Healthy Life Tip: Try aerial yoga!

Contributed by Carmen Curtis

Being in the aerial hammock calms the nervous system with a deep feeling of full support, security, like being hugged in your mother’s arms. I like to say, “Love is in the air!” You may also experience a feeling of weightlessness, freedom – both physically and psychologically.

Aerial Yoga promotes a pain-free body. Whether you are a newcomer to yoga or well-practiced in the art of asana, Aerial Yoga assists you in alleviating common aches and pains and preventing injury. It reduces anxiety, depression, insomnia and  migraines. By increasing circulation, aerial yoga decreases inflammation and aging processes. It moves you on your journey to deeper self-healing.

The hammock develops your balance and stabilizing muscles. Used as a spotting device for your yoga practice, the aerial hammock makes poses accessible by supporting your weight, encouraging weaker muscles to strengthen, lengthening tight/inflexible areas, expanding your range of motion, and providing traction.

Aerial Yoga teaches healthy breathing techniques. You develop a nourishing breath that calms the mind and fuels the muscles. Using the hammock as a supportive prop helps take your focus off the struggle of the asana or perfection of form and turns your attention to the cadence of the breath, releasing distractions of the mind. The hammock helps you find peace instead of worry.

Face your fears and conquer them! Postures such as inversions and backbends can feel terrifying. Using the hammock as a prop to safely enter into and out of them helps build confidence in yourself, awareness of your strength and ability, may allow you to eventually perform the posture without the aid of a prop, and certainly helps you overcome the fear of falling.

Carmen is offering 2 workshops at Still & Moving Center this August:

Aloha in the Air!

Aerial Yoga Teacher Training