Elevate your yoga
Becoming an aerial yoga teacher. By Edel Wigan and Yasmin Strong
Aerial yoga is another great area to explore. Add a new dimension to your practice with the addition of an aerial yoga sling. This extra wide piece of fabric acts as a support to aid movement through traditional yoga postures as well as providing a base for some circus flair.
By supporting the weight of the body, the aerial yoga sling provides a unique way to access some of the more difficult yoga postures, making aerial yoga accessible to a wide range of people. It is an incredibly versatile tool for teachers. We each have our own unique style, and the aerial yoga sling can easily be an extension of this.
Aerial yoga can be adapted to create a gentle relaxing stretch with a fabulous hammock for breathwork and the ultimate Savasana.
One of the main advantages of being free from the confines of gravity is that aerial yoga releases tension on the muscles and allows you to move more freely in space which can help increase flexibility as you go deeper into your stretches. One of the primary benefits of hanging upside is that it allows your spine to lengthen, eases tension in the spinal cord and hip joints and sends the happy hormones racing around your body, head first, helping you feel calm yet energised.
Or you use the sling as a conditioning tool to rival any hardcore fitness class. Being able to hold your own bodyweight in the air as you manoeuvre through asanas and sequences is no mean feat, and not achieved overnight, but is incredibly empowering! Then you have access to the unparalleled joy that comes from adding a few flips and tricks to your flows. Sadly, as adults, we seem to lose the opportunity to play, but aerial yoga gives you the option to turn your studio into a giant playground. Hungry hippos in the sling anyone?
Regardless of the approach taken, aerial is an all over body workout that will especially work your core and your arms. Muscles are toned and redefined, and joints are regenerated and strengthened as you use the sling to move through a fluid series of asanas and stretches. The benefits of aerial yoga are certainly something that has to be tried to fully understand its potency. Join the upside-down revolution!
Edel Wigan and Yasmin Strong are aerial yoga teacher training providers (tinyurl.com/aerialyogateaching)
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.
