PRO Exclusive ANNOUNCEMENT – New Physical Health Series with Yasmine Mucher
In this new CircusTalk Original Video Series, Certified Athletic Therapist and former professional aerialist Yasmine Mucher will be educating us on all things physical health for circus artists. From general maintenance and wellbeing to specific care for various acute and chronic injuries, this series will teach you how to understand and manage your body, as well as provide practical steps you can take towards optimal wellness. The Physical Health Series will be a valuable resource for circus artists of any discipline, however, the information within the episodes should not substitute individualized diagnosis and treatment for injuries that require immediate medical attention.
Host
From Toronto, Ontario, Yasmine Mucher is a Certified Athletic Therapist, Registered Kinesiologist, and CSEP Certified Personal Trainer. She started training in circus arts in 2008, specializing in all things trapeze. This sparked her love and curiosity for the capabilities of the human body, but pain and injury exposed to her the lack of research, and practitioners knowledgeable in the area of circus arts and the needs of the artistic athlete’s body. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Dalhousie University in 2017, and an Advanced Certificate in Athletic Therapy from Mount Royal University in 2020, throughout her education and thereafter, Yas worked as a circus performer and coach for people of all ages, applying scientifically informed methods to her own and her clients’ training and reaping the results.
Our mission with the Original Video Series is to help creators in circus and the performing arts develop, grow, and succeed by providing them with knowledge from industry experts. While this series is no different in that mission, the Physical Health Series is unlike any other CircusTalk has published before. Rather than a host and guest setup, Yasmine will create four lecture-based episodes packed with information, instruction and guidance on how to keep your body fit and functional to continue your profession. As a former performer, Yasmine understands the life of a circus artist, and what needs to go into injury prevention, management and rehabilitation specifically for this art. To announce the series and its host, we’re pleased to share this interview with Yasmine herself:
Emily Holt (EH): What brought you to Athletic Therapy?
Yasmine Mucher (YM):I think bodies are just the coolest. When I was looking into kinesiology programs in Canada, I saw degrees for Athletic therapy, and here was this profession that was all about working with athletes from the point of injury, the emergency response and management, up into rehab, then reconditioning and maintaining performance. Like how cool is that, this is everything I am fascinated by. I was in pain most of the time as an aerialist and couldn’t figure out what to do differently to reach my performance goals, so this was perfect. I would learn it and get myself better. My path led me first into a kinesiology program, then into athletic therapy, but that basis of knowledge was only a benefit.
EH: What is your main AT philosophy?
YM: A lot of my practice is driven by understanding my client as a whole and meeting them where they’re at. So figuring out a treatment and rehab plan that is realistic for them to do and that is realistic to get them to their goals. To me rehab needs to be collaborative. I am on my client’s team to get them to their goal, but it is ultimately up to them, not me to make it happen. If I give them 10 exercises (that they won’t do), and tell them to stop training for a week (which likely won’t happen), it’s just not helpful.
EH: What motivated you to start this series?
YM:I feel like this series is everything I needed when I was training and performing as an aerialist. Everything from not just what to do in training, but everything outside of training that ultimately supports not just our performance but longevity as performers. As well as some of the things we don’t often talk about like proper wound care and bruise care, and at what point do we need to seek care. There’s so much information available online, but how to decide what is legit and may work for you is really difficult, so putting it all together in one place, and directed to circus performers is just great.
EH: Why is this series important for circus professionals?
YM: Circus is so demanding on the body, and if you look at many professional athletes, they have teams of people behind them to help with things like medical care, strength coaching, nutrition coaching, mental performance coaching, etc. Circus performers rarely have that. I think this series can be such an important resource for circus professionals that don’t have access to this kind of support. Not just for knowing how to better take care of themselves, but also to know when it would be beneficial or necessary to seek higher care. I hope this series can dispel some myths around and give better understanding of things like nutrition for performance, and concussions that will ultimately lead to better health and wellbeing of circus professionals.
EH: What do you hope viewers will walk away with after watching the series?
YM: I hope viewers can walk away not just with strategies to better their physical well-being, and promote longevity in their careers, but also with the confidence to implement those strategies. I hope they get a better understanding of the concept of well being and how to support it.
A big thank you to Yasmine for this interview and for hosting this valuable series! We can’t wait for you all to learn from her. Check out the different episodes and topics above that you can expect in the future, and mark your calendars for the first episode publishing March 28 right here on CircusTalk.News!
These days, Em independently travels and tours the US as burlesque and circus bombshell, Karma Carnelian. Karma's performance style seamlessly blends classic and neo burlesque choreography with dynamic acrobatic chair and floor work. Karma has performed coast to coast, from the Hubba Hubba Revue in San Francisco, CA, to the House of Blues in Chicago, IL, to countless productions in their home state.
Em received their BA in Advertising in 2019 and MS in Integrated Marketing in 2021 from Florida State University, where they also performed teeterboard, flying, swinging and double trapeze in The FSU Flying High Circus from 2016-2020. Em first joined CircusTalk first as a journalism intern in 2020, and currently serves as the team's Community Manager, creating written and digital content for the site, and managing the companies' social media channels.
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