4700 Sterling Drive Boulder,720-989-1838, boulderspirals.com

Instructor: Sasha Viers, owner of Boulder Spirals is a woman of many talents. Trained in drama at New York University, a student of ballet, jazz and modern dance and certified in: yoga, gyrotonic, gyrokinesis, Thai yoga massage and pole fitness, Sasha brings her love of physical expression in its many forms into teaching.

Viers followed the lead of many other pole dancers who practice aerial fabric and took a teacher training course in aerial yoga. She was "hooked at the first swing" she said, since it combined many her favorite elements of her drama, dance, yoga and gyrotonic practices.

What is the workout? Aerial yoga is the practice of standard yoga asana enhanced and assisted by the use of fabric hammocks suspended from the ceiling. While the entire class isn't performed with the hammock, when it is, the body feels supported, effortless and free. The use of the fabric hammock can also help to deepen stretches resulting in a more intense expression of a yoga pose. Other benefits of aerial yoga include core strengthening, spinal decompression and assistance with inversions. The best part? You get to fly!

The instructor begins class by adjusting the height of the hammock for each student. You resin up your hands so that you'll have a no-slip grip for the silky fabric. Once sticky and situated, basic floor stretches such as cat/cow and downward dog get you warmed up. You'll familiarize yourself with the size and position of the hammock. Because you're using an unfamiliar yoga prop, there is a lot of cueing on how to use the fabric to enhance your pose. At times you'll find a leg or an arm woven through the purple fabric, a few cues later, your entire booty is sitting and swinging. One of my favorite multi-cued maneuvers was "the winged angel," a move that had students' arms wrapped into purple wings and inverting into a sit swing. I can't tell you how we got there, but it looked really groovy in the mirror. You'll swing seated, you'll swing standing, you'll even swing with a flip if you're lucky. Each class is a bit different since Viers tailors the class to the energy of the students partaking that day.

What's different? The apparatus used, in this case was a flowy, stretchable fabric hammock. In other classes I've taken, we used a more rigid style hammock with strap-like handles and grips. If you're comparing aerial yoga to standard yoga classes, there's a huge difference. While traditional yoga has you breathe with movement in an effort to quiet your mind, aerial yoga has you concentrating on how to maneuver.

Level: You need to be able to support your own body weight and possess some basic body awareness to enjoy this class to the fullest. On a scale of 1-10 it's a 4 in difficulty. Less experienced yogis or acrobats will have a bit harder time navigating the fabric and understanding body alignment, but either way you won't be huffing and puffing. People prone to motion sickness or who get dizzy easily might find it more difficult.

When: Aerial yoga is currently offered Wednesdays at 4:30 pm and Saturdays at 10:15 a.m., but check the schedule since it is subject to change. boulderspirals.com

What to prepare: Pre-register via the website, since only four students can fly at a time. Bring a yoga mat and wear tightly fitted yoga pants and a T-shirt. You can wear a tank or sleeveless shirt, but if you are a delicate flower, wear the sleeves so it can be a buffer against the pain of bunching fabric against your pits and upper arms. I wore baggier yoga pants and found it slightly annoying having to smooth them out once inside the hammock.

Muscles worked: There was one strength maneuver that tested the will of my triceps most of all, but aerial yoga, like traditional yoga is a full body-mind workout.

Excerpt from:
Workout of the week: Aerial Yoga at Boulder Spirals