Take Flight With AcroYoga
The deep backbends, graceful balancing acts, and seemingly impossible
stacks of human bodies make for some serious yoga eye candy. But
flying high (and snapping the obligatory photo) is only one, very
small, part of an AcroYoga practice. Equally, balance and strength
are essential, but neither needs to be of the superhuman variety.
AcroYoga
is a vibrant, playful – and relatively new – style of yoga,
combining traditional yoga asanas with the dynamic movement of
acrobatics. And like traditional yoga practice, the focus on breath
awareness grounds familiar postures like bird, camel, and mermaid –
only, with acro, the full expression of poses takes place midair.
Members
of Winnipeg’s AcroYoga community can be seen practicing in parks
and outdoor festivals throughout the summer.
Yoga
instructor and massage therapist Lesley Brown brought AcroYoga to
Winnipeg only a few years ago, in 2011, after attending her first of
what would become many workshops in the United States.
“This
person was like, ‘Can I fly you?’ and I didn’t know what that
meant,” she recalls, laughing.
Returning
home, Brown was hooked, and eager to continue her practice. Realizing
she was probably alone in this pursuit, she ordered the AcroYoga
manual and started hosting acro gatherings, or ‘jams,’ in her
back yard. Soon this led to teaching acro classes at the Rudolph
Rocker in Winnipeg’s Exchange District and then onto Peg City Yoga,
where she continues to instruct today. In the process, Brown, one of
Canada’s few certified AcroYoga instructors, watched as a community
blossomed around her.
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This was Heather Whittaker’s first time trying AcroYoga.
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It’s
not difficult to understand why. While AcroYoga can certainly be
intimidating to newcomers, the energy that Brown and the acro
community have created is infectious. Newcomers of all levels are
welcomed to class with a smile. You are unlikely to find a yoga class
where there are more ear-to-ear grins, squeals of joy or high fives.
The focus on trust and playfulness makes for an especially supportive
environment. There is always someone there to (literally) catch you
when you fall.
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AcroYoga instructor Lesley Brown spots. |
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AcroYoga ‘jam’ at the Old Market Square during the TD International Jazz Festival, June 2014.
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Don't let your fear of falling dissuade your curiosity.
Counterbalancing every flyer is a partner, the base, who supports and
keeps the movement firmly rooted to the ground. A spotter guides
every posture, transition and ‘pop.’ Brown stresses this in her
classes, which makes for a safe practice that is accessible to
everyone. And perhaps it’s this supportive environment that
responsible for what is, for many newcomers, the most striking thing
about acro: the relative ease of getting into the balancing postures
that only moments earlier seemed wholly impossible.
But
acro is more than just a test of strength or display of flexibility.
Because it’s an activity typically done in pairs, it’s just as
much an exercise in communication, understanding and compassion. Thai
massage and therapeutics play a major part. Here, you’ll find
friends and strangers speaking with respect, understanding and trust.
And while yoga is typically a solo activity, acro forces participants
to bring the mindfulness and awareness that are cultivated in
individual practice into our relationships with others.
That
empowering, energizing feeling that comes when balancing metres in
the air is what keeps many yogis coming back. But it’s just as much
about pushing personal barriers and boundaries. It seems that
AcroYoga is, by design, meant to push our expectations, limits and
zones of comfort. And most of us can probably use the occasional
gentle reminder to let go, trust, and see just how high we can go.
AcroYoga
classes – accessible to all levels – are being offered all summer
at Peg City Yoga
every Thursday at 7:00pm. Beginners and drop-ins welcome. Be sure to
join the AcroYogaWinnipeg Facebook group
for updates on workshops and park jams. Lesley Brown will be teaching
an AcroYoga class at Prairie Love this September. Get your tickets
here.
Sarah
Carson is a researcher, writer and girl of a thousand hobbies based
in Winnipeg, Canada. You can connect with her on Instagram or by checking out her website.
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