Exercise, for me, was never a necessity. My high metabolism and good genes pulled me through most of my life—until a minor accident, a mental health crisis, and turning 30, changed my perspective towards my health. Although my fitness journey started off at the gym with weight loss as the main goal, over time I realised that the boost of serotonin that came along did a lot more for my mind.
A year later, my single-child syndrome kicked in and I found myself bored with the same routine. Physically, my fitness levels were never better, but it came with minimal motivation and excitement. I opted for yoga and even dabbled in badminton, but nothing seemed to hit the sweet spot until I went upside down and tried anti-gravity yoga aka aerial yoga.
Hanging In There
Simply put, aerial yoga uses the same yoga stretches and poses—but, with your body or parts of your body suspended in the air via a silk hammock (which is what makes it exciting and different each time). It requires balance and concentration, with skill building up as you practice. While it may seem daunting at first, each pose can be held in different ways, depending on your experience and flexibility.
Just like the gym, each class focuses on a specific body part—legs, core, arms. With that being said, each class is also a full body workout and a full body stretch too, including your fingers.The class begins with a warmup and stretches and ends with a calming cool down of shavasana, which most of the time takes place in the hammock, depending on how intense or sweaty the session can get.
Why Aerial?
I’ll be honest. Monkey bars were my childhood nightmare that spilled into adulthood in the form of pull ups. After being a gym junkie for about a year, I shamefully still didn’t have the ability to lift and hold my own body weight.
Two months into aerial yoga, I was able to do what a year of lifting weights couldn’t. Besides the physical aspect, I found aerial yoga to be a great mental escape. Just like yoga, focusing on your breath through the session is one of the key aspects—hold your breath and you’re left with bloodshot eyes. This breathing helps regulate the nervous system, allowing for a calming release the moment you let go of a pose. To top it off, the instant satisfaction from achieving a difficult asana on the hammock is truly unmatchable. It’s almost like a pat on the back, to yourself.
One of the best parts of the session for me is the fact that you sweat it out and work your every muscle, while relaxing your mind and body too. It’s two contradictory feelings coming together. And, I absolutely love the shavasana that involves lying down in the hammock. It’s almost like a cocoon that embraces you, while your body cools down. For me, it’s a great way to start my morning, as it centres and energises me all through the busy day. I would definitely recommend trying it out!
5 Places To Discover Aerial Yoga & Aerial Silk In India
#1: Space 7 Yoga – Mumbai – (the one I go to)
#2: Airborne Aerial Fitness – Mumbai
#3: Delhi Rock – Delhi
#4: The Yogic Studio – Pune
#5: Aerial Silk – Bengaluru
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