What is Acro Yoga? – Balanced Acro Yoga Poses (Beginner)

All you need to know about Acro Yoga

Before you begin, I request you to have a look on below Yoga Bible, written by Christina Brown

Let’s begin with the fundamentals!

What is Acro Yoga?

According to yogapedie; “AcroYoga is a type of yoga that combines traditional Hatha or Vinyasa Flow yoga with acrobatics. It may also include elements of healing arts. It originated in the late 1990s and has quickly become popular… Its defining feature is its use of gravity to promote both strengthening and stretching. It is generally considered a more vigorous and challenging yoga practice than other forms of physical yoga.”

What is the best way to make an acro yoga session take place?

A typical class might include warming up, partner work, and flowing sequences, as well as yoga massage, inversions, or meditation. You can also do gymnastics.

Partner work is a major feature of AcroYoga. Among the many benefits, the practice with a partner can help increase balance and strength as well as build trust. I have wrote article on Bff 2 Person Yoga Poses – Partner Poses you might be interested in. AcroYoga can also involve aspects of massage and pressure point therapy to help relieve tension.

AcroYoga is an amalgamation of acrobatics, yoga, along Thai massage. It’s a practice for yoga with a partner created to increase strength, trust, and connection as well as feel like dancing.

Partners play an important role in acro yoga

The practice can be described as Solar and Lunar methods which are both involving an active flyer as well as a base- similar to Thai massage principles. This allows the flyer to relax and be massaged by the base.

When lifting someone off the ground is the most difficult part, actually being lifted can be equally difficult. Letting go and letting the partner gently lift your body and return you to earth is a profound experience.

It is recommended to practice with a trusted family member or friend as well as a spotter, so everyone is safe. Communication is essential also; there are vital signals to be addressed and an important conversation can help everyone safe and free even outside the practice room.

In AcroYoga there are three essential tasks that yogis are required to fulfill:

1. Base – The person who is the closest to the ground.

1. Flyer – the one who is lifted from the floor by the bases.

1. Spotter – the person charged with monitoring the flyer and base to ensure that the flyer’s landing is safe should they fall. 

Who should try AcroYoga?

Luckily, the majority of poses taught in AcroYoga aren’t difficult, such as Plank Press, Front Press, Front Bird, and Bow Pose and Bow Pose. This is a Solar sequence because the movements are fluid and both yoga practitioners are active.

The fluid movement, excitement of flying, and open communication create AcroYoga an enjoyable exercise that allows everyone to feel more connected to each other. 

Why should you try AcroYoga?

Yoga is often an isolated practice, on the contrary, acro yoga brings union.

In the group yoga class, you can experience bubbles that pop and force interaction. Contrary to the traditional form of yoga Acro Yoga is a form of yoga that encourages interactions, cooperation, and confidence.

Therapeutic and Acrobatic

AcroYoga is therapeutic since it helps the flyer’s postures that are in contrast to gravity. A well-supported inversion, for instance, allows the flyer to relax her spine more efficiently since she doesn’t need to support herself completely.

From a mental therapy irrespective, the acrobatic technique can create a dynamic relationship between the base and the flyer while they find new ways to connect their bodies while flying.

Acro Yoga, Best poses for beginners

There are plenty of people practicing Acro Yoga; They learn how to effortlessly move fluidly from one AcroYoga movement to the next by dancing motions.

As the name implies, Acro Yoga is a combination of yoga and acrobatics where two or more people create impressive figures using their bodies elevated off the ground. It’s a wonderful method to build strong bonds between the participants as well as mutual support, and an understanding of the body language of one another.

The bodyweight of the athlete is carried to the floor by the bones, instead of needing the strength of a person. The hands and feet can be utilized as a base to support the flyer or other body parts. The flyer stands on a firm foundation and soaring through the air, creating active and static postures. A flyer requires balance, confidence, and solid stamina.

The Spotter will take care of “safe landings” especially when you’re just getting started with Acro Yoga, or trying a new posture. Spotters will sit between the base and flyer and their purpose is to ensure that nobody gets injured. 

Additional Useful Acro Yoga Tips:

• The word “Down” means that the flyer is looking to descend.
• Clean your feet; they may be touching someone else.
• Dress in a form-fitting outfit so you don’t become caught in your shirt, and avoid slippery fabrics.

The advantages of Acro Yoga

• Building Trust

Acro Yoga can boost your mood, release your natural adrenaline and endorphins, connect people, remove the barriers and prejudices in the physical contact with strangers, help you to establish new relationships and also more profound ones such as mixing the techniques of massage, inversions, and regression.

• Acro Yoga promotes mindfulness

Acro Yoga increases your attention and ability to concentrate. Naturally, your balance will benefit from regularly scheduled Acro Yoga practice. When you are confident, it will challenge you to find new forms. Regular practice is sure to aid in building trust with others, resulting in more human connections.

• A balance between mind and body

Acro Yoga also has a wide range of physical advantages; improved flexibility, stronger muscles, and a stronger core, and greater fitness resistance, stronger joints, and more. 

• Outdoor practices

Practicing Acro Yoga outdoors can help you enjoy every health benefit from outdoor sports in the air.

• Therapeutic Effects

This branch of Acro Yoga delivers to the flyer the body and mind with deep relaxation, stretching the spine, and eases tensions. Alternatively, the base gain of it is that it helps build a strong sense of responsibility towards other people. 

How to begin to learn Acro Yoga

Classes in person and acro yoga videos are optimum for learning this yoga. People with education with Yoga or Acrobatics begin practicing independently, playing with balance and postures. However, we would recommend studying Acro Yoga with an experienced instructor who will guide you through the steps to learning required by this technique. This also minimizes the chance of injury.

Learn from the basic

Many yoga schools as well as Acro Yoga communities offer courses and workshops. Once you’ve mastered the basics you can attend the regular Acro Yoga events where enthusiastic and experts come together to practice.

The art of learning Acro Yoga requires strength, agility, and technique, for which you need to train it specifically.

Beginners must develop their strength especially in the muscles and the core, with exercises like push-ups, abs work, or even a great yoga class. Moreover, enhancing your flexibility through a regular yoga routine and, even more importantly, partner yoga allows you to stretch further. For more techniques, you need to speak to a professional. 

Some Advice for novices:

• Join the Acro Yoga group where you can be motivated and maintain your practice, and also share information about the group.
• Develop a relationship of trust with your partner; there’s no hiding when practicing.
• Start at the beginning. Even whether you’re a dancer or yogi, take it one step at a time.
• Begin by doing a light body-wide warm-up including; active warm-up, some sun salutations, or another asana sequence you like as well as some partner yoga.
• Begin with your partner From a standing position; they are easier to execute. Start with a basic pose and then progress to more advanced poses only once you both are confident.
• Be aware of your balance.
• Take breaks and don’t pace yourself.
• Switch roles and understand your position and movement from two perspectives.
• Make sure you have a spotter on hand to ensure your safety.
• Be patient and gentle with yourself. This can take some time.
• Do not get ahead of yourself.

The most popular Acro Yoga postures

1. Front Plank pose

This will be the basis for more challenging poses, and likely the first pose you’ll learn. The flyer adjusts his feet to be placed on top and his body moves forward, lifting the legs upwards and grasping his hands from the bottom.

It is necessary to have some core strength to raise the legs upwards and to trust to lean forward. The base bends the legs first before pushing up the flyer in a controlled manner.

The flyer holds both legs straight with arms perpendicular to the floor. The base also has the legs perpendicular to each other.

The arms are both stackable. The base regulates the angle of the flyer’s body, either by flexing or pointing the feet. Then, the flyer bends his legs to return to the floor.

1. Front Bird pose

Like the front Plank without hands! When both of you are secure, the flyer lets off the base’s hands and extends his arms forward.

The base could hold their arms to ensure extra security. 

1. Bow Pose

In Front Bird, arch your back and bow; the flyer raises their hands again to grasp the feet while lifting their chest.

The base flexes their feet to aid the flyer in lifting their chest. The pilot breathes slowly and deeply.

1. The Whale pose

If looking for an acro yoga challenge, this is it. The player puts their feet on each side of the neck of the base and faces opposite directions to the base.

The base is secured at his or her ankles and then places on their back.

The flyer can engage the core while leaning forwards. The base first extends their legs, and later is pushed up to the back of the flyer and supports their ankles while they climb up.

The flyer can extend their arms over the top of their head. If the flyer wishes to let go to the ground, the base pulls the side of their flyer into an upright position, while steering the feet down to the ground.

1. Folded Leaf pose

This pose is popular in acrobatic yoga classes based on the therapeutic Acro partner Yoga.

The base will place its feet in the flyer’s groin like normal but turn its feet slightly away.

From the Front Plank, the flyer lets loose the base’s arms and then bends inwards towards the legs of the base.

For the flyer to come out, connect hands in the Front Plank and the base gradually helps the flyer return towards the floor.