Hanging in a cloth with a special feeling of weightlessness and lightness while performing yoga exercises - that's aerial yoga in one sentence. The style of yoga that comes from the USA is also called Anti Gravity Yoga. Here you will find out the special features of yoga in a cloth and how you can even do aerial yoga at home.
Yoga in a cloth: These are the special features
The biggest difference to other types of yoga is obvious: In aerial yoga, the exercises are practiced in a yoga towel hanging from the ceiling - a special hammock.
Many asanas are performed in an inverted position. Everything is possible, from aerial acrobatics to completely dropping and releasing gravity onto the cloth. Aerial yoga trains all muscle groups in your body and particularly targets the deep muscles. Strength, coordination and balance are improved.
Because you can transfer your weight to the cloth during aerial yoga, this variant of yoga is particularly gentle on the joints and relieves the strain on the spine and back.
You can use this type of yoga to build muscle and just as well to relax and let go - in the physical and mental sense. This will happen automatically when you let your body fall into the cloth.
Who is Aerial Yoga suitable for?
Aerial yoga focuses on fun rather than spirituality. If you've had a hard time finding a yoga practice, this type of yoga might be right for you. If you already practice other yoga styles such as Hatha Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga , aerial yoga is also a great addition or change.
At first glance, aerial yoga looks more complicated than it is: there are many exercises that are very suitable for beginners.
However, caution is advised if you are prone to high blood pressure, dizziness or circulatory problems. Then you should first check with your doctor whether air yoga is suitable for you. The same applies if you have problems with your spine - even if these can even be improved with yoga in a cloth.
Exercises: Is aerial yoga also suitable for at home?
What do you need for aerial yoga? Can you do yoga in a cloth at home or do you have to go to a yoga studio? Depending on how much previous experience you have, a yoga class in a yoga studio under the guidance of a teacher can of course make sense.
If you want to practice aerial yoga at home, you need a suitable aerial yoga cloth:
- Length: 4 – 6 meters, width at least 2.8 meters
- Material: Nylon or Polyamide - for elasticity and load capacity
- a ceiling suspension: usually includes instructions
- a ceiling height of at least 2.30 meters
By the way, a mix of floor yoga and yoga in the air makes a lot of sense. For example, if you find some exercises, especially stretches, difficult on the floor, you can often do them better with yoga on a cloth by reducing your body weight.
Aerial yoga requires a certain basic tension, especially in the muscle groups of the abdominal and torso muscles. You need this basic tension to hold the asanas and change positions. Don't worry if you still lack some practice at this point - there are great exercises to start with so you can slowly improve.
Aerial yoga exercises for at home
The exercises in aerial yoga are basically based on the classic asanas . Because they are performed in a cloth and you partially float in the air, the asanas are slightly modified; some of them also take place in the inverted position. With aerial yoga you can expect both dynamic and static exercises as well as stretching exercises.
These are the basic exercises in aerial yoga:
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Rips Hang: The cloth supports your upper body along the shoulders and armpits and you can let yourself fall.
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Hip Hang: The towel supports you along your hips while you practice downward dog, for example - in the air or with your hands and feet on the ground.
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Back Straddle: With this exercise you can train inversion positions up to handstand and headstand.
- Aerial Bhadrasana : This is basically the butterfly pose - only on the head.
Aerial yoga in a cloth: variety is the key
Aerial yoga is fun and has a whole range of positive effects: It is a joint-friendly training of the deep muscles, you can completely let go physically and mentally and improve your body awareness, balance and coordination. Whether as a start to your yoga practice or as a complement to other yoga styles on the floor - in both cases it contributes to physical and mental well-being.