aerial-yoga in Ubud

Aerial yoga invites practitioners to take their practice quite literally off the ground, using a soft, hammock-like silk sling suspended from the ceiling to support, challenge, and liberate the body in ways that traditional mat-based yoga simply cannot. Equal parts playful and profound, it blends classical yoga postures, Pilates-inspired core work, and elements of aerial acrobatics into a flowing experience that feels as close to flying as most people will ever come. Students frequently describe their first class with a mixture of giddy delight and quiet awe, and that sense of wonder tends to keep them coming back.

The practice is generally credited to Christopher Harrison, a Broadway choreographer and gymnast who developed AntiGravity Yoga in New York City around 1991. Harrison originally created the silk hammock as a performance and fitness tool before recognizing its profound therapeutic potential for the spine and joints. As the method spread globally through the early 2000s, other teachers and movement innovators built upon his foundation, weaving in traditions from Iyengar alignment principles, restorative yoga, and even traditional aerial circus arts. Today aerial yoga exists in many forms and styles, though the shared thread remains the transformative power of suspension and decompression.

A typical aerial yoga session begins with grounding breathwork and gentle warm-up movements that familiarise students with the hammock before progressing into standing poses, inversions, and deep stretches supported by the silk. The hammock acts as a traction device for the spine, relieving compression in the vertebrae and making inversions like headstands and backbends far more accessible than they would be on the floor. This spinal decompression is one of the most celebrated physical benefits, alongside improved flexibility, enhanced core strength, and better spatial awareness. Mentally, the practice cultivates focus, trust, and a remarkable ability to surrender, since it is nearly impossible to overthink while cocooned in a hammock halfway between floor and ceiling. Sessions often close with a deeply restorative savasana inside the silk, wrapped like a butterfly in its chrysalis.

Aerial yoga is wonderfully well suited to curious beginners, seasoned yogis craving a fresh perspective, and anyone who carries chronic tension in the back or shoulders. It is also a joyful entry point for those who have struggled with traditional inversions or who simply want movement to feel like play again. No prior experience with yoga or acrobatics is necessary, only a willingness to let go of the ground and discover just how much space opens up when you do.