Trying out anti-gravity yoga at our community’s newest studio, CoolHotYoga Calabasas!

Life has been pretty incredible lately!

I’m working a lot (my last day off was over a week ago), but I feel really great. I’m in that kind of mood where I’m just saying “Yes!” to all kinds of things I would normally never do.

One of those things? Anti-gravity yoga. I’d never heard of it, but a new studio, CoolHotYoga Calabasas, opened up and a few co-workers were going to check it out.

Now, I know I’ve mentioned here before that I am quite clumsy. I knock things over, I trip, I break stuff. I’m sort of geo-spacially challenged, to say the least. So the thought of doing flips in midair while suspended by a harness is not the kind of thing I’d normally say yes to.

But say yes I did, and wow – anti-gravity yoga is officially my new obsession!

What is it?

AntiGravity® Aerial Yoga is a unique fusion technique, revolutionary in relieving compressed joints and aligning the body from head to toe. The AntiGravity® Hammock acts as a soft trapeze and as a support while you master simple inversions and finally progress to more advanced poses.

In short, it’s amazing. My body felt incredible instantly. I never wanted the class  to end, and I had the urge to take class again the next morning. (Thankfully I didn’t, because I was mega-sore the next day!)

“Everyone should try this!” I thought.

Within five minutes or getting into the harness, my co-workers and I had done our first flip.

Trying out a new physical activity is a great way to gauge where your inner resistance is. When I first saw instructor Salina Andrews effortlessly perform the flip, my brain quickly retorted with “I can’t do that!” And yet, I put my legs where she told me to, grabbed the harness where she’d instructed, and bam! I completed the flip effortlessly. A feeling of exhilaration gushed through me afterwards.

Salina was there to help me when my resistance was too great – for example, when it was time to move into “Vampire” pose, which consists of hanging parallel to the floor, face down. You are basically suspended two feet above the floor and feel constantly like the harness will give way and you will smash your face into the hardwood below. “I can’t I can’t I can’t!” my brain said. But soon enough, I could, and I did.

But by far, my favorite part of our class was savasana (the rest period). We curled up in our harnesses, which stretched out to be long hammock-like cocoons. I got completely in the fetal position and Salina gave me a gentle push. We spent the next several minutes rocking back and forth.

This had to be like what it felt in the womb. I felt protected and weightless. My body felt so alive and rested at the same time.

If you have anti-gravity yoga in your area, I highly recommend trying it. Don’t let needing to lose weight or being out of shape stop you – the harness easily holds 1,000lbs and there are lots of modifications if you’re a beginner or inflexible (like me)! I was on such a crazy high afterwards, and I’m going again on Saturday. I’m not a huge exercise fanatic, but I can say that this form of yoga was my favorite workout I’ve ever done!

The coolest part of doing an inversion with a harness is that nothing gets compressed by gravity, the way your shoulders would in a normal handstand. The result? Good joint fluid flows effortlessly through your bod and you feel all tingly and happy!

Holding hands and laughing!

Even if you hate it, I promise you’ll be glad you did it.

“Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way. With yoga, we become aware of how and where we are restricted — in body, mind, and heart — and how gradually to open and release these blockages. As these blockages are cleared, our energy is freed. We start to feel more harmonious, more at one with ourselves. Our lives begin to flow — or we begin to flow more in our lives.”  –Cybele Tomlinson

And if all of this wasn’t good enough, a surprise came into our store – Tender Violet Wunder Unders! I am obsessed with this color – it was all the rage in our store a few months ago. I have always wanted to name my future daughter Violet, so seeing this color show up in the store when I was going through a tough time was really comforting to me, and I ended up buying almost everything lululemon made in this color! I bought a jacket, crops, a Cool Racerback, several pairs of underwear, and socks! So when these long pants showed up two days ago, I promptly bought them! (Do you have a color that just makes you insanely happy? Tender Violet is definitely mine!)

Megan and I are quite happy in our Tender Violet Wunder Unders!

What else is new? Well, in my entirely good mood, I’ve been a little dreamy and out of it. I have to remind myself to pay attention to the “real” world sometimes. I’ve narrowly missed a few car accidents and I woke up this morning to the smell of gas and a headache – I’d left the burner on my stove on for almost a full day without realizing it! Durr.

When your life starts to take off and turns all amazing and sparkly, remember to check in with real stuff once in a while – don’t get in any accidents and remember to turn the stove off!

And if your life isn’t  amazing or sparkly currently, remember this, because it’s absolutely true:

Whether things are good or bad, this is always true.

Have a wonderful rest of your week!