Dr. Bonsol Recommends: Anti-Gravity Yoga

Hanging upside down, my arms outstretched, suspended from the ceiling with blue fabric wrapped around my legs and feet...  I looked around the yoga studio at everyone else doing the same thing and thought to myself, "Holy crap... I'm never going to forget this moment."

My mission for 2012 is to "do things that scare me."  So what better way to kick off the new year then by taking an anti-gravity yoga class.  Dubbed as "Fly Yoga" at I.D. Gym (2727 North Lincoln Ave) in Chicago, yoga instructor Brent Holten will elevate your yoga practice beyond anything you've probably ever experienced.  Fly Yoga is a combination of ancient yoga poses, elegant acrobatics, and modern dance techniques rolled into one mind-blowing class.

You're off your feet most of the time, using silk hammocks to allow the feeling of weightlessness to overtake you as you float through each yoga pose.  It may seem easy and flighty, but the strength needed to pull yourself up and balance your body can get pretty intense. 

"So you want me to flip backwards into the hammock?" I looked at the instructor like he was crazy.  Images of falling and breaking my neck filled my thoughts.  

But my internal coach (aka 'the voice in my head') had the audacity to push me forward.  "Alright Jeremy... remember your mission... do things that scare you..."  I mustered up all the courage I had. Jumped into a backflip.  And as if by divine intervention... I was suspended horizontally, supported by the hammock, and in complete awe at what I had just done.

The health benefits of anti-gravity yoga are astounding.  Weight loss. Resolution of back pain. Proprioceptive neuromuscular re-education. Fun. Laughter. Comradery.  As a health & wellness practitioner, Fly Yoga comes highly recommended.  Aside from the physical health benefits, there are emotional and even spiritual health components that are elevated during this class.  

At the end of class, we laid in our hammocks in meditation.  It felt as if I was being cradled by the universe within my silk hammock cocoon.  I can feel my stress melt away, and the heaviness of 2011 let go to make room for new things to come in the new year.

If you have an adventurous spirit and are open to new experiences, then give Fly Yoga a try.  It might even change your life.  It definitely did mine.

 

 Namaste