The magic of AcroYoga

For almost everyone the AcroYoga journey starts with a good portion of suspiciousness, but enough curiosity to give it a try.

However the reasons why people come back are extremely diverse as AcroYoga offer so much on so many different levels.

This page is attempts to present an overview.

Physical benefits – Mental benefits – Emotional benefits – Social skills – Balance – Cooperation & Community

Physical benefits

Fitness

Acroyoga is the living proof that “no pain no gain” is nonsense. During the practice it is completely normal to forget that you are “working out”. We get absorbed in play and fun while improved fitness, health and coordination come as a byproducts.

Strength and softness

In order to be balancable by the base, the flyer needs certain amount of tightness in their whole body. “Tight makes light”. Imagine balancing a jellyfish… Also the base needs a good amount of firmness to feel stable and safe for the flyer. However a stiff stick is not agile or smooth or comfortable. Somewhere inbetween those polarities lies the most efficient sweet spot of optimal tension. Strong but open, tight but gentle.

Body awareness & spatial awareness

Diving into a 3D space of almost infinite possibilities to rotate, roll, spin and flip, it is very easy to lose orientation. And that doesn’t matter! It is beautiful! Your base may say “move your left leg forward”, and you may just reply “I have no idea right now where my left leg is, or what forward means.” That could sound scary, but usually it is just a LOT of fun. And it teaches us a lot about our spatial orientation, how our body parts connect and move in space.

Mental benefits

Play and non-goal-orientedness

Do you still play?
Adults have no time for childishness like that, right?
Well, most parents will agree that our kids can be our best teachers. And we can not fill our life with time by stressing. We can only fill our time with life by living each moment fully.
Play is a form of “practice” and learning that is free from expectations or goals. Kids use it to train and prepare all kinds of skills they will need in live. But in a fun and pleasurable way rather than outcome or performance oriented. They don’t need the perspective of a reward. They don’t need a schedule to know what to do next or not forget any skill. They just go with the flow of intuition. This gives them a feeling of having all the time in world rather than chasing a todo list.

Neuroplasticity

A healthy and fit brain requires learning new things throughout our whole life. Challenging ourselves with new movements stimulates the growth of new neurological pathways on many levels. It is exciting, stimulating and creates a feeling of vitality and joy.

Creativity

Once we have a basic vocabulary of poses and transitions we can start to create our own flows and poses. Sometimes in a rather intellectual way, sometimes we just play intuitively and marvel at what happens.
Creativity is not just for artists. It is the expression of our creative potential and how we apply it in each moment.

Presence

Balancing, spinning, flipping and turning the world upside down while having no choice but to completely trust your partners is guaranteed to bring you into full presence. No option to think about anything else. No future or past, no judgements, no distraction.

Emotional benefits

Joy

Acroyoga is very effective at evoking joy and ecstasy. No one leaves without a smile. To roll around on top of each other, laugh and play, carefree like a child, is extremely healthy and rejuvenating.

Flying

Being carried, supported, safe and yet free to move is best described as FLYING. It is a wonderful sensation to weightlessly forget the challenges of everyday life for a little while.

Trust & Confidence

Often it requires a fair portion of bravery to completely commit ones body weight and balance to another person.
Apart from trusting others, we also learn to trust ourselves. Trust in our own body, our capabilities and intuition.
Sometimes we may face fear, but with the support of our partners we can overcome it and widen our comfort zone step by step, developing confidence and a sense of universal trust in life.

Mindfulness & emotional awareness

And then, after a flight, or after a class, suddenly you stand on your own feet again. Now the digestion starts.
Do you give yourself time and space to feel all the aftereffects, to process what just happened? Or do you immediately move on in a pattern of distraction (chatting, analyzing, projecting,…)?
Are you aware of everything that is happening inside you NOW? Do you allow yourself to feel? Do you dare to feel EVERYTHING?
By mindfully observing what happens inside while we interact outside, we cultivate awareness of our patterns and habits. We explore new ways and learn to allow all emotions without necessarily acting out the arising impulses.

Reputation

Acroyoga is perfect to boost your ego by impressing your followers on Insta 😉

Connection

Acroyoga quickly and automatically builds a deep connection of trust, balance and calibration with your partner.
But also with your own body and your inner world.
It facilitates connection with gravity and lightness, with the earth and the sky.

Emotional benefits

Joy

Acroyoga is very effective at evoking joy and ecstasy. No one leaves without a smile. To roll around on top of each other, laugh and play, carefree like a child, is extremely healthy and rejuvenating.

Flying

Being carried, supported, safe and yet free to move is best described as FLYING. It is a wonderful sensation to weightlessly forget the challenges of everyday life for a little while.

Trust & Confidence

Often it requires a fair portion of bravery to completely commit ones body weight and balance to another person. Apart from trusting others, we also learn to trust ourselves. Trust in our own body, our capabilities and intuition. Sometimes we may face fear, but with the support of our partners we can overcome it and widen our comfort zone step by step, developing confidence and a sense of universal trust in life.

Mindfulness & emotional awareness

And then, after a flight, or after a class, suddenly you stand on your own feet again. Now the digestion starts. Do you give yourself time and space to feel all the aftereffects, to process what just happened? Or do you immediately move on in a pattern of distraction (chatting, analyzing, projecting,…)? Are you aware of everything that is happening inside you NOW? Do you allow yourself to feel? Do you dare to feel EVERYTHING? By mindfully observing what happens inside while we interact outside, we cultivate awareness of our patterns and habits. We explore new ways and learn to allow all emotions without necessarily acting out the arising impulses.

Reputation

Acroyoga is perfect to boost your ego by impressing your followers on Insta 😉

Connection

Acroyoga quickly and automatically builds a deep connection of trust, balance and calibration with your partner.
But also with your own body and your inner world.
It facilitates connection with gravity and lightness, with the earth and the sky.

Social skills

Verbal communication

Non-violent dialog is key for harmonious efficient cooperation. It is easy to start blaming the other when something is not working as we want it. We tell them to do this or that. Since your life absolutely does not depend on nailing this AcroYoga trick or move, it is a perfect opportunity to become aware of our patterns, narratives and habits, reconnect to the partner (What are they struggling with? What do they need? Why do they behave the way they do? What can I do to make it easier for them?) and cultivate loving, genuine and effective communication.

Non-verbal communication – The language of touch

Every time we touch someone there is a flow of information. Tactile, kinesthetic and emotional. Ideally it is a dialog, information traveling both directions, both sides being receptive and emitting. We need trust, empathy and adaptability to establish balance.

Balance

Obviously we practice physical balance when we stack our bodies on top of each other. But we also practice balance on so many other levels. Balance between talking & listening, giving & taking, pushing & pulling, following & leading, supporting & being supported, tension & relaxation, sensitivity & power, bravery & caution, trust & control, wanting & accepting, doing & being.

Cooperation instead of competition

This world is so full of competition. It can be a great incentive. But at the current extent, it will destroy life on earth.

Flying on top of each other, playing and cocreating beautiful shapes and movements may not seem relevant for survival, but it is a perfect space to reconnect to cultivate cooperation and compassion. Together we can create so much than each of us alone.

Community

Apart from the connection with your partner, the degree of trust and co-creation also with your spotters and even random other people at a class or jam quickly invokes a feeling of community. Acroyoga is not just a practice. It’s a global tribe of all ages, backgrounds and styles. Everyone is welcome (except mosquitos and ticks 😉 ).

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