Flashback to Space Jams, the greatest movie of the 90’s. I am currently singing a choral arrangement of “I Believe I Can Fly” for a show I am in this week. This song will NOT leave my head and has by default become the soundtrack to my weekend.
Anyways…… I like to think I have PLENTY of flying experience– I did after all attend weekly flying trapeze classes for the majority of college. Today though I finally got to experience “anti-gravity yoga” at Om Factory’s new Flight School. I’ve secretly been DYING to take one of these classes since I first moved to the city but have been too chicken to make the trek to one of the far away Crunch’s.
While trapeze is my true circus love, I’ve done a teeny tiny bit of aerials out of curiosity.
let me tell you, jumping off a platform 25 feet up in the air is EASY compared to holding onto the hammock for dear life! I prefer my circus adventures to include safety lines and a net.
Today I finally took the plunge since they were offering FREE classes at “Flight School”. I always thought this would be my kind of yoga, something far more fitting for an uptight, impatient, overachieving, circus lover. To be honest though, I was a bit disappointed with the experience.
Using the hammock felt clunky compared to the usual flow of a yoga class, there was so much preparation and maneuvering before the actual pose. For me personally I have grown to LOVE yoga because it has really helped me find a sense of calm, grounding, focus and presence. During anti-gravity yoga I found it hard to be calm, I wasn’t exactly fearful of getting hurt (although I was concerned about irritated my injured arm) but I found certain aspects of it incredibly difficult, and I was concerned that god forbid I don’t have the right placement, I’m gonna face plant onto the floor. I couldn’t stop clenching my jaw, and I couldn’t focus on my breath. I am sure the sense of calm and relaxation comes with time, but it still felt like it was missing the yoga aspect of anti-gravity yoga.
While it was not my thing, and I prefer to keep my yoga as yoga and my aerials as aerials, it is a super cool way to try out silks and work on body alignment. I would be curious to take another class when my focus isn’t on protecting my right arm. Until then, I will stick to my Sunrise Yoga and Yoga Vida classes.
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