I am not sure what kind of crazy pills I was taking the day I decided to haul my rotund ass up into an aerial sling and fly around in the air while attempting to do yoga poses, but there was definitely something abnormal going in my brain.
I found a place near my house that offered the aerial yoga beginner classes for $20 as a walk-in and grabbed my partner in crime to go see what this was about. As I mentioned, I am not a small person. At all. However, after a little research I was comforted that the aerial slings hold up to 2000 lbs, so I still had a couple lbs to go before I was in danger of breaking anything (read: falling on my head and breaking a solid steel beam).
I got to the studio which was small and cozy with about 10 aerial silks and a very perky instructor named Zina. There were two students there finishing an advanced class, but she was very welcoming and told me I was welcome to hang out and watch until they finished. My friend had not gotten there yet and so I was alone with these three extremely fit people doing all sorts of extended planks and upside-downing. While I was excited to be trying something new, there was a lot of "Oh HELLLLLLLL no" going on in my brain.
I managed to not run away screaming and the class started. One of the scariest parts of aerial yoga, I'm guessing for anyone, is the first time just sitting in the sling. Because you're terrified you're going to come crashing down, bringing part of the ceiling with you. Zina reassured me that wasn't going to happen, so up I went. A few things I learned about aerial yoga and about myself at that moment. One, it is harder to get into it than it looks and you have to trust yourself. Two, I really, really, really dislike the idea of falling backwards. And since there's nothing behind you, it is a fear that comes alive like zombie in a bad horror movie when you're up in that thing.
We went through a couple of easy poses while Zina got us used to the fabric. And then... then she lost her damn mind. She asked us to flip over backwards out of the sling. Despite my inner voice telling me to run like I was en fuego out of the studio, I mustered up all my upper body strength... and flipped over backwards. It was far from graceful, but I did it and landed on my feet. On. My. Feet. Holy Crap!! I am a BADASS!
There is nothing that will give you a bigger rush than doing something you really believed was impossible. My entire mindset changed after that and I without hesitation tried everything else that she asked us to do. It was not easy and some of it was painful, but it was incredible. If you have tight hips, it will be difficult. And then there's this...
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| Yeah, this happened... |
Yes, I hung upside down like an idiot and no, I'm not screaming. That was sheer joy from doing something so crazy awesome that I couldn't help but be that excited.
At the end of the session, Zina had us lay in the slings which will cover you horizontally from head to toe (they're very long). She had pushed me a little so that I was suspended in the air and flying back and forth while laying there in a darkened room. I have never experienced anything quite like it before. At that moment, I became slightly obsessed with aerial silks and decided that I was going to be an aerial silks performer come hell or high water. While that goal is yet to be realized, I wanted to share my experience to encourage you to take a chance and give this a try.
You will most likely be sore the next day, but if you enjoy yoga or strength training, aerial yoga is like both of those things on steroids while riding on a unicorn through a field of glittery awesomeness. You will not be sorry if you try it - it's empowering when you do something that terrifies you, especially when you start to see what your body is capable of doing. Let me know your experiences and check out Zina's classes if you're in the DE / PA / MD area: Aerial Fun and Fitness
XOXO - Katz
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