Yep, aerial yoga

Guys guys guys.

I can barely put two sentences together because this was so cool. But I'm going to try because my god this was cool.

Let's talk about cool for a sec.

When I got invited to go to an aerial yoga class, I was pretty skeptical. I had never heard of it before, and I've thumbed through a good number of Yoga Journal magazines. My main concern was that "aerial" implies that if I just so happened to fall, it would be a farther distance than when I am standing on the floor.

Yes sometimes I fall down while I'm standing. Prime example: Warrior Three.

My other concern was that I would straight up not be able to do it. Like "have to sit in child's pose the whole time" incapable. Given my competitive nature, his was an unacceptable and anxiety-inducing possibility.

Nonetheless, I decided that it was going to be fun and even if I did have to sit in child's pose the whole time, the only judgment that would be directed at me would be from myself, and I would never have to go again.

When I walked into the studio Saturday morning, my adrenaline seemed to convert my nervousness into pure excitement. Huge pieces of fabric called "silks" or "swings" were knotted up to bolts in the ceiling and attached with hefty carabiners.

I met the instructor Tara - who could not have been more welcoming or positive - who told me that each hook can hold up to 350 pounds, so I would need to be pushing 700 pounds if I were going to tear the silk down from the ceiling. Phew!

As the small class gathered - there were only six of us including Tara - I watched Tara simultaneously chat with the class and flip herself into poses using the silks. At this point I was just antsy to learn how to do it.

Teach me your ways!

I ended up learning pretty quickly.

Aerial yoga blends the poses you know from your regular ashtanga yoga with these silks hanging from the ceiling. You can do everything from Down Dog to Pigeon Pose to Plow, but the silk makes it so that you can customize the how the pose works for you.

Let's take Pigeon Pose.

Thanks, Kristin McGee for demonstrating.

When you do it on the floor, there are a lot of things to consider. Your knees, your hips, your ankles. The ground seems to be fighting against you, even though its one of the best poses for opening up your hips.

But when you do it in a silk, you have more control over how the pose works for you without the limitations of doing it on the floor.

www.pomelosunshine.com

But then you also get to do crazy cool things you'd never be able to do in an ashtanga class, like the pose you saw me in, or what my friend Sara is doing here. Holy What?!

Sure it may look like Royal Dancer, but did you see? She's upside down. Bonkers.

I cannot wait to go back to class. It was so fun to flip around, push myself out of my comfort zone and try new things. It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend. 

Sara actually has an aerial swing installed in her apartment. I may go to a few more classes before I investigate that option, but for now she told me I can come by and use it when I'm suffering withdrawal throughout the week, and I will most definitely take her up on it.