For years, I always thought of yoga as a solitary act. Even when I was practicing in a room full of people, I kept my attention focused inward and my concentration on my own mind and body. So, on the random occasion that a teacher would tell the class to partner up, I would get frustrated for being taken out of my meditative, solo space. But when I started practicing Acro Yoga, things changed.
Acro Yoga is a relatively new discipline that combines traditional yoga with acrobatics and Thai massage. (The first annual Acro Yoga festival was a couple of weeks ago, and it was amazing—the pictures here, by Kadri Kurgun, are from the event.) If you’ve ever done this practice, you know that the whole point is to practice with other people. You do drills in partnerships, hold each other steady in balancing poses, and then hold each other up in flying poses. You’re interacting in every aspect of the practice.
The more I’ve done AcroYoga, the more I’ve enjoyed it. It’s made me stronger and gives me an incredible sense of joy and freedom. But what’s probably most interesting is that I’ve started to see it as a meditative, concentration, and self-exploratory practice in the same way that I view my solo asana practice. The focus is simply different. For instance, in traditional yoga, I might be concentrating on how my knee aligns over my ankle in Virabhadrasana II. In Acro Yoga, I need to be concentrating on all of the places that I make contact with my partner, and all of the ways that the two of us interact.
And the conditions of mind that I get to investigate when practicing solo asana–over-efforting, under-efforting, judgment, frustration, and ego–come up equally in Acro Yoga (except in Acro Yoga, I get to notice how I judge not only myself and my teacher, but also my partner!). In this way, Acro Yoga is a laboratory in which you get to see and work with your patterns and habits. If solo asana can be equated to the lessons we learn when we are single, Acro Yoga can be equated to the lessons we learn when in relationship. I think that both practices have an integral place in our development.
Have you done partner yoga or AcroYoga? What has been your experience of it? How does it compare to your solo asana practice? Write in and let us know what you think!
(Photo credits: Kadri Kurgun)
I tried Acro Yoga recently on a whim, just saw there was a class and said why not. At first it was a little overwhelmong since as you’ve said we usually go internal during our asanas and block out the world around us. When I first arrived and observed the class, I almost walked out, it actually gave me anxieties to contemplate sharing my asana with another. then I sat down and meditated for a while and it hit me. The meaning of the word yoga is unity, and I always equated that to my own unity within, and realized in this instance it meant unity with others. It’s amazing how we can find clarity from the source at the right moments. I got up and interacted with the class and found it to be quite enjoyable and I’ve been to a few more classes since then. I took something from that experience though, that I’ve been internalizing way too much and it was about time I attempted to obtain unity with others around me. At the end of the day, the whole point of my practice is to plug in and share the conciousness of the collective, this experience made me realize the only way that is possible is to accept that I’m part of the collective already and not an individual trying to plug in. That’s my two cents anyway.
I totally agree, and what a beautifully stated response. Thanks!
Thank you Karen for a beautiful, well-written piece.
As an AcroYoga teacher, I’ve contemplated this practice from numerous angles and what keeps drawing me deeper and deeper is the constant state of presence. I find that when I work in partnership I’m irresistibly engaged with the present moment. Whenever we think too much or overanalyze what we are doing, the situation reaches a standpoint. The postures literally stop moving. In order to co-create fluidly we need focus our intentions together and continue to flow with each moment. It becomes a beautiful practice of cultivating presence. This mindful and embodied presence goes much further than mere words. Ultimately you honor your partner’s presence by showing up fully yourself.
Hey Karen, thanks for this piece on Acroyoga! I’ll throw my opinion in the ring. My understanding of yoga practice as laid out by patanjali’s yoga sutra is that yoga isn’t a “solo’ practice at all, it’s witnessing the process of the dissolution of the ego in relationship to an object of meditation, so that the two merge into the same all pervading awareness and consciousness- seeing that the two are really one, and all the limits that we’ve identified as are actually just constructs of the mind- this is the process outlined in the last four limbs. I can only speak to my own experience of this process, the solo asana practice is a chance to deepen my internal awareness and have more and more subtle understanding of my own constitution, habits and samskaras, which leads into the other limbs, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, and dhyana, meditation leading to samadhi- the dissolution of false identification. Anyway, the point of all this is– I find when working, playing or being in relationship with other people, that’s when things become most difficult- being a hermit is easier for me than being with others. Acro was a way to witness and break through a lot of ego stuff, false identification and judgments of myself and others, and stay in my body, to feel my way through being in relationship, to discover what balance, harmony and peace are, in action with another and through the process of healthy communication. Very quickly I found myself happier, more at peace, increasingly able to stay in presence with other people, really enjoying creating with others, and got a very real feel for what it means to play together. I think it’s a brilliant practice for modern day yogis, especially in the traditional sense. The results of yoga practice always seem to be best described in relationship- increased compassion, peace, harmony, selfless service, concern for others, lightheartedness, conscious action, etc. Acroyoga certainly cultivates this.
ake time to center and watch. Is there resistance to breathing? Where the natural air flow in the first place? Take the first breath more easily and wake up the same quality. Enjoy with all power, and in most, but still drawing on respiratory effort and the accompanying prana (vital energy). If you added Ujjaiya, gently tightening the throat to see the reaction of the body. Vocal passage will not be rigid. Breath continues to flow in a fluid, relaxing way. We remain sensitive to sound and texture. Feel the freshness of air into the warmth of the breath as it comes. Harmonious breathing space, breathing release leaves and acceptance.
Our breath is our guide to shed the ego. Every whisper the throat acts as a reminder to listen to the physical body and relieve the desires of the mind. All that remains in place control of patience, and grace to our movements. Each fall brings the relevance of light wind changes based on our practice. Breathing is our yoga. Sound quality of the breath are a reflection of the integrity and status of our gifts. From this quality of physical exercise and breathing, our energy involved in spiritual practice in order and importance.
i dont know. who r u?? teacher … u r great… n world not forget u ever… i was finding u since a year finally … keep it up..