A Flipped Perspective: Aerial Yoga

 

Trying Something New

I have always wanted to try aerial yoga. I love being upside down so I suspected I would really love hanging upside down. AND I was right! It was freaking amazing! I haven’t felt that calm and relaxed in years. Literally years.

I recommend splurging on a one on one class if you are nervous about it. I have always been a believer in the benefits of personal training; I was actually a trainer myself at one point in my life!

I love the feeling Aerial Yoga gives of instant calm. Many years ago I loved hot yoga and I also treated myself to private classes to learn proper alignment for Iyengar style flow. I have several injuries that I am working around so I also felt more confident having a teacher to help position me in the correct form (or place me in a head stand, for example.)

I love the way my body, mind, and spirit feel when I am exercising consistently. I have a tendency to just do the exercises that I am familiar with mainly because of time. When I saw that Hotel Wailea was offering private classes, I knew I had to try it out. Like I mentioned in the last post, our flight to the island was not ideal. (It doesn’t help that I pulled an all-nighter the previous night to pack…I deserve the award for world’s worst packer I promise). Needless to say, I was in dire need of a relaxing activity.

Uplift Maui

The instructor’s name was Drew (Short for Andrea) from Uplift Maui. Drew was one of the best yoga instructors I have ever had. She was incredibly calming, knowledgeable, and made me feel so comfortable during my first aerial yoga experience. Since I had never done a class before, Drew gave me a typical basic beginner course. You begin the class completely supported and suspended in the silks, mimicking the safety of the “womb position.” You stay in this position while you focus on your breathing and following a guided meditation. From there, Drew led me into multiple different stretches and positions that were designed to lengthen the spin and calm the nervous system. Flipping over and hanging upside down reverses your blood flow and creates a relaxing buzz both mentally and physically.

After just one hour with Drew learning all of the different techniques and benefits of aerial yoga, I was the most relaxed I had been the entire trip. Did I mention how amazing the yoga room was? Located adjacent to the open air  exercise room at Hotel Wailea. (Check out my last post about this property HERE.) The yoga room was half indoor/half outdoor, which gave you the benefit of breathing in fresh outdoor air, protecting you from the sun, and providing an incredible view of the Hawaii beaches. What more could you want??

This class was everything I could want and more and I will 100% be looking for an aerial yoga facility in Atlanta. If you have tried one nearby you enjoyed please let me know below! I would love to join you for a class 🙂

aerial yoga mauiThank you for viewing!

Until next time,

Love Jean

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