Acroyoga

Acroyogis practicing Acro Yoga in a park.

Acroyoga (also written Acro-Yoga or Acro Yoga) is a physical practice which combines yoga and acrobatics.^[1]

Acro Yoga may provide physical and mental health benefits. In addition to the exercise and strength building aspects of Acro Yoga the partner balancing can improve concentration and the massage elements can provide stress relief.^[2] However Acroyoga is more vigorous than many traditional yoga practices and this may lead to more injuries.^[3]

Roles

There are three primary roles in an Acro Yoga practice: base, flyer, and spotter.^[4]

• Base - this is the individual who has the most points of contact with the ground. Often this person is lying on the ground with the entire back torso in full contact. This enables both the arms and legs to be "bone-stacked" for maximum stability and support of the Flyer. Main points of contact with the flyer are the feet (generally placed on the Flyer's hips, groin or lower abdomen) and the hands (which either form handholds or grasp the shoulders).
• Flyer - this is the individual who is elevated off the ground by the Base. The Flyer can move into a series of dynamic positions, and generally lets gravity do the work for them. A Flyer needs balance, confidence, and core strength.
• Spotter - this is the individual who has an objective view of the partners, and whose entire focus is on making sure that the Flyer lands safely in case of any slips. The spotter can also make recommendations to the Base and Flyer to improve their form.

Elements

Acro Yoga static Inverted Dancer pose

Acrobatics

is the physical part of Acro Yoga that uses gymnastics techniques to build strength, flexibility, trust and teamwork between partners.

In the Acrobatic element we have:

Static poses

Initially basic poses such as bird, throne and whale. When the partners hold the position using equilibrium which is a state of rest or balance due to the equal action of opposing forces.

Acrobatic flying

Focus on movement, first the flyer learns a static pose, later, how to move from one pose to another, having a movement that is called "transition" in between the two poses.

In the acrobatic flying, there are movements that start and ends in the same position, which is called washing machine. There are many different washing machines. The basic one that is taught is barrel. roll and ninja star

Pops

Small jumps where the partners keep physical contact with each other, usually keeping their hands connected.

Yoga

Reflects the physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines of traditional Yoga

Therapeutics

Acro Yoga therapeutic flying – this pose is called Super Yogi.

At AcroYoga Inc this includes Thai massage, therapeutic flying and partner yoga.

In AcroYoga Montreal they teach restorative and yin yoga.^[5]

A basic therapeutic pose is Folded Leaf in which one partner is inverted and supported on the vertical legs of the other partner whose hands are then free for back massage.^[6]

Therapeutic flying

The flyer relaxes the body and is guided by the base through some stretches and massage.

To help the flyer to relax, it is crucial to develop trust first, which can be done by practicing the acrobatic flying. Also, it is important that the base has a strong sense of responsibility, care and trust in all the movements that will execute, before start to heal flyers using therapeutic flying techniques.

It can use techniques from different types of massage, having as a result, a deep level of relaxation.

Learning AcroYoga

Acro Yoga meeting in a public park in Austin, Texas.

Learning Acroyoga requires strength training, flexibility training and technique training.^[7] Strength training is accomplished through repetition of exercises like push-ups and hand walking. Flexibility training is best done at the end of a session with a partner. Learning good Acroyoga technique takes time and effort and is best learned with an expert teacher.^[7] One important Acroyoga technique is called stacking the bones. This involves the base partner keeping arms and legs straight to maximize the weight load on bones rather than muscles to support the flyer.^[8]

A typical Acro Yoga session may include:^[9]

• Circle ceremony promotes communication and openness
• Warm-up to gradually get your muscles ready for more strenuous exercise
• Partner flow - continue warming up with asanas and stretching with a partner^[10]
• Inversions help build trust between the partners^[10]
• Flying and acrobatics

Some communities have regular Acro Yoga meetings to provide a place for interested people to come together and practice for free. There are also larger Acro Yoga events such as the annual Divine Play in Portland, Oregon that draw practitioners from a regional or national area.

In the world, there are instructors teaching Acro Yoga in regular classes and workshops.

You can learn Acro Yoga by yourself, but it takes time, discipline and responsibility, as you may not know all the techniques that will make the practice safe, for yourself and others.

Poses

There are many static acro yoga poses.^[11] A series of acro yoga poses that are repeated in a continuous flow is called a Washing Machine.^[12]

• Acro Yoga Poses
• 
  Front Bird - a basic acro yoga pose
• 
  Whale
• 
  Hangle Dangle
• 
  Back Bird variation
• 
  Three person balancing pose
• 
  Star - side view
• 
  Floating Paschi
• 
  Throne Pose with base smaller than the flyer.
• 
  Non L-Basing pose

Organizations

There are now many schools of Acro Yoga. The first two schools to create a method to teach and practice were Acroyoga Montreal and Acroyoga Inc.. Acroyoga Montreal was founded by Jessie Goldberg and Eugene Poku in 1999 combining acrobatics, yoga and dance.^[13] Acroyoga Inc., began in San Francisco in 2006, founded by Jason Nemer and Jenny Klein. Having acrobatics, yoga and healing arts.^[14] Both schools offer teaching certifications, and despite some differences have many similar poses while using gravity to promote strengthening and stretching.^[15][16]

The Word "AcroYoga" and its legal use

In late 2006, AcroYoga Inc. trademarked the word "ACROYOGA" and asserted that the word's first use anywhere was in 2005.^[17] However the term had been used since 1999 by Jessie Goldberg and Eugene Poku^[18] and their domain, acroyoga.com had been registered since 2005.^[19] By way of example only, and not as a limitation, "AcroYoga" and the AcroYoga logo are registered trademarks of AcroYoga, Inc., under the applicable laws of the United States and/or other countries.^[20]

Update: AcroYoga.org has released the trademark in 2016, and has been renamed AcroYoga International. The organization is under new management, serving students and training Teachers while developing new curriculums and hosting international festivals in Portland, Oregon; Treasure Beach, Jamaica; Brasil, Greece, Mexico and Germany.

See also

• Acrobalance
• Adagio (acrobatics)
• AcroYoga UrbanAcro

References

External links

• acromaps.com free resource to find groups, classes, and workshops across the globe
• Acropedia.org free resource for photos and video of many poses
• Acromuseum.com photo archive of acrobatic poses