What's suspension yoga like?

While visiting Virgin Active Loftus, I was given the option to take part in any workout class that my heart desired. Pilates was a safe option, but suspension yoga called out to me. Needless to say, I answered – even if it was just to see if I could pull off those upside down hanging moves I’d seen on the internet.

Luckily, I was not the only one joining the class for the first time. Everyone took their positions and tested their hammocks.

The first few moves were to get the class warmed up. Getting into the hammock and feeling the steady support of that piece of cloth was really comforting. At one point, I was sitting saddled in the hammock while slightly moving and bringing in one leg with my upper body hanging on one side.

Image credit: Blessed Ngwepe.

Don’t get me wrong, though, it was not all smooth sailing. There was this one move that made me feel the heebie-jeebies.

With the hammock behind me and over both shoulders, our instructor, Charmonique Bayards, told us to wrap our arms into the hammock on either side.

After firmly securing the arms, we had to jump and do a backflip, landing with the body inside the hammock and feet hanging out. I swear, for a moment, I thought: “This is it. This is where it all goes belly up.” But hey, what do you know? Bayards stepped in and talked me through the process and, voilà! Trust was restored, so much so that I did this move a few more times.

suspention yoga loftus PTAPHOTO:

This class was a good shot and, yes, I would do it over and over again. Suspension yoga is the future.