I remember watching the Grammys in 2010 and being completely awed by Pink’s Cirque du Soleil-esque performance (which you can enjoy below). I told myself in that moment that I would at some point in my life try out aerial silks.
Fast forward to 4 years later, and, low and behold, I found myself at a local fitness studio about to embark on a yoga journey featuring (what else?): AERIAL SILKS!
The experience was… unique… to say the least. I’m not the most coordinated of human beings and even less so when I’m upside-down, so I could feel the teacher watching me with hawk eyes for fear that I would break my own neck.
Luckily, I didn’t, and I actually quite enjoyed the class.
Here are the top 10 reasons why aerial yoga has now become my new favourite type of yoga:
10) It’s ridiculously fun. This type of yoga is not for the yogi that takes things seriously and likes to get “in the zone.” This is for yogis like me–who like to goof off and get distracted.
http://www.blisstree.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/539016_10151162421807145_1643438762_n.jpg
9) There is no better sense of accomplishment than freeing yourself from a silk when you’ve managed to get tangled in it.
8) The silks are pretty! Okay, so I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to shiny things and bright colours but, whatever. Sue me.
http://www.aerialyoga.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/home-02.jpg
7) It does a better job of calming my mind than other yoga. Maybe this is because I’m so distracted by the potentiality of getting tangled in the silk and sliding to my death, but it definitely keeps my mind off of other silly thoughts.
6) Anyone can do it. The silks are designed to work with your body. You control the silk. If that doesn’t make you feel like a Jedi master then I don’t know what will.
5) You get to go upside down! Screw theme parks and roller coasters, just strap me into a silk for the whole day!
4) Classes are faster paced than regular yoga so you don’t run the risk of falling asleep. Just saying.
3) You work muscles you never even knew you had. Did you know you had muscles in your lower abdomen? Neither did I. I thought that space was reserved for food babies and cushioning.
2) There is a pose called the vampire. Enough said.
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1) The final pose in every class calls for you to cocoon yourself in the silk and just lie there suspended until you’re ready to emerge like a beautiful butterfly and gracefully go about your day (albeit with sore muscles and a permanent head rush).
http://www.littlemissrunshine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/aerial-yoga-cocoon.jpg
Have you tried aerial yoga? What did you think of it?! Let me know in the comments below!
Yogi In Training 
May 11, 2014 at 2:09 am
Thank you for such a crisp, informative and fun post! I love the fact that you included the video (Pink’s performance was stunning) and images of the actual poses you were describing. Though I practice yoga regularly, I have never tried aerial yoga. But, after reading your post, I am definitely IN. It sounds like a lot of fun! How strong is the silk, I wonder? Also, once you are able to flip upside-down, how long do you actually stay up in the air? It all sounds absolutely fascinating. Are there any studios (in Vancouver / North Vancouver) that you would recommend? Yay (Aeria) Yoga!
May 12, 2014 at 5:01 am
Thanks for the comment! I only know of a couple of places that do it downtown… one is Steve Nash fitness world downtown and the one I go to is Tantra Fitness 🙂 (they also do a lot of dance stuff as well as pole dancing haha!)
May 17, 2014 at 9:18 pm
Sounds fun! Thanks for the info regarding Steve Nash and Tantra Fitness. 🙂 I also learned that Aerial Yoga is also referred to as Antigravity Yoga. Yes? I came across a video by Lululemon, which depicts it so beautifully. You might have seen it: http://youtu.be/x7TalnV6b1g.
May 12, 2014 at 3:43 pm
Thanks for sharing the info! Ive heard about it and saw some videos but never got the guts to try it. You make it sound like its a lot of fun so I might just go and try it 🙂
Simone
May 13, 2014 at 7:32 pm
You definitely should! It’s a ton of fun:)
May 13, 2014 at 6:10 am
t looks fun,energetic into a friendly environment,but I thought that the main point of Yoga was Inner Peace ,balance and focus .Do you think that with all this gymnastic ,acrobatic dance is it possible to get that? . Maybe I’m wrong…..
May 15, 2014 at 3:42 am
Fab post.. you took me through a range of emotions! The Pink video was amazing.. I was completely in awe and had never seen the performance before. Major talent and guts for that one!
While you definitely enticed me with the idea of Aerial Yoga, I get major vertigo so feel it may be a disaster for me. What do you think?
May 15, 2014 at 3:40 pm
Thanks for the response Carson! 🙂
Isn’t she unreal?! I love her! And in an interview, she was asked why she did it and she said “I feel like people still don’t really understand what I do. And I really wanted to get all the famous people soaked.” I laughed haha 🙂
I actually have a similar problem–I have REALLY low blood pressure, so going upside down is really amplified for me. The instructors are really good about helping you pace yourself, though, and you can use the silk as a support to steady yourself if you get really dizzy. The classes are small too, so the instructors are always available to rescue you if you need it 🙂