There are SO many joyous things about yoga, in all its forms, and Acroyoga is something that really is about that joy. Its a physical practice that is as far from slaving away in the gym, plugged into your headphones and the treadmill as is physically possible. This is about remembering what it was like to be a child, when physical playing, rolling around, trying to do handstands and cartwheels and moving instinctively without fear or insecurity was natural.
So I spent the afternoon 'playing' with about 7 other students, led by two wonderful teachers, Jaqui and Jesse. Because acro-yoga is all about working together (in pairs at least, often more) there's a big emphasis on not only warming up the body before you do anything, but also warming up to one another, plenty of icebreaking and general silliness (and for those of you who know me, you'll know that silliness is something that comes pretty easily to me!). You then basically try out lots of different acrobatic feats, most based either around traditional yoga postures, or around thai yoga massage postures. There are several roles to play in each exercise:
1) Basing - Supporting and controlling the movement, physically taking and balancing the weight of the flyer.
2) Flying - Trusting the base, allowing them to manipulate you whilst keeping control of your body and mental faculties (you'd be amazed how much they can go out of the window when you're upside down balancing on somebody else's feet!)
3) Spotting - Keeping an eye on the other two, aiding communication and being sure both base and flyer are safe.
As someone who practises a lot of yoga, it was a real revelation to work so intensively with other people. Yoga is often about being solitary, about not being distracted by the person next to you in class and comparing your seated forward bend to theirs. But working with other people in these roles teaches a whole new set of lessons, most notably about trust, surrendering yourself to another (balancing is almost impossible if the flyer tenses up and tries to control their own movements too much) and compassion too (that's where the thai massage comes in!). It also brings a lightness to the practice, falling out of a handstand scorpion doesn't seem nearly as frightening or embarrassing when you're doing it not only with other people, but being supported by them too. In terms of furthering your own practice that's a boon, fear in these sorts of postures holds us back from practising them in the first place, and really committing to them when we do. Experiencing postures from each role gives a far greater understanding of the mechanics of the postures too.
Its very easy to end up taking something you're really passionate about very seriously. Yoga especially, perhaps because of the philosophical and meditative components, is easily seen as a pretty serious practice, whether it's the astanga yogi scowling at anyone jumping forward heavily, or a fellow student eyeing you crossly as you make your way into class late, laying out your mat as quietly as you can in vain...And there are plenty of elements of yoga which ARE worth taking and considering seriously. But if yoga has taught me anything, its that a happy and conscious life is about balance. Is that sense of seriousness actually just stress and strain?Chronic seriousness seems to me akin to tension, it's a rigidity and inability to see anything in another light. Rigidity is not a word I associate with yoga. So next time you sense yourself getting really serious about almost anything, perhaps its worth asking yourself if that particular attitude is helping you in your endeavours? Or whether you might get further by relaxing a little?
For those who'd like to give an acro-yoga class a go I'm including a link to the London crew's schedule and website, I can't recommend them enough, and really look forward to learning more with them...Much love to you all, and hoping you have a seriously playful Christmas! xxxx
www.AcroYoga.org or London@AcroYoga.org
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