Aerial yoga is a new type of yoga that uses hammocks hanging from the ceiling. It is also sometimes called flying yoga or anti-gravity yoga. Why it's called anti-gravity, I have no idea. If you fall from the hammocks, you're still going to smash your head on the floor.
I went to Rawsome yoga studio in Sungai Buloh, which is located just above the raw vegan cafe. It offers a pay-per-class system, which is great because I only wanted to have a go at it. Most yoga classes require you to pay a monthly fee. At RM20 per session, it's usually sold out, so you have to book as early as one month before.
The class started with some stretching. After that, the instructor taught us to do one simple stunt. You had to lean backwards till your legs went up over your head and you were hanging upside down. Then you had to wrap your legs and your waist around the hammock in a series of confusing twists and turns. It would look as though there was no way you could escape from the self-imposed prison now. And then if you had done everything correctly, with just one simple twist of your body, you would magically disentangle yourself from the hammock, ala Houdini.
Sure, if all you're looking for is some variety in your exercise routine, you might find aerial yoga enjoyable. It does work your arms and your abs muscles. As for me though, I wasn't so impressed because I was expecting yoga but there wasn't much yoga involved. There were not many of the regular yoga poses I was familiar with. Most of the session was spent on learning how to do the 'stunt' , which had nothing to do with yoga at all, and trying not to get yourself tangled in the hammock. There was no relaxation pose at the end as there would normally in any yoga class.
To be fair, I've only tried one session. Perhaps other sessions or other teachers might provide a different experience. I've heard some people say that aerial yoga is easier on their joints and can make them more flexible in the long run.
So far, I have tried ashtanga yoga, yin yoga, hatha yoga, flow yoga, and hot yoga (where you do yoga while sweating like a pig in a heated room), but I have to say I'm most comfortable with good old hatha yoga, with no fancy-shmancy equipments.
