There are so many types of yoga and hybrid yoga styles that it can be hard to keep up. Acro yoga is one of those hybrid yoga styles, simply meaning acrobatic yoga.
Yep, acroyoga combines acrobatics and yoga.
These two forms of exercise might seem like polar opposites—acrobatics being very physical and yoga being mostly slow-paced—but it’s more possible to put an acrobatic twist on yoga!
Needless to say, acro yoga can be considered advanced. It requires good strength, flexibility, and mobility, and also technique to perform a lot of the poses, moves, and skills.
Acroyoga is also typically done with a partner, and sometimes as large groups.
That’s acro yoga in a nutshell.
But if you’re looking for more information—including the benefits of acroyoga, acro yoga difficulty and risks, acro yoga styles, and more—you’re going to want to keep reading.
Acroyoga Explained
You now know that acro yoga combines acrobatics and yoga, despite the two seeming completely different!
Acrobatics involves advanced skills and gymnastic-style feats that often involve lots of strength, balance, flexibility, and agility.
Yoga, on the other hand, involves yoga poses (called asanas) that require a mixture of strength, mobility, flexibility, and balance.
So, it’s understandable why acro yoga is a thing.
Both involve holding poses and positions that require strength, flexibility, mobility, proprioception, and motor control, with similar elements to find in each type of exercise.
Overall, the two meet in the middle. Acro yoga isn’t as relaxed or slow-paced as “regular” yoga, but also not as intense or vigorous as pure acrobatics.
The Benefits Of Acro Yoga
So, what are the benefits of doing acroyoga?
Acro yoga can be done as a less intense style of acrobatics, or even as a more exciting style of yoga.
It’s physically challenging—at least more so than most yoga styles—with plenty of impressive skills to progress towards and achieve.
The benefits of acro yoga include:
- More “exciting” and challenging than regular yoga
- Not as intense or vigorous as pure acrobatics
- Involves impressive skills to work towards and achieve
- Can build strength and muscle
- Can improve balance and proprioception
- Can improve flexibility and mobility
- Can improve stamina and endurance
- Burns calories and can encourage weight loss
Another benefit of acro yoga is that it’s the perfect kind of exercise to do if you like yoga and acrobatics and want to do both at the same time.
It’s also beneficial if you prefer exercising with a partner, as acro yoga is typically done or performed as a duo.
The Disadvantages Of Acro Yoga
While there are lots of benefits to doing acro yoga, it goes without saying that there it comes with its share of risks.
Acrobatics is physically challenging, often involving advanced skills and feats of strength and balance.
Due to this, it’s no surprise that acroyoga can lead to an increased risk of injury – whether that’s due to accidental falls, bad form, or overtraining.
Overall, the disadvantages of acroyoga include:
- It’s more physically challenging
- It’s more dangerous
- It can lead to fall-related injuries
- It can lead to muscle and joint injuries caused by straining, overtraining, or incorrect form
- It requires trusting your partner
Of course, trusting your partner when doing acro yoga also means making them trust you and being responsible for their safety!
How Hard Is Acro Yoga?
You only have to see some acroyoga poses to know that it isn’t easy.
After all, acro yoga poses and skills require strength, balance, and mobility, as well as good timing and trust in your partner!
As a result, those trying acro yoga for the first time should ideally have a base level of strength, balance, and mobility – either from doing yoga, acrobatics, or gymnastics in the past.
Acroyoga is also considered hard because it involves practicing good form and technique to perform the poses correctly and also reduce the risk of falls and injuries.
It requires just as much skill and knowledge as it does strength and balance!
Acro Yoga Styles
There are two main styles of acroyoga: L-basing and standing. These are not types of acroyoga, but simply styles from which most acroyoga poses and skills are created and performed.
L-basing acroyoga poses involve one person lying on their back (the base) while supporting the other person (the flyer) using their hands and feet.
Standing acroyoga poses involve one person standing (the base) while supporting the other person (the flyer) using their hands.
Of course, both l-basing acro yoga and standing acro yoga require trust in your partner – especially if you are the flyer!
Likewise, there is lots of responsibility if you are the base, as you’ll need to be strong enough to lift and support your partner.
Is Acroyoga For You?
If you are on the fence about trying acro yoga, these are the main points that you need to consider:
- Whether you have experience in yoga, acrobatics, or gymnastics
- Whether you consider yourself strong and flexible with good balance (or can train to achieve these)
- Whether you like working out with a partner
- Whether you can fully trust doing acroyoga with a partner
- Whether you find regular yoga easy or not exciting enough
- Whether you can tolerate falling and an increase risk of injury
Last but not least, another thing worth considering is whether you want to be the flyer or the base. Still, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to mix it up to share the responsibility with your partner!
Conclusion
To summarize all the above, acro yoga is a style of yoga that combines yoga and acrobatics, often performed with a partner.
It involves impressive poses that require strength, balance, and flexibility, as well as trusting your partner 100%!
There are two styles of acroyoga poses: l-basing and standing.
Both offer various benefits, including increasing strength, balance, flexibility, mobility, motor control, posture, and proprioception.
Acroyoga does come with its risks, however, which include an increased risk of injury from falling, incorrect form, straining, or overtraining.
Despite that, acro yoga is more physical than regular yoga and can therefore be more exciting for some people.
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The positive effect yoga had on me was indescribable. Every aspect of my life improved, from social to mental, physical to emotional.
I want my website to help more people get into the world of yoga and teach them how to be present for themselves - even if that’s just for a few minutes a day.
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