Sunday, April 13, 2014

I Recently Got into Swinging

No, not like that you bunch of pervs.  This morning I found myself, clad in yoga gear, hanging from a hammock suspended from the ceiling at Monica's Danz Gym.  Today I threw myself full force into Aerial Yoga and had a pretty amazing time!  My lack of flexibility didn't prove to be too much of a problem and I recognized early on that there is a huge trust factor in throwing all of your body weight into a hammock sling that is a few feet from the ground.


We started off doing the standard yoga type exercises, just incorporating the hammock and keeping your body lifted off the floor.  The first move we did was literally like being put into a little cocoon.  The hammock spreads out and surrounds the body as you focus on breathing, relaxing, and trusting.  About halfway through was when we started to get a little crazy and did some inversions where we wrap our legs around the sides of the hammock and then hang upside down, wrapped up in the cloth.  It is quite liberating and took me right back to the days of hanging upside down on the monkey bars at school.

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(image from: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/22/a4/c2/22a4c2e3f4365f5b7647c7280cf048cc.jpg)

I am planning on doing a short video for the blog in about 2 weeks to show you the different types of poses that we go through!  If nothing else, it will be funny for you to watch me attempt to maneuver "gracefully" through the hammock.  I strongly recommend this class to anyone wanting to get into something new and I am going to actually sign up for 6 classes, but you can go for just a drop in which costs $20.  It is totally worth it! 

At first I didn't know that this activity even existed, but I had seen it on Bethanny Frankel's talk show once and thought it looked really fun.  




I am quite happy that not only is this offered in Winnipeg, but it is literally 10 minutes from my home (faster depending on the lights). If nothing else, the class will make you feel like you are part of Cirque de Soleil...at least for a few minutes, until you glance in the mirror and see your posture and the faces you making trying to get into position.
How did it make me feel?  Super energized.  You spend a bit of time being upside down which gets the blood flowing to all parts of your body and relieves the pressure from all of the other lower body parts.  I remember when I was in South Korea, the outdoor workout parks would have inversion tables for this reason alone...plus you grow a couple inches (in height, guys.  Sorry.)  What I found extremely intriguing, was that at the end of the class we went back into our little cocoons and my spine area felt cool and refreshed.  I feel so good and so energized!  I think I will go back for Friday and Sunday classes!  And don't forget to check back in a few weeks for the video post on it ;)




2 comments:

  1. This looks like soooo much fun! Take me!

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  2. yes!! definitely come with me next time!! next week they are closed for easter, but come the following sunday :D

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