People have a lot of preconceptions regarding aerial yoga. Some are justified, some are not, but what most people are not ready for is how the hammock feels. There is the tactile sensation of the fabric, smooth and silky, where it contacts the skin. Alternating between compression (think deep tissue massage) and embrace in the course of an aerial class, the hammock provides a wide variety of experiences.
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who use hammocks in therapy find the gentle swing and the stretchy wrap of the fabric soothing. Lying in the hammock and letting your breath expand into the back ribs is a nourishing and restoring experience. The candlelight yin classes lean heavily into this aspect of the hammocks. One night after class, a woman told me that she became widowed a year ago. Being in the hammocks for class was the first time she had felt held since she lost her husband. That is the feeling we create when we give the hammock our weight and snuggle in.
Let’s not shortchange the deep tissue aspect of it, though. It’s true that compression into tight tissues may not always feel great at the moment, but the opening and release that follow are usually very pleasant. Folding over the hammock and dropping your body weight towards the floor can present a big challenge to students encountering it for the first time – but it’s not long before that’s the pose they take when they set their mat down and wait for class to start.
While hanging from the hammocks, there is a feeling of lengthening and stretching as the hammock holds our weight. There are several poses where this traction comes into play, and we exit feeling taller and more balanced. All day long we walk around, holding up the 10-pound weight of our head with the fragile bones of the spine, every step we take creating downward compression through the vertebrae. Aerial yoga reverses this – with the hammock holding our weight, the heaviness of the skull or the hips encourages space between the joints in the back. It’s an amazing sensation.
Even the gentlest aerial classes will help you develop core stability, balance, and strength – all of which are very supportive in developing our mat practice. You can see that doing aerial yoga is self-care in every sense of the word. I’ll meet you in the hammocks!
