction, but your skydive likely won’t be what it could be if you stay focused on having the best jump ever.
Positive thinking, leads to positive actions, which lends to the idea that people will naturally want to do things for you that will lead to positive outcomes. This can be something as simple as smiling at someone walking down the street, giving a compliment. For all you know, that was the most positive thing that will happen to that person today, and you may have made more of an impact than you think. Then again, maybe it’s just a drop on the bucket of rainbows and kittens that she will experience that day, but either way, it was positive. Sometimes just doing nice things can brighten your day.
So I challenge you, even the most cynical of you, to go out there and try to do one positive thing each day – whether it’s for yourself or someone else. You might just kickstart a whole new pattern of positivity in your life.
Love and blue skies!
Ashley
Following your dreams
You have to follow your own dreams in life, not the dreams that others have for you. Denying yourself to appease others is simply a waste of a life, if you ask me.
Now, I’m not going to lie, those statements are bold, and truth be told, I’m writing this more as a reminder to myself than anyone else.
Of course, this does not mean that you should live your life with blatant disregard for others, nor does it mean that you shouldn’t go out of your way to help others – hell, I’m a big believer in helping others to make your life even more fulfilling (ahem, Jump for Diabetes)- but, to ignore your own desire and dreams to please others is a waste.
No matter what you believe, if there is or isn’t something bigger and better waiting for us on the other side, it’s important to live in the here and now, as if this is all we’ve got. And, making the most of life is about following your dreams, living your passions, knowing when to say no, following that gut feeling that, if you’re truly honest with yourself, is usually right. Sometimes, this means letting go of one thing to let in another.
Only you can make your dreams come true. Only you can look out for your best interests all the time. Only you hold the key to living the life you believe in, that life you envision for yourself.
I’ve come to find, in my life anyway, that sometimes fear gets in the way of your dreams – sometimes that fear is simply letting someone down, sometimes it’s bigger, like losing an important aspect of your life. But the truth is, you have to trust in your gut. This is something that, as skydivers, we know all too well.
Jumping out of an airplane goes against everything your body is telling you is right. Falling is not comfortable for the human brain. Think about it, how many times have you woke from a dream with a start because of a vision of falling? Can you even count? I can’t.
It’s not natural. But, those of us who choose this path know in our gut that it’s the right thing for us, even when our bodies shoot out all kinds of signals that tell us to stop, this isn’t safe, it’s not natural.
A leap of faith, some would say, knowing that our training, our skills and those around us who we choose to jump with will keep us safe.
So why then, are there moments where simply disappointing someone in our lives can be such a scary thought that we’re willing to put our own dreams, our own wants, on the back burner in order to appease those close to us? Why is it that some decisions seem so difficult even though, deep down, we know exactly what path we want to take?
Tell me I’m not alone in this – I can’t be the only person out there who struggles with the balance between following my own dreams, living out the dreams others have for me and helping to make the dreams of those in my life come true.
It’s baby steps, I guess, to making the right decisions. It may not always be exactly what I want, or exactly what those in my life want, but it’s got to be for the greater good. Following gut feelings may disappoint others from time to time, but isn’t not following them an even greater disappointment to yourself?
Love and blue skies!
Ashley
p.s. I think this song really captures some of these sentiments:
Channeling your passion
Sports like skydiving take a special type of motivation to keep going – it’s best described, in my mind, as channeled passion. Let me explain.
Like most things in life, there’s a huge learning curve in the beginning of skydiving. You’re always jumping, and when you’re not, you’re thinking about it, reading about it, watching videos. Your life turns into skydiving.
But then, something happens. You get comfortable (sorta). You’ve had a few years in the sport, got a few hundred jumps under your belt, been around the community, you know the people, the “types,” you’ve done most of the novelty jumps like horny gorillas and tubes, you’ve jumped more than a dozen aircraft, and you’re fairly comfortable in your skills.
It’s that channeled passion that keeps you going – past this first hump, likely of many, on the road to becoming an advanced skydiver.
A number of skydivers, at this stage, find a discipline they love and focus their love for the sport there. I, on the other hand, have had trouble doing so. Not only that, but let me tell you that bouncing between disciplines as (what I still consider myself to be) a beginner does nothing but slow that learning curve down a bit.
In order to channel your passion, you have to find that spark, that thing that keeps you coming back. Yes, freefall is definitely enough to keep me coming back on a regular basis, but is it enough to drive me to improve my skills? Sometimes a goal is needed – I know lots of 4-way kids who got their start because of a competitive itch – but some of us just don’t have that. Others dabble and one day fall into the discipline that was meant for them (no pun intended).
But sometimes, it just takes a bit of internal reflection to find what is really driving you. Maybe it’s ratings and instructing, maybe it’s competing, maybe it’s a dream to be invited to big-way invitationals, or maybe it’s just a drive to have fun. I definitely fall into the latter category.
Sure, I want to be good. I’d love to be able to do any discipline, any day of the week and keep up with the best of ‘em out there. Realistic without driving myself insane in the process? Nope.
For me, this sport is about recreation, relaxation and truly enjoying myself – stress free. I’ve found all these things throughout my time in this sport, so it’s the fun and pure enjoyment that keeps me coming back for more – and the last thing I need is pressure to be something. But, that’s just me.
I’ll leave the competing and instructing up to those who find their passion is best channeled there. I’m just going to be a kid in the big blue playground.
Love and blue skies!
Ashley
Padding your logbook
Recently I heard a rumor. Apparently some folks from a dropzone where I used to be regular have taken up talking about others as a favorite past time. Whatever, we all do it. In that, it was stated that a close friend of mine padded their log book.
I’m not sure where the conversation went from there, as I didn’t inquire further because frankly, I don’t really care what people have to say (behind my or my friends backs) unless they’re saying it to my face. Not only that, but the concept is laughable, given that this friend had zero reason to do so (what, with not wanting to get ratings and having started flying camera before 200 jumps anyway…), but it did get me to thinking about the concept of inflating jump numbers.
Skydivers do this for a number of reasons – to speed up the process of getting their ratings (for some you need 100, others 500) or so they can fly a wingsuit or strap a camera to their helmet to catch all the action, both of which the USPA BSRs call for 200 jumps, and is now widely enforced at most dropzones.
That said, what’s it to you if someone does pad their logbook? I mean, say the guy in the plane next to you has 450 skydives, but says he has 500 so he can work toward his Pro rating. Is it that you feel he’s unsafe? Well, if he’s unsafe at 450 jumps then you probably shouldn’t be jumping with him anyway, right? So it’s totally your choice if you want to share the sky with this guy.
And the truth is, you’d be surprised how many people do this. Whether it’s 10 jumps or 100, it happens quite frequently. And so what, they’re only cheating themselves.
It never ceases to amaze me how people – not just in the skydiving world, but in general – can so quickly make someone else’s problem their own. If some dumb newbie wants to “go out of town” and suddenly comes back with 100 jumps to get his coach rating, he’s the one who will have to pay the price, literally, when he doesn’t pass his coach course because he’s not experienced enough.
I’m sure it’s not why you came here this Friday morning, but here’s a little advice for you: focus on yourself, your own skills and your own safety, rather than the numbers in the log books of your fellow jumpers. Worry about yourself and those closest to you, and let everyone else make their own mistakes. Trust me, you’ll be happier in the end.
Blue ones!
Ashley
What I wish I knew
So I’ve been asked to write about what I wish I knew when I got my A-license – “transition from student to fun jumper” as it was so eloquently put. Honestly, that’s a big task because I still see myself as a student. I’m by no means proficient in any area of skydiving and dabbling in disciplines, though fun, does have a way of keeping progression in freeflying, belly flying, wingsuiting, etc at a bit of a slower pace.
On top of that, every skydive is a learning experience, so I’m a true believer in each and every jumper always being a “student” in the sport. Of course, I do understand the request, and I did a bit of polling of other skydivers so I can provide a heartier post than just spewing learnings from my own experiences.
Let’s start with the obvious:
Never stop thirsting for knowledge: If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you need to crave the learning experience. Skydiving is, at times, very fucking humbling. But, if you’re open to it, you can really learn something about yourself in the process. It’s not all about figuring out how to stick a sitfly and dock with your fellow jumpers – it’s deeper than that – having an open mind will allow you to take all that in.
Not only that, the thirst for knowledge helps keep things exciting and novel. Sure, I may not be the best belly flyer at 300 skydives, and by now I probably should have my head down dialed in, but I’ve enjoyed the learning experience that comes along with new disciplines. I like perfecting my canopy skills, I love jumping in a wingsuit for a fun flock, keeping things fresh helps me stay in that wide-eyed, giddy phase that most jumpers are in just off student status.
Be flexible: This one is two-fold. Physically, I can’t recommend enough that you stretch, do yoga, pilates, whatever you have to in order to stay flexible. Flexibility allows you more opportunity to manipulate the air in different ways – it gives you more options. And, it really does help you understand your own body a bit more.
Mental flexibility on the other hand, can be a bit of a challenge at times. A commitment to progress in the sport is important, but don’t be too rigid with yourself on what that progress looks like. For example, if you want to focus on your belly flying skills, that’s great. But don’t tell yourself you absolutely won’t freefly till you have X amount of jumps, because you never know when you might turn away a chance to jump with one of the best because of your rigidity. Ebb and flow with the opportunities that come your way – even goals have a way of finding that flexible balance. Go with it.
Ask more questions: This is a great one from one of my fellow jumpers who is also a coach. Sometimes students are too timid to ask questions, but this is your chance. People expect it. When you’re on the ground, talk as much as you can to experienced jumpers. Blurt out any question that comes to your mind to your instructors and coaches. Get answers now. There’s no stupid question when you’re a student. But, when you have 100 jumps and you’re just now finding the courage to ask about basic canopy flight mechanics, you might get laughed off the dropzone, or worse, people will refuse to jump with you because they think you’re uneducated and not safe. Plus, knowing all you can as a student only preps you for being as safe a jumper as you can be once you earn that A.
Read, Watch, Admire: Dropzone.com, Blue Skies Magazine, Parachutist, blogs, YouTube videos – the list goes one. Soak up as much knowledge on your own as possible. Take opinions with a grain of salt, but listen to them regardless. This is how you’ll build on your own skills. Find time to read Brian Germain’s book, sign up for a canopy course stat, flip through the SIM if you’re bored one rainy afternoon. The more you can surround yourself with skydiving, the more knowledge you’ll have.
Ask for advice: Norman Kent in town and you’ve got a burning question – ask him. Been admiring Taya’s flocking skills from afar and run into her at a boogie – stop and say hi around the bonfire. Everyone is approachable (usually) as we’ve all been students at one point or another. Advice can come in all forms, but you’ll never get it if you don’t reach out and talk to those who inspire you.
Those are my top 5 at this point – that’s enough out of me. Any other advice from all you fun jumpers out there?
Blue ones!
Ashley
Zen Skydiver
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself in the whirlwind that’s my 20s it’s that yoga is good for my soul. So is skydiving. These are two things that have continued to hold a spot in my heart, no matter if I’m practicing or not.
Even when I’m unable to attend yoga classes, for one reason or another, my practice hasn’t stopped. The principles of yoga seep into my daily life, and only serve in helping me improve – in all aspects of life.
Progression in a sport like skydiving has a lot to do with overcoming fear (well, for me anyway). Skydiving has this way of throwing the reality of your own mortality in your face. Each jumper has their own way of dealing with this, from acknowledging the fear and consciously leaving it in the door on the way out of the airplane, to using their self-confidence to know that they have the ability to save their own life time and time again. Some even get cocky and complacent, of course this is not the recommended path for continuing in the sport.
Others, have more difficulty acknowleding their own fear – often feeling that it’s a sign of weakness – and therefore experience mental challenges in moving past this fear. This is where, in my life, yoga has come into play. That 10 minute ride to altitude becomes a meditation session, a time to reflect on the fear, visualize your perfect skydiving, and channel the power that lives behind that into your performance – into being your best.
It’s not as easy as it sounds. One thing I’ve found is that practicing yoga on the ground, meditating on everything from skydiving to your other hopes, dreams and fears can help make this practice feel more natural – make it something you crave on the way to altitude.
Of course, being a zen skydiver is just one way to deal with the fear, the butterflies that come along with an adrenaline sport. But, it’s the one that seems to work best for me, so I thought I’d share in the knowledge just a little bit. Regardless, I can’t stress the importance of acknowledging your feelings, whatever they might be, in order to move past the mental blocks and perform your best.
Love and Blues Skies!
Ashley
Superiority complex
As sort of a follow up to my last post about why we’re here and what we’re doing this for, I’d like to take a moment to talk about an issue that’s been weighing on my mind a bit.
The Skydiver Superiority Complex. Now, I’m not talking about those people who rag on other people within the sport – like freeflyers who think their better than belly flyers or wingsuiters who claim “this ain’t no head down bitches!” (one of my favorite lines, btw), as most of this is said in jest, giving others crap around the dropzone – it can be a favorite past time.
What I’m talking about are those jumpers out there who think that, simply because they are skydivers, they are superior to everyone else in life. Like skydiving is this club that, until you’ve gotten in you’re just not cool enough.
Sure, I’ll be the first to admit that skydiving has this way of changing your perspective on life, but that doesn’t mean that, in order to get the most out of life you MUST skydive. Certainly, I’d love to have all my friends experience what freefall is like, to understand the change that this sport can bring about in your way of approaching the world, but that certainly doesn’t mean I think that I’m better at life than those who haven’t jumped – that’s just pure foolishness.
Too often I hear skydivers, especially the newbies, talking about how they just didn’t get the meaning of life until their first skydive. That until you save your own life, you just can’t understand what it means to truly live. Well, here’s the reality of the situation – just because YOU didn’t get how to fully embrace life until you experienced flight, doesn’t mean others don’t get it.
I mean, sure, if you grew up in a middle class family (or above) that sent you to college and you’ve either been in school or working on your career since then there’s a good chance you fall into this category (I certainly did). But I know plenty of people who had different paths who, most likely, know the value of living just as much, if not more, than I do.
I guess the questions here is, do you really think you’re superior to others now that you’ve fell from 14,000 and successfully saved your own life, or is it that you just encourage everyone else to seek out this opportunity as well, but you have a really strange way of conveying it? I’d like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt on this one and say the latter, but I truly believe there are people out there “knowing” and speaking of their superiority because skydiving has become their favorite past time. And for all those, there are an equal number of rock climbers and motorcyclists and other extreme sports junkies scoffing because in reality, their sport is a whole hell of a lot more dangerous than ours.
Next time you think about opening your mouth about how someone just can’t know what living is until they jump out of an airplane, maybe take two seconds to remind yourself that you have no idea what others have been through in their life, and there’s a good chance they know so much more about life than you. Instead, swap some life stories – you might actually learn something interesting about them.
Love and Blue Skies!
Ashley
Form of Happiness
Have you ever sat and thought about what makes you happy? Like, really thought about it?
In a recent discussion with a friend I grew up with, we were talking about, as a kid, how I loved to re-arrange my bedroom. I would ask my parents to help me so frequently, in fact, it bordered on annoyance. Looking back, I think it was a good opportunity for me to take stock of what I had, throw out what I didn’t need, simplify and organize. Sure, those may be beneficial outcomes, but I also think it’s a trait that shines a bit of a spotlight on my psyche. The need for change.
No, I’m not about to wip out my psych minor knowledge and get all shrinky on you here, but it got my wheels turning about how daily actions can provide insight as to what’s going on internally (inside your brain, I mean).
Take skydivers for instance. Jumping out of airplanes provides us a sense of freedom that we otherwise wouldn’t experience in this life. It’s one of the most freeing experiences (for me, anyway), both physically and mentally. How many times have you heard me say that jumping out of an airplane allows me to leave all my stress and worries in the door, because you really can’t think about much aside from what’s happening in the moment. There’s your mental release. And how much freer can you get physically than to be wind surfing at 14,000 ft above the Earth? I can only imagine doing so naked would feel freer (no, I don’t intend on finding out).
There’s something to be said for our need to experience that kind of freedom. Does that mean that most of us have a craving for independence, a sense of freedom in all other aspects of our lives?
I’d have to vote yes on that one. Let’s look at a few examples:
Relationships: Most skydivers I know are either unattached in their romantic lives, or they’re dating/married to a skydiver – someone who gets them.
Career: I can’t count on my two hands how many jumpers I know that have either gone to great lengths to change their career schedules or changing jobs altogether to gain some additional freedom, allowing for a more flexible schedule, whether it’s to jump or not. Even my hand is raised on this one (oh yeah, did I mention that I quit my job a couple weeks ago? A new opportunity came knocking and I’m at a place where they actually allow you to do what you are good at without looking over your shoulder every second. I know, right? What’s that like? Fucking amazing, that’s what)!
Of course, this still doesn’t explain my need for frequent change, but that might be a topic for another day.
So what do your hobbies say about your psychological needs?
I’d be interested to see a study done about this (yes, I’m kind of a nerd like that). Someone has to have inquired about this before, right?
Love and Blue Ones Kiddies!
-Ashley