Hanging out in my hammock
Sharm or more precisely Sinai has had a long association with yoga; it’s the spirituality the mountains conjure, the tranquillity of the turquoise waters and the serenity of the desert sunsets. All of these things, kind of go hand in hand with meditation and yoga. However they tend not to go hand in hand with the latest New York trends. You can’t imagine two more vastly different landscapes, so it’s difficult to imagine the latest New York fitness trend taking off in Sharm.
Pink the famous singer demonstrated some impressive moves from the discipline during a recent performance. Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey, and President Barack Obama to name a few, have also got into this fitness phenomena. So I guess if they are hanging with this new yoga vibe then let’s hang with them. Drumroll please as we announce the first ever Sharm class of anti-gravity or aerial yoga.
I popped down to Wind Beach in Naama Bay to meet Erika the aerial acrobat of Pacha and now my anti-gravity yoga Instructor. She was up a six foot ladder, happily securing my bright yellow silk hammock to the reinforced canopy, whilst telling me it is so much fun and I’m going to love it. Well love it – I did. Developed by former gymnast and dancer Christopher Harrison, anti-gravity yoga isn’t just a yoga workout—it combines several different exercise styles. It’s a hybrid combining traditional yoga poses with aerial arts, pilates and dance. This technique is the first in a new genre known as “suspension fitness” which has lots of benefits and is also a lot of fun.
Erika explained that her classes will concentrate on deep relaxation, building up slowly a variety of yoga inspired poses using the hammock as a support system, to finally practicing beneficial inverted poses. It was quite easy to see how relaxing it would be, apart from being suspended and gently rocked, there is also the soft white sand beneath you, the ocean inspired chill out tunes, the gentle breeze and the sea and mountain views of Wind Beach – the perfect place for hanging.
I started off stretching using the silk material of the hammock. I made circles, leant back suspended by my wrists, my waist and then by my neck and just hung there. After stretching Erika showed me how to get up and into my hammock. Being a high flyer and aerial artist with several years’ experience she made the move look easy. I have to say a degree of flexibility is needed and one website suggested that if you can do three full sit-ups, you will be able to do anti-gravity yoga. I am happy to say that my leg did stretch that high and within seconds I was swinging in my hammock happy as a child.
The idea of the class is for everyone to gain confidence in the moves and to be able to achieve them on their own – this is why Erika will take the time to practice each move slowly. With me, she wanted to show the full extent of poses which can be achieved. Within an hour; I was standing up, inverted and suspended mid-air in a lotus pose, in a sort of sky-dive position, suspended as if I was in one of those baby bouncers and finally cocooned. With a bit of assistance and hammock manipulation, I do believe I did the “the awesome possum” and “the chandelier” which is not bad in one hour – Erika was pleased with me.
Apart from the high fun factor, anti-gravity yoga has serious health benefits. Anyone with back issues can benefit from being able to hang freely which allows the spine to lengthen. Some followers have suffered from sciatica for years and now from regular practice find that anti-gravity yoga eases the pain. In addition to decompressing the spine, anti-gravity yoga can help to increase strength and flexibility without overstressing your joints or compressing your vertebrae.
So how do you prepare to have your world turned upside down? Erika says just come with an open mind as it is totally different from yoga on terra firma. You must listen to the instructor, trust the hammock and relax as it is easy to start with, to experience some disorientation. At some point you will be upside down, so it is a good idea not to have eaten just before. Also make sure you have no sunscreen on, but if you come straight from the beach there are showers available. After my experience I would suggest wearing lycra leggings and a vest top. Erika did say you can wear a bikini, but the hammock in some poses can be quite tight especially around the groin and with some poses, parts might pop out that you don’t want the other beach goers to see. I would also suggest not to wear baggy clothes as they could get caught in the folds of the hammock. Streamline is the way to go.
So if you fancy hanging out, then Erika has seven multi-coloured hammocks. She will teach five days (Saturday to Wednesday) at 11.00am and 4.00pm, but these times can be changed for a group booking. To book your hammock space either tell the barman or call 01069185919. As a tourist you can easily benefit from the experience by just trying it for one lesson, or if you are a resident Erika will teach a progressive course so you will be hanging like a bat in no time.
The lesson will be 45 minutes of stretching and poses with an additional 15 minutes for play and experimental time. You can either just cocoon yourself or get funky with some inversions in this time. I’m hooked to my hammock and will definitely hang again. I left Wind Beach feeling an inch taller, rejuvenated and feeling like an aerial acrobat super star. I can’t wait until I’m hanging again.
Tags:Beach, love, new, sea
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