Aerial Yoga
Take to the skies and fly high with a fun and liberating Aerial Yoga practice. By Edel Wigan and Yasmin Strong
Aerial yoga is a really fun mixture of all that you would expect from a yoga class…but with a touch of aerial circus flair! It uses a wide Aerial Yoga sling or hammock to support the body, helping to support some traditional yoga postures and take others to the air. Aerial Yoga draws on the techniques and alignment of yoga, but by allowing the aerial sling to support your body weight, it can help people access these postures and deep stretches in an even more relaxed way.
This is especially true for inversions as you can achieve difficult moves like headstands and handstands very early on in your Aerial Yoga practice as you are so supported by the hammock. Using the sling to turn upside down puts less pressure on the joints. Being able to hang upside down gives the spine a bit more space and allows it to decompress. People often talk about feeling taller or longer after an aerial yoga class for that reason!
Once you are fully supported by the hammock, you can move in so many ways that you just can’t on the floor. There is a real feeling of being held by the slings, which allows you to trust your body and go a bit deeper into certain stretches. And you always have the fabric to hold onto when you have gone far enough and need to exit!
The absolute beauty of Aerial Yoga is that, depending on the teacher or style you choose, it can be a very relaxing, a meditative experience, or a hardcore fitness class to rival any TRX class and almost everything in between. The ‘norm’ is a movement-based opening and stretching style class. But there are options for games to lift the energy in the room: ‘Aerial Yoga Floor is Lava’ is a creative way to use the sling to get (and keep) your weight off the floor; ‘Aerial Yoga Hungry Hippos’ is a more restorative, low sling class; then there’s ‘Candlelight Yin Aerial Yoga’…… you get the idea!
Wellbeing benefits
As you would expect, there are a lot of benefits to practicing Qerial yoga.
Here are just a few:
Total body workout: Due to the nature of Aerial Yoga movements almost all the body parts are forced to move and stretch. Muscles are toned and redefined, and joints are regenerated and strengthened due to these movements.
Psychologically beneficial: Just like almost any other workout, Aerial Yoga helps rebuild your emotional system because it clears the mind and relieves stress due to its meditative state. It also helps you combat stress throughout the day and increases your creativity, which leads you to develop your own artistic skills.
Improves flexibility: Aerial Yoga helps you to move more freely, with less effort, by counteracting gravity. Suspension in the air releases tension on the bones and muscles, increasing flexibility and deepening your practice. Suspended yoga strengthens core muscles and increases spinal and shoulder flexibility.
Helps back problems: It gives you the chance to hang freely, allowing your spine to lengthen. With less strain on your back while doing the exercises, it eases tension in the spinal cord and hip joint, helping you feel better.
Increases strength: Aerial Yoga improves strength and flexibility, which carries over into other daily activities. The core workout is a beneficial crosstraining, for example, it helps runners increase stamina and recover faster.
Puts you in a great mood: Another key benefit of doing Aerial Yoga is that it gets your adrenaline going while working against gravity. It also releases ‘happy’ hormones like serotonin, endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine, which boost your mood and help you feel more energetic.
Improves balance: While going against gravity can be exciting, Aerial Yoga also helps with balance and stability. Balance is a key component in daily activities and Aerial Yoga helps maintain a good balance both inside and out.
Aids digestion: The different types of stretches and movements help improve the digestive system, helping in healing various digestion-related issues, such as constipation and indigestion.
Old age and heart disease: Aerial Yoga improves the circulation of blood, thus combating ageing and its symptoms. It also helps detoxify the circulatory and lymphatic systems, which lowers the onset of various cardiovascular issues.
Improves memory: Aerial Yoga fortifies your neural connections for better memory power. In a way, practicing aerial yoga can make you smarter!
How to get started
Helps back problems: It gives you the chance to hang freely, allowing your spine to lengthen. With less strain on your back while doing the exercises, it eases tension in the spinal cord and hip joint, helping you feel better.
Increases strength: Aerial Yoga improves strength and flexibility, which carries over into other daily activities. The core workout is a beneficial crosstraining, for example, it helps runners increase stamina and recover faster.
Puts you in a great mood: Another key benefit of doing Aerial Yoga is that it gets your adrenaline going while working against gravity. It also releases ‘happy’ hormones like serotonin, endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine, which boost your mood and help you feel more energetic.
Improves balance: While going against gravity can be exciting, Aerial Yoga also helps with balance and stability. Balance is a key component in daily activities and Aerial Yoga helps maintain a good balance both inside and out.
Aids digestion: The different types of stretches and movements help improve the digestive system, helping in healing various digestion-related issues, such as constipation and indigestion.
Old age and heart disease: Aerial Yoga improves the circulation of blood, thus combating ageing and its symptoms. It also helps detoxify the circulatory and lymphatic systems, which lowers the onset of various cardiovascular issues.
Improves memory: Aerial Yoga fortifies your neural connections for better memory power. In a way, practicing aerial yoga can make you smarter!
Edel Wigan and Yasmin Strong are the dynamic duo behind Aerial Yoga experts at: Aerialyoga360.com
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
