AcroYoga - Together you are less alone
Apr 29, 2020
Have you always wanted to fly? In AcroYoga we connect with each other through movement and play to float together. With this form of yoga you not only build trust in your own body, but also within your partnership or friendship.
We have summarized for you what is behind the yoga trend and how you can try it out in your own four walls.
What is AcroYoga and where does it come from?
AcroYoga is a form of partner yoga. The term was first used in Canada in 1999 by Eugene Poku and Jessie Goldberg. The two began their journey together in dance and then revised their routine to include acrobatics and yoga.
In 2003 AcroYoga International was finally founded in San Francisco by Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein. They coined the AcroYoga terms used today and developed a training program that enables teachers to teach all over the world.
AcroYoga combines traditional Hatha or Vinyasa Flow Yoga with acrobatics. It may also include elements of the healing arts such as Thai massage. Gravity is used both as an element for strengthening the muscles and for stretching.
A typical AcroYoga class consists of warm-up, partner work, flowing sequences, inversions and can be rounded off with a Thai Yoga massage.
Do I need acrobatic skills?
No. You don't have to be a master gymnast or a circus acrobat to start with AcroYoga. As with the solo yoga practice, it is much more about listening to your body and exploring its natural range of movement. Little by little you learn movement components and skills that literally take you to the next level.
You just need your own motivation and a partner with whom you can test the laws of gravity together.
Yoga exercises for two for more mindfulness
While you spend a lot of time in your mind while doing yoga and meditation alone, AcroYoga is an intensive partner work that creates a shared physical experience for you and your fellow yogi. You not only learn to perceive contact points more consciously, but also develop your communicative awareness.
AcroYoga is a way to interact with your partner, listen carefully and share your own needs.
The basics of mindfulness are perhaps still familiar to you from our article "With Mindfulness against the Winter Blues". While you communicate mainly with yourself with inwardly directed mindfulness, AcroYoga offers a way to interact with your partner, to listen to him and to communicate your own needs.
Flying Yogis - Terms in AcroYoga
Are you base, flyer or both?
To facilitate communication, there are a few basic terms that every acro yogi should know. Good communication is important to ensure safety and to get into a flow together.
You will hear the following terms during an AcroYoga class:
Base: Base, as the name suggests, refers to the person on the ground. In most poses she lies with her back firmly on the mat. Your task as a Base is to form a stable foundation for the AcroYoga poses of the flyer.
Flyer: The flyer, or flier, is the person who is lifted from Base. Body tension and balance are important skills for the Flyer. Once in the air, the Flyer takes up poses similar to the Yoga asanas.
Spotter: The spotter is a kind of mediator between base and flyer. He offers support and helps to improve the form of the poses and to ensure the safety of all practitioners.
Solar acrobatics: In this dynamic part of AcroYoga the focus is on the flow of movement. Base and flyer are in constant movement and flow from one pose to the next. This even includes jumps and turns.
Lunar acrobatics. This rather quiet variant of AcroYoga is also called therapeutic flying. Here the flyer is brought into static postures that resemble the asanas in Hatha Yoga. The focus here is on relaxation. The flyer is lifted from the base, moved and sometimes also massaged.
Yoga: As a counterpart to the physical element of acrobatics, Yoga brings spirituality and creates harmony between body and mind. Pranayama breathing techniques and mindfulness in the movements of both partners promote physical and mental connection.
If the communication is right, you learn AcroYoga in a playful way with your partner. And along the way you will learn some interesting things about yourself.
3 things AcroYoga teaches you
AcroYoga looks beautiful, feels good and allows new perspectives on your own abilities. It is an invitation to look at yourself and your partner from an authentic perspective.
1. open communication: the key to successful teamwork
Communication is the key to successful teamwork. Exercises usually get mixed up when there are misunderstandings. You will find the common flow, however, when an open and trusting exchange takes place. Whether verbally, through eye contact or touching. You and your partner decide how to communicate best with respect.
2. honest self-assessment of natural limits
Balancing someone above your head only works if you have the right posture. That means your body has to be ready for it. AcroYoga allows you to realistically assess your physical abilities through the natural limits your body sets for you.
3. natural flow: synchronized with the partner
To get into a flow, it needs timing. By working out a new pose with your partner, you learn to match your tempo to someone else's to become in sync. Once your bodies are in flow, you are ready for the next level. Little by little you can reduce touch points and minimize movements.
AcroYoga exercises for beginners at home
Although there is now a worldwide community that regularly holds so-called AcroYoga jam sessions.
Good beginner poses are Throne, Free Bird and Folded Leaf. Use a tutorial with photos for the five best beginner exercises or a video tutorial for acro yoga beginners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyzd9kPnPSw (AcroYoga for beginners at home)
It is important that you have enough space and start with exercises at the beginner level to prevent injuries. If you respect your physical limits, AcroYoga is quite safe and brings one thing above all: great fun.
Take off together
AcroYoga not only gives you a comprehensive work-out for body and mind, but also promotes strength, balance, flexibility and coordination. You learn more about your own gravity and discover what it means to be in flow with your partner.
Interaction with other yogis also gives you the opportunity to look at your own body from a new perspective. And what could be better than feeling yourself and your partner in the right way? So grab your partner, or a friend and take off together ...
and don't forget your LUVIYO!