Go (coco)nuts! Share this story with your friends.
Combine yoga, acrobatics and Thai massage, and you get AcroYoga. It’s a term casually used in 1999 by Jessie Goldberg and Eugene Poku from Montreal, Canada, until its official branding in 2005 by Jason Nemer and Jenny Klein in California, who are the also founders of AcroYoga.org.
Here, AcroYoga Manila is an even younger community, only founded in Aug 2013 by Christopher Ekelund and Lisa-Marie Nilsson, both certified teachers with AcroYoga.org. They shared their teachings with Shey Dibona, Mohamed Bechara, Jan Dizon among the group’s core members, and the family continues to grow with more followers jamming in from various backgrounds as yoga, capoeira and dance.
“Our [true] mission as a group and as individuals is to realize that there are no limits to what we can achieve when we work together in a community that flows with love and support,” shares Dibona.
The move: AcroYoga fosters partnership and camaraderie. Often you’ll see a group of 2-3 people role-playing — either as base, flier, or spotter. The base has the most contact with the ground with his or her back usually on it, which allows for “bone-stacking” to provide full stability and support for the flyer using both hands and feet. The flyer is lifted by the base and moves into a series of dynamic postures along with gravity, building confidence, balance and core strength with continuous practice. The spotter mainly offers feedback to the base and flyer on movement cues, safe landing (for the flyer) and other improvements within the flow. “We always go over each person’s role first. We show the poses, and then walk the newcomers through the steps. We check on the person’s [strengths] and comfort level before introducing more poses, and continue practicing,” explains Dibona.
The takeaway: One uses the entire body to do acroyoga, so you’ll definitely feel benefits like building physical strength and flexibility. Breathwork required within the flow also helps calm the nervous system. “You’ll also break through trust issues, create intimacy and harmony [in friendships] and conquer fear. Communication is crucial in acroyoga—hence the “community,” Dibona says. “You’ll often hear audible cues among partners or trios when assisting each other. Support and be supported. Work together as a family, or fall apart,” she adds.
Investment: AcroYoga Manila is a community that practices loving kindness. They simply ask acroyoga jammers to “share their amazing energy with the group.” “We want to bring AcroYoga to as many people as we can touch and share our passion with others,” says Dibona.
Tips on becoming an awesome AcroYogi:
1. Stick to a routine. Strength, flexibility and balance will happen over time and with these attributes come confidence to try more advanced poses or “flows.”
2. Get the doc’s OK. “We strongly encourage people to check in with their physicians, especially when they have conditions. We also ask jammers to share with us their health status, along with injuries [if any] so that we can find poses suited to them, or offer modifications that do not compromise the condition.”
3. Be open. Since AcroYoga involves working with partners, you learn to trust not only your partner but your body as well. Biofeedback is also your teacher.
4. Respect. There’s no competition in a semi-spiritual practice as AcroYoga. But even as the energy is spread within a group, experiences are different for each individual.
5. Let go. Leave worries about the past and the future. Focus on the here and now, and enjoy the present moment! It’s your time!
Location: AcroYoga Manila holds regular weekly jams at the Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati. 7:30pm-9:00pm on Wed; 4pm-6pm Sun. For more details, visit AcroYoga Manila on Facebook.
2. COOL RUNNINGS: PARKOUR
Read where to enrol in a Parkour class here.
3. FOCUS UNDER PRESSURE: ARCHERY
Read how to learn archery here.
4. CIRCUS ACT: FLYING TRAPEZE
Read about flying trapeze classes here.
