I am wobbling, and it’s no wonder. One leg is extended in front of me, supported in a silky fabric hammock, and the other is fighting to balance for the rest of my body. I’m trying Unnata Aerial Yoga at Lilly Steele Fitness, where working with a moving prop allows for deeper stretches, a serious core workout, as well as unique moves that bring circus acts to mind.
Slowly, I lose the battle and tip to the side, gripping the hammock and making silly noises as I try to right myself. I manage to regain my balance by standing directly under the hammock’s point of suspension. I soldier on, but I find myself longing for the beginning of the class when I was suspended in the hammock, relaxed my human cocoon.
See also: We Tried It: Silks Class at Bumbershoot Aerial Arts
At the beginning of the class, the instructor said that much of this strain of yoga is about getting along with the fabric, which has a mind of its own. She’s right—and that’s also what made it more distracting than relaxing for me. Constantly dealing with the X-factor of a limb (or my whole body) suspended in the air impaired my usual ability to get my yoga Zen on.
That’s not to say it was an unpleasant experience. Far from it. Moves such as an upside-down version of pigeon pose had me happy and recalling my experiences in the Bumbershoot aerial silks class I tried. It would definitely offer a fresh dimension to someone with a serious, long-term yoga practice.
At the end of the class, I asked the instructor if the wobbling goes away, and she assured me it does, fairly quickly. (She was certainly rock-solid). But given a choice between aerial and traditional yoga, I would opt to stay on the ground. At least for a while.
Unnata Aerial Yoga classes are $17 each, and multi-class packages allow you to try the studio’s other offerings, including aerial conditioning and aerial yoga fit. A 5-class package is $75, and a 10-class package is $130. An unlimited-use 30-day pass is $140, and there is an $80 new student special that allows you to take up to two classes a day for 30 days.
Heidi Dean is a writer and stay-at-home mom to a preschooler. You can read more of her work on her blog Mama-Come-Lately.
