Photo: Tyler Blank. Taken from the cover of the Acroyoga 2010 calendar, Magical Reality.
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AcroYoga: Once the Play Flows, the Ego Goes
The challenge in acroyoga isn't to be flexible, but trusting and fearless. The beauty of this practice is learning to let go and trust others. Doing so is much harder than any yoga pose I've attempted, but it's the foundation of this practice and instructors are happy to show you how. Once you do, you'll play, laugh, learn, communicate and fly. Or, as instructor Lindsey Britt points out in the video below, once the play flows, the ego goes.
Acroyoga started in 2003 with Jenny Sauer-Klein and Jason Nemer in San Francisco and today has over 120 teachers worldwide. Although Acroyoga is fairly new, the foundation of the practice is three ancient techniques: yoga, acrobatics and Thai massage.
Because there are three foundations, classes can focus on partner yoga, Thai massage, inversions or a combination of all three, but they always start with the Circle Ceremony. The circle represents community, you move together, breathe together, sing and touch. It helps get everyone accustomed to each other before moving on to partner yoga and eventually flying.
Most groups work in threes, where one person is the base, another the flyer and the third a spotter. The base supports the flyer by using Thai massage bone stacking techniques, which helps evenly distribute the weight of the flyer for the base. Once the flyer is done, they give the base a series of Thai massage moves as a way to show appreciation. This video, which I shot with local Acroyoga teachers Jonny Nobleza, Lindsey Britt and Tatiana Sanchez gives you a taste of what the practice is all about.
Acroyoga classes take place at Urban Lotus Chicago, Moksha Yoga Logan Square and start at Namaskar Yoga in December.
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