Weird Yoga: Embrace Your Hang-ups
Aerial classes turn yoga on its head
By Patrick Hutchison December 5, 2011
This article originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of Seattle magazine.
January is the month for overly optimistic New Year’s resolutions, so why not dream big by signing up for an aerial yoga class? The exercise trend is taking wing all over the city, and involves airborne workouts similar to traditional yoga (focusing on core strength, flexibility and coordination) but performed while hanging from a ceiling-suspended apparatus. If the idea of switching from a grounded downward dog to an inverted pigeon pose has you tied up in knots, never fear: Instructors swear you’ll get the hang of it.
Knotty Yoga Redmond, 2545 152nd Ave. NE; 425.894.0846; knottyyoga.com
Aerialist, yogi and software engineer (!) Mason Bendixen opens his new Redmond studio this month, specializing in a combination of yoga, aerial acrobatics and conditioning—performed using ropes and silky fabrics suspended from a 14-foot ceiling—to increase strength, flexibility and balance. $20–$25
BONUS: After you tie your body into knots, get untangled with Thai massage—a key element of Bendixen’s hybridized class.
Kirkland Dance Center Kirkland; 835 7th Ave; 425.828.6362; kirklanddance.org
Train for the center ring with Kirkland Dance Center’s Intro to Aerial Arts, a class that combines circus trapeze, dance trapeze and other aerial skills for strength and flexibility. $12
BONUS: It’s the perfect resume builder if you ever plan on running away to the circus.
Lab 5 Fitness Capitol Hill, 606 E Broadway; 206.325.0662; lab5fitness.com
Instructor Melinda Ritchie adapts traditional yoga poses and Pilates principles—which offer improvements in core strength and overall range of motion—to moves you can perform in a hanging fabric sling, similar to a hammock.First class is free. Regular classes can be as low as $5 (depending on membership level).
BONUS: You’ll be the only one of your friends who can gracefully enter and exit a hammock.
Emerald City Trapeze Arts, SoDo, 2702 Sixth Ave. S; 206.906.9442; emeraldcitytrapeze.com
The two-hour-long “beginner silk” class improves strength and flexibility by teaching you how to expertly entwine, swing, spin and stylishly descend a 35-foot-long hanging ribbon of silk. $30, plus new student registration fee of $26.
BONUS: The next time you need to make a quick escape from a second-story window using only knotted bed sheets, you’ll be ready.
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