If you’re hooked on yoga and you like other people, you should give Acro a go! We have tutorials right here for you to try at home, but first, find out 5 awesome things our muse, Sylvia Garcia, loves about Acro Yoga!
I became hooked on acroyoga the very first time I tried it. I had already been practicing yoga for over a decade and can recall having so much fun and laughing more than I ever had in any class and wanting to come back again immediately. If I were to narrow down all the things I love about acroyoga, and there are many, my top 5 would be, community, connection, playfulness, trust and connection.
Community
I love my yoga practise and the journey that it has taken me on over the past 15 years. I love that it gives me time for myself where I can really focus on me. The acroyoga practise though is really about bringing people together. It is no longer about me on my own mat thinking about how a pose feels in my body, it’s about everyone involved whether that be the base, the flyer or the spotter it only works if everyone is on the same page and comes together.
I love to see how people want to share the practise and as a result see the acroyoga community grow globally.
Communication
Because of the relationships we form in acroyoga, communication becomes really important. Knowing how to convey how you are feeling, what you need from your partner and discussing how a pose a transition or a new trick can be improved is so important. It taught me a lot about being clear, direct and also tactful. It’s not about placing the blame and working out who is wrong when something isn’t working, it’s about figuring out what everyone can contribute to make it work better.
Playfulness
This is perhaps my favorite of all the things I love about acroyoga. I love that it turns adults into child like monkeys who laugh and giggle and roll around whether the tricks have worked or not. As grownups we often lose our ability to play, acroyoga restores that in such a magical way. It’s a wonderful thing to see a room full of people who entered slightly shy and apprehensive open up and play with strangers and laugh and share even when practicing some of the more accessible shapes and when things go wrong to have that same level of laughter and enjoyment. As with the yoga asana practise, it really is all about the journey!
Trust
This for me is one of the most powerful parts of the acroyoga practise. As a base and flyer there are moments when you have to surrender completely and trust that your partner will support you and get you where you are both aiming to be. I have found myself many many times working with a partner on a scary trick and having to shut down the part of my brain which wants to panic, scream and flail and just hold my shape, do what I need to do and completely trust that I will be safe. There are so many elements of the acroyoga practise where this is felt between the base, flyer and spotter and often results in high fives and hugs. The spotter has a huge role for me when it comes to trust. Knowing that someone is there to catch the flyer can really help both the base and the flyer progress to tricks they wouldn’t do alone knowing they are safe to do so.
Connection
Acroyoga is a practise that allows not only for instant connection with the people you are working with which is created from the trust and communication involved but is also a rapidly expanding practise which allows for a connection with acroyogi’s all over the world. Social media is a great way of connecting and meeting up for jams and classes when you travel and are abroad and are a great way to expand your practise and group of monkeys you can play with, it’s not just all about grip and hand and foot placement!
There are many, many things to love about acroyoga. So grab a friend, play and be safe. Be ready to laugh a lot, it’s good for the abs and be warned, this practice is highly addictive.
>>Check Out My Online AcroYoga Tutorials Here>>
Coming from a strong Ashtanga background and inspired by her teacher David Swenson, Sylvia has practised many other styles including Dharma Yoga, Jivamukti, Vinyasa Flow, Yin and Acro Yoga as well as circus based handstands and acrobatics. Sylvia teaches classes, workshops and retreats across London and the UK with care, compassion and humour. For all classes, retreats and workshops see www.facebook.com/sylviasyoga and instagram @sylviasyoga.
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