Aerial Yoga - Soulinspect

Aerial Yoga: A Unique Twist on Traditional Yoga – Aerial yoga is an enticing and demanding illusory form of yoga that is also known as anti-gravity yoga. It is the practice of nurturing the body in air using a fabric hammock and taking up postures and poses. This dancing yoga helps in engineering and developing many forms of traditional yoga and incorporates many aspects of Pilates and acrobatics and dance in helping the individual get full workout using beautiful muscles. In this article, we shall discuss in details what is aide yoga, its benefits and how one can start the practice.

What is Aerial Yoga?

Aerial yoga is a type of yoga in which one performs the commonly known as Aerial yoga poses using a hammock or a silk hanging from a certain height. Using the hammock allows one to lift some or most of their body weight, allowing them to gracefully transition between the different poses while floating above the floor.

How It Works

During these classes, students will use the hammocks as supportive soft swings and perform regular yoga asanas, stretches and even inversions. This is helpful as one can achieve a wider range of stretches and even attempt poses that might be difficult while on the mat. For example, in most cases, the aerial yoga hammock comes as a support to the batch by relieving some tension from the spine and the joints thus helping one to attain that position with less effort.

Benefits of Aerial Yoga

It comprises of much physical benefits and mental well-being as well. Aerial yoga may also improve strength, flexibility, and balance in a more efficient way than non-suspended yoga due to the suspension and gravity elements in practice.

1.Enhanced Flexibility

While there are a wide range of them, the improvement of flexibility ranks among the very top benefits of aerial yoga. Moving in a 3 dimensional manner is far more efficacious in stretches than basically performing them on the ground. Unlike on the ground, being suspended in yoga helps to stretch the spine vertically, rotate the hips and knee joints etc., and helps stretch every other muscle and muscle group more effectively.

Deeper Stretches: A support is provided by the hammock thus deeper stretches are possible especially in back, shoulder and leg stretches.
Spinal Decompression: Vertical inversion relaxation postures utilizing furnishings and suspension implements are largely utilized for spinal decompression rehab at an altitude training.

2. Increased Strength

Aerial yoga reconditions the muscles differently since they are used to practice in a more horizontal way. In this position, all the core and stabilizer muscles are worked out in order to hold the body in a controlled suspended position which strengthens muscles like the arms, shoulders and most especially the core.

Core Strength: Every movement in aerial yoga requires core engagement which strengthens the core.
Upper Body Strength: All spectators can see how helpful are raised arms acts and holding positions in the air, including with the hammock.

3. Improved Balance and Coordination

Sustaining balance and controlling ones movement in the air facilitates the practice of aerial thus making one more agile and aware of their body. With practice, common sense will tell you balancing activities with also improve the stability even when out of the hammock.

Increased Proprioception: Proprioceptive abilities enhancement is also in the practice of aerial yoga enabling you to perform balance and coordination tasks with less effort.
Body-Mind Coordination: Fixing one’s focus to control one’s body on a suspended apparatus enhances the rapport between one’s mind and body, resulting in heightened awareness.
Back Pain Relief: Aerial yoga provides general relief particularly in cases of back pain. The use of a hammock enables the person to carry out stretching exercises and relax the spinal cord without providing any antagonistic force on the spine. This can ease muscle and joints and enhance the posture over time.
Inversions: Inversions in the Hammock are believed to alleviate any pressure on the spine to aid in relaxed decompression to ease one’s back.
Back improvement: As Aerial yoga encourages the body to be in the correct alignment with the internal structures and on the lengthening of the spine, thus corrects posture and relieves strain from the back and neck.

4. Mind and Emotions

What’s more, besides the physical effects of practice, aerial yoga provides also mental and emotional health. Being upwardly suspended is fun because this position creates the mood of absolute freedom and lightness making the practice enjoyable and encouraging.

Relief from Stress: Just as with yoga in its classical form, aerial yoga enhances relaxation and facilitates the mitigation of stress. The sling cranially allows gentle support so that relaxation can be achieved in poses with attention on breathing only. A good way to soothe oneself is to be wrapped in such a way and elevated in the air.
Meditation Quality: The hammock eases the mind with its gentle sway making one forget the thoughts over time and inducing an absence of stress.
Relaxation Poses: Most aerial yoga classes culminate with relaxation poses where practitioners use the hammock, which is immensely supportive, providing restoration and calmness.

5. Enhanced Self-Esteem

Aerial yoga helps your self-esteem because you can experiment with new exciting poses which may appear risky at first. One may derive a sense of worth from hading such skills and translating it into almost all aspects of life, that is, improving self-esteem and awareness of the body.

Conquering Phobias: Many individuals appreciate practicing aerial yoga as it serves to desensitize them from phobias. Worries of height or even worried about turning upside down do not exist any more. Attempting and achieving difficult postures can be quite invigorating due to the confidence pricked underneath the skin.
Self-Assertion: Pursuing your goal, be it off the mat or on the mat can be quite easy and serve as an inspiration for accomplishment with the tremendous strength and control that aerial yoga comprises.

6.Tips to Take Up Aerial Yoga

In case you are a beginner in aerial yoga, there are a few pieces of advice which you must heed beforehand.

Look for a Certified Instructor: As with every new skill, there are many dangers to be aware of and a qualified instructor must be sought for safety in the poses. If you are a beginner to aerial yoga, search for classes that include beginners only. Assisted by an experienced teacher, you will benefit from using the hammock the right way and adjusting the poses as necessary.
Wear Attire that Enhances Comfort: Don tight fitting yet comfortable clothes that cover all your arms and legs to avoid getting any scratch burns from the hammock. Things like jewels or any other stuff that can get hooked in the material, do not wear them.
Mental Preparation and Conditioning: It must be noted that aerial yoga is quite strenuous and thus, one should avoid donning the ‘fighting’ spirit rather, let the body direct the pace. It is also not advisable to overexert yourself especially in the attempts of the inverted postures. Make the most of the process and develop your stamina and suppleness slowly.

7.Aerial Yoga Should be on Your Bucket List

Aerial yoga adds a breath of fresh air to the conventional yoga practice as its numerous benefits are more than physical. This assists in everyone’s lives as this practice aids in flexibility and strength, relaxation and self-improvement. Regardless of whether you are an advanced practitioner who is looking for something more entertaining or simply a novice who is willing to stretch for the first time, aerial yoga innocently promises a great deal of enjoyment.

So, what is stopping you? When else can you feel at ease and stretch every muscle in your body while hanging in the sky? Aerial yoga helps you to enjoy the feeling of movement in a weird way which will help you in carrying out the activity easily as it provides joy in doing these exercises.