Three Tips for Your First Aerial Yoga Class
Aerial yoga, as a fitness pursuit, flies somewhere between something a 6-year-old child does naturally at the playground and something witnessed at a circus. When given proper instruction with a qualified instructor, aerial yoga is a doable fusion of traditional yoga poses mixed with the fun tricks of aerial arts. An aerial yoga class centers around the aerial hammock, a bolt of stretch fabric attached to the ceiling at two points and hung at the waist like a hammock. The instructor will guide the class through strength, flexibility and balance moves using the aerial hammock. Some moves will be straight out of yoga and some moves will be from aerial arts. Class will generally be an hour to 75 minutes. When attending your first class, here are some helpful tips.
Find a studio that has flow-style aerial yoga classes.
There are numerous styles of aerial yoga. However, the cohesive nature of a flow-style class can be helpful for beginners. The instructor will lead the students through a proper warm-up and the class will stay together for the duration of the practice making it easy to follow along. A good class should have strength building, flexibility training, core work and lots of fun!
Find a qualified instructor.
Having diverse instructors is a good thing. The best studios have instructors from a variety of fitness backgrounds such as dance, weight lifting and personal training. Find an instructor that leaves the hammock during the class to spot and assist. If you are not offered a spot or given good direction on your first inversion you should consider attending a different studio. The lack of spotting can mean a lack of concern with safety from the instructor. A well-trained instructor will have no problem leading a class and making every student feel confident.
Don’t Stress.
Chances are there will be the several newbies in class. During class the body and the mind will experience new movement and new challenges, but it should be fun and exciting. A good studio and instructor will help with set-up and answer any questions.