How exciting it would be if a dash of thrill is added to your daily workout! This is what happens in the practice of aerial yoga or anti-gravity yoga. It is a branch of traditional yoga that takes the fitness pursuit to an all-new level!
Yoga is one of the best ways to reap holistic health care benefits since times immemorial. Ancient yogis have taught us ways to tap the energies of the universe to align our mind, body, and soul.
The Origin of Aerial Yoga
The origin of Aerial Yoga traces its course of evolution to the yogic practices developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, who is one of the foremost and greatest yoga gurus of the last century. He used different props to develop his therapeutic yoga techniques and brought forth to the world the benefits of inversion therapy by using a swing.
Anyone can do Aerial Yoga. No acrobatic or trapeze skill is required to learn anti-gravity yoga. It is considered to be a ‘zero-impact workout’.
A Sneak-Peek into Aerial Yoga
The asanas of traditional yoga are performed mid-air with the help of a hammock or swing suspended from a ceiling. It puts far less pressure on joints as compared to the yoga asanas that are done on a mat. Hence, aerial yoga is considered to be the best for people with knee or back problems. It decompresses the spine and muscles. This is not all, its benefits are manifold times more!
“Aerial yoga has had a huge impact on my health and well-being. It has improved my core strength and flexibility. I have better clarity of thought with a sharper focus now. The gushing adrenaline keeps me energized all day. Also, I remain in a calm and meditative state.” says Inderjeet Kaur, a regular ardent yoga practitioner.
“It involves deep and controlled breathing which improves lungs capacity, relaxes the mind, eases stress, builds up an emotional system and improves sleep at night. The onrush of happy hormones of serotonin, endorphins, oxytocin and dopamine boosts up my mood,” she adds.
Research suggests that the practice of Aerial yoga produces certain neurotransmitters which reduce mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. Each body part gets an ample amount of oxygen due to supported inversions and it also improves blood circulation in the body.
“Aerial Yoga is a full-body workout. It burns calories as one needs to hold and control a position while doing an asana on the hammock. Thus, it is considered to be one of the most effective workouts for abs and a stable core. The inverted position has multiple benefits. It detoxifies the circulatory and lymphatic systems lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It stimulates the ‘fire’ element in the body which in turn improves the digestive system. Two more features attributed to aerial yoga are – muscle build-up and fat loss,” opines Prema Ram Jhuria, a professional Aerial Yoga guru.
He believes exercising against gravity improves physical balance and stability during daily activities. However, it must be done under the supervision of an expert guide. “Hanging upside-down may cause dizziness. People with high or low blood pressure, heart diseases, glaucoma or arthritis should not do aerial yoga. It is also not advisable for pregnant women or people post-surgery,” cautions Jhuria.
The Practice of Awakening Spirituality
Aerial Yoga goes beyond just being a physical exercise. It gradually awakens spirituality alongside realigning mind, body and soul, which is the need of the hour.
Escalating mental and physical health issues around the globe and skulking coronavirus, underline one thumb rule – “prevention is better than cure.”
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