People have always loved to try out new things. Often, they simply modify and revive something old and make it popular again. This not only helps keep valuable practices alive but also engage the newer generations in it. Aerial yoga is a classic example of that. It took the age-old practice of yoga, combined it with acrobatics, and created an exciting new form out of it. What the best thing about it is that it has become quite popular too. It has gotten many young as well as old people hooked to yoga. But the question all aerial yoga beginners have is, has there been too many modifications? Does it retain any of the principles of yoga at all?
Origin of Aerial Yoga
If we are to look for what really triggered the inspiration of aerial yoga, we have to look within India. Long ago, mallakhamb was in practice in India, as a sport and as a performance. Its variation, aerial mallakhamb, involved using long silk fabric ropes to perform various acrobatic acts. Aerial yoga takes its influence heavily from this, albeit at a smaller scale.
We all know that BKS Iyengar, the highly sought-after yoga teacher, developed Iyengar yoga in Pune. The crux of this yoga style is to provide support with various objects to attain difficult yoga poses or to make yoga more accessible to those with disabilities. Iyengar often used ropes or long pieces of fabric from which students would have to hang to do inversions or similar poses. This was happening already in the mid-1990s. In 1952, he taught Yehudi Menuhin, which opened up the world to Iyengar yoga.
In 1990, Christopher Harrison, a Broadway dancer, choreographer, and gymnast started to provide workouts to former gymnasts and athletes. These workouts were a combination of aerial acrobatics, dance, Pilates, calisthenics, and of course, yoga. His aim was to create an exercise form that would keep acrobats in practice while giving the benefits of a workout. He developed Team AntiGravity in 1991 exclusively for this.
Modern Aerial Yoga
Soon, it caught on and people were holding their own sessions and shows. In 2001, an Americal physiotherapist Antonio “Tone” Cardenas created the prototype yoga swing used in aerial yoga even today. Kerry Neal created the “Gravotonics Yoga Swing & Exercise System” in 2003 in Bali, which derived from the same principle. YOGABODY founder Lucas Rockwood developed the yoga trapeze, inspired by the inversion swings in Thailand, in 2004. Michelle Dortignac combined elements of aerial acrobatics with yoga to found the Unnatuna aerial yoga style in 2006.
Aerial performer Rebekah Leach wrote the first Aerial Yoga Manual while Cirque du Soleil artist Carmen Curtis formed the first aerial yoga brand to be given recognition by the Yoga Alliance. Richard Holroyd was another notable personality who set up Aerial Yoga London in 2011. The newest version is the 2012 Fly High Yoga of Ubud that uses a yoga belt.
How Aerial Yoga Differs From Conventional Yoga
Most aerial yoga beginners will be wondering if they should have just stuck to conventional yoga. If you have joined a Rishikesh yoga teacher training center for aerial yoga, you will be surrounded by normal yoga centers in Rishikesh. Fear, the lack of confidence, hesitation, and such other feelings will make you want to join one of those centers. But no one has ever been able to judge something without trying it out first. Therefore, we say, give it a try; you will not regret it. Aerial yoga is much more fun than normal yoga. Sure, it looks scary at times, especially the inversions. But you will be starting with aerial yoga beginner poses, which will build you up for the more complex ones. Once you get familiar with it, it will not be so scary anymore.
Moreover, aerial yoga also has a lot of benefits. You will notice in any aerial yoga beginners class that people move to the aerial versions of the more difficult mat poses quite easily. This is because gravity and body strength or flexibility is less of a constraint here. Most of the support is given by the silk hammock. This allows you to have the benefits of advanced yoga in the aerial yoga basics level only. In fact, you will be enjoying the advantages of a number of physical activities through one form only.
What Should Aerial Yoga Beginners Remember
Most aerial yoga beginners who join at a Rishikesh yoga teacher training center come with the same mindset as for a traditional YTTC. What we want them to know is that they should come with an empty mind. Yes, they would still have to go through and learn everything that a conventional yoga class teaches them. But there is a fundamental difference in the practice of mat yoga and aerial yoga. Aerial yoga is more accessible; therefore, its goal is also wider. Its lack of physical restrictions allows you to “jump” through stages. Hence, it is less about increasing the capacity of your body and more about opening your body up to all possibilities simultaneously.
Aerial yoga beginners should also learn to trust their teachers more. The idea of only a piece of cloth supporting you can be daunting. But once you trust your teacher and consequently, the hammock and your body, you will realize how easy everything is. If possible, also keep mat poses in practice simultaneously for additional benefits.
Best Rishikesh Yoga Teacher Training Center for Aerial Yoga
Aerial yoga is relatively new. Hence, it can be harder to choose the best Rishikesh yoga teacher training center for it than for normal yoga. The wise choice would be to go for a well-established institution like Aadi Yoga School.
