Have you ever wanted to fly like a monkey and jump off a building for fun? Do you want to try a new fitness routine? Then, aerial yoga may be for you! The latest fitness trend has hit the Towson area. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. Participants do traditional yoga positions in the air, suspended in a silk hammock, while sometimes upside down! Her Campus writer Jillian Block, and myself took the challenge and attended the only aerial yoga class offered in Baltimore at Yoga on York, right off York Road in Baltimore.
Prepare to be unexpected is my advice for any one trying out aerial yoga. For someone who has only been to a couple yoga classes I didn’t know what this would be like. We started out on the floor doing a warm-up, then quickly moved to the silk hammock.
It took a couple of minutes to get used to, but after I figured out how to properly put the silks around my body, I couldn’t get enough. I was literally flying-upside down! At one point we did a position where we were cross legged-our arms were wrapped around the silk and then we turned ourselves upside in the air. It felt like I was falling flat on my face! It was quite an adrenaline rush.
Jillian, who describes herself as not that flexible, said it was “The most amazing experience of my life.”
“Even if you aren’t flexible, you can do it,” she says. “Jayne [the instructor] helps you and doesn’t make you feel like a complete fool.”
The co-owner and creator of aerial yoga, Jayne Bernasconi, who is also a professor of dance at Towson, opened her yoga studio last year. It has quickly become the latest fitness craze around Towson. People of all ages are trying aerial yoga, young and old.
Even if you aren’t flexible with the aid of the hammock participants can conquer more difficult positions with ease.
The class requires you to use a lot of your core strength, but even though you are working that really hard, it also provides a relaxing feeling.
“I wasn’t feeling that well before I went, but I would, hands down do it again,” Jillian said. “I felt so much better, it was a great to relieve stress. It made my body and mind feel better.”
Want to try aerial yoga? Yoga on York offers Intro to Aerial Yoga classes at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday mornings (we promise it is totally worth it!), but Her Campus Towson readers can try it for FREE! We are giving away two FREE aerial yoga classes to one lucky reader. Just ‘like’ Her Campus Towson and Yoga on York on Facebook. Then, write a comment of Her Campus Towson’s Facebook page and tag Yoga on York in the post. This way we will know who you are! Contest ends Saturday, April 23rd at 11:59 p.m. A winner will be randomly selected from all participants. Good Luck!
This giveaway is organized by Her Campus Towson and is not affiliated with Her Campus Media LLC.