Aerial Hammock/Yoga at Poletential

Poletential seems to be quickly becoming my home away from home.  Although they are an hour away, so I can't really get there regularly for classes, they have some fun events that I have been really excited to attend.  I didn't get a chance to write much about it, but I was touched that Tracey invited Rita and me to Twirloween -- Poletential's birthday party and student/instructor showcase.  There are some videos on my YouTube account if you are interested. 

Of course my first direct contact with Poletential was the Air Show last July.  I had so much fun and am eagerly anticipating the second Air Show next month.

I also attended a Zumba FUNdraiser to benefit the beautiful Tracey Horne.  What a lovely bunch of women who came together to support their pole sister in a time of need.

Also, don't forget Christina and Pam answered my Studio Spotlight questions recently as well. 

In early October I had tried aerial silks at Twirly Girls and saw that Poletential had aerial hammock.  It looked a little easier than silks.  Rita and I signed up immediately, but due to scheduling issues, didn't get in for a class until yesterday.  I saw an aerial hammock demonstration at OC Pole Fitness' open house in September.  I mean, those girls were advanced and did some amazing things in the hammock but I figured anything with the word "hammock" in it couldn't be that hard.

Rita and I arrived at Poletential yesterday, ready for whatever the afternoon held for us.  Jessica was our instructor.  I guess I knew we wouldn't be gently swinging in the breeze, but I still don't know what I actually expected.  I figured it would be yoga-based as I had also heard aerial hammock described as aerial yoga.  But I certainly didn't expect the workout that I got! 

We started seated on the ground doing a gentle warm-up/stretch and then Jessica told us to reach up and grab the hammock to lift ourselves off the floor.  I giggled.  Surely she was joking.  She wasn't and she lifted herself like a cute little genie and floated above the ground with her legs still folded.  I attempted to pull myself up, then saved myself the embarrassment and just stood up.

Then the real fun began:  Warming up with one of our legs in the hammock.  I will pretend that part of why I struggled so much was because I chose a hammock a little too low to the ground.  So my leg in the hammock was angled downward a bit instead of straight out.  Yeah, we'll go with that.

Ten minutes into the warm-up, I was sweating my ass off.  I struggled through some of the poses, mostly due to my own inability to balance (weak core, yes, I know!).  I joked with Jessica that I had signed up for the gentle hammock class (not the boot camp my body thought I was putting it through).  She shot back that we were almost done with the warm-up...and I don't think she was kidding.  :-)

After some awesome yoga poses, both on the ground and in the air, and some inversions (which I was only able to do for a little bit because the silks dug into my bad hip a little too much), we snuggled into the hammocks like little bugs in a rug for Savasana -- the final resting pose in yoga.  It's the few minutes you get to lay still, recover and reflect after you've worked so hard.  I swear there was a small earthquake.  The hammock swayed gently and bumped into one of the girls behind me.  It was not scary or uncomfortable.  It was kind of weird -- almost re-assuring that another person was floating in space with me. 

I really enjoyed the class and am really sore today.  I know I have a long way to go before I would be able to consider myself even slightly adept at aerial yoga.  But I am always down for a challenge and am hoping to get in there at least once a month.  I also want to thank Jessica for putting up with me.  I know I tend to be a bit silly when I'm uncomfortable. 

Thank you to Poletential for always being so welcoming to the Twirly Girls.  Next up:  I am definitely looking forward to trying some Liquid Pole with Ellen soon!