The 11 Benefits Of Aerial Yoga, According To Trainers

Aerial yoga merges yoga poses and aerial practices, says yoga therapist Brandt Passalacqua. Instead of moving through poses on a mat, you do them while dangling in a silk hammock that’s suspended from the ceiling. (Cool, right?) Here are all the benefits of aerial yoga.

Improves Range Of Motion

Aerial yoga improves your range of motion by allowing you to do extra-bendy yoga poses, like forward folds and back extensions that might be tough to do on a mat, Passalacqua says. With the hammock supporting your body, you have more freedom to move.

Increases Flexibility

Since you don’t have to hold yourself up, you can relax into poses that open tight areas of the body, like the hips and chest. Suspending also creates traction for a deeper stretch, Passalacqua says, while inversions help decompress your joints.

Decompresses The Spine

Yoga teacher Babajide Ogunmola says hanging upside down quite literally takes a load off your spine. An inversion pose — where you hang upside down — opens up space between each vertebra to help get rid of back pain.

Improves Posture

Aerial yoga classes tend to feature lots of rotations and backbends. According to Passalacqua, these moves help open your shoulders and chest, strengthen your back muscles, and release tight hip flexors — all of which add up to better posture.

Easy On The Joints

If you’ve always wanted to try yoga but worry about it causing knee or wrist pain, aerial yoga might be a better bet. “The hammock offers support to your knees and wrists by reducing the pressure placed on them,” says Passalacqua.

Helps Digestion

The forward folds, twists, and inversions of an aerial yoga class is said to increase blood flow to your organs, says yoga teacher Steph Ball-Mitchell. It can stimulate the digestive system and the gentle rocking of the hammock may help with constipation.

Improves Circulation

All the dangling poses and rotations are great for your circulation as well, says Ball-Mitchell. “When you’re hanging in the silks you experience a lot of compression and decompression of the veins in the legs, which can help increase blood flow.”

Strengthens Muscles

While most aerial classes are relaxing, Ball-Mitchell says some teachers include acrobatic elements to work your shoulders, back, biceps, and triceps as you maneuver in the silks. Some positions also call on your core strength extra for support.

Great For Your Skin

Ball-Mitchell says aerial yoga does wonders for the skin. This is thanks to all the inversions, as well as the fitness aspect of aerial yoga, so don’t be surprised if you leave class with an extra glow.

Boosts The Mood

Just like mat yoga, aerial yoga increases mindfulness, reduces anxiety, and improves sleep quality. “It also boosts your mood because lots of ‘feel-good hormones’ like oxytocin are released during class,” Ball-Mitchell says. Plus, it’s fun!

Builds Confidence

Take one look at an aerial pose and you might think you can’t do it, but that’s far from true. Once you get in the silks you’ll realize you can get into new positions As Ball-Mitchell says, “Everyone has an increased range of motion in aerial yoga.”