With over a decade teaching Aerial Yoga and becoming a Rolfer, I started thinking over the deep connection between these two disciplines. Why did I go into Rolfing after teaching Aerial Yoga? Was that the part of my being that connected with other people through touch? Could it be gravity, especially in such a situation, that caused this relationship? After years of exploration, I find myself maybe just move slowly closer to this understanding. So today, let us explore how these practices meet each other and what is hidden inside their unusual combination.
What is Rolfing?
Rolfing is manual therapy focused on improving body alignment and balance by means of manipulating connective tissue (fascia). Within ten sessions, hands-on techniques help to correct imbalances in the body thus enabling better adaptation to gravity’s force and movement.
What is Aerial Yoga?
Aerial Yoga uses a silk hammock suspended from the ceiling. Practitioners carry out different poses either with partial or full support from the hammock. During Aerial Yoga session silk is used as assistance in achieving deeper stretches, compression of different body parts and inversions that may be challenging on the ground. Very often hammock gives a sense of floating in the space, where gravity has changed and movement happens easily.
Changing Relationship to Gravity
Both Rolfing and Aerial Yoga invite us to reconsider our relationship with gravity. Rolfing, therapy techniques help realign skeletal muscles and fascia back to their normal positions; thus making them balanced and relaxed while working under the law of gravitational force. Rolfing practitioners are using gravity as tool: in first place as their own body use and secondly their clients body weight to work with connective tissue, which feels safe and calming for nervous system.
As for Aerial Yoga, one starts to experience how it feels like when gravity is embraced differently through inversions and poses done upside down. Practitioners learn to allow gravity to pull them down, and to decide consciously how much weight to give into the hammock. In addition, one can learn how to melt into different layers of body structure and how to do it with ease. In both practices, gravity becomes a partner in dialog with body use, but not a force to overcome.
…gravity becomes a partner in dialog with body use, but not a force to overcome.
New Orientation
One of the most striking similarities between Rolfing and Aerial Yoga is the invitation to explore and allow new orientations of the body. In Rolfing sessions, practitioners discover subtle shifts and holding in posture. The goal over 10 series is to orient body closer to its vertical line. Aerial Yoga encourages people to move themselves all around even facing downwards or upwards without following traditional understanding of directions. What happens when the head becomes the center of attraction and feet are oriented to the sky? In my personal experience, first it needs to be repeated until one is confident hanging upside down. Finally, if this state is achieved then Aerial Yoga practitioners can slowly relieve holding patterns. This exploration of new orientations expands our awareness of our body in space and opens doors to greater freedom of movement.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is the main feature of both Rolfing and Aerial Yoga: a deep, conscious mode of breath that fully involves the diaphragm. If it happens-parasympathetic nervous system can take slowly over and balance autonomic nervous system. In Rolfing, breathing is used as a tension releasing tool. While Rolfing treatment, client´s breathing can additionally help to loosen restricted parts in the body from inside out. Aerial Yoga on the other hand uses hammock as a tool, to awaken body parts to breath, which are forgotten due to constant daily routines. Different parts of diaphragm can be opened and breath happens naturally by change of gravity force in upside down positions. Both practices offering a nurturing environment through which one can take advantage of their breath to relax and loosen up. These two practices invite us to connect to meaningful breath and become aware of our bodies three-dimensionally.
In both Rolfing and Aerial Yoga, there often exists a fear of the unknown.
Blood Flow
Another benefit common in Rolfing and Aerial Yoga is increasing flow of blood in all parts of the body. In Rolfing sessions, as the fascia is manipulated and tension is released, circulation is improved, allowing oxygen and nutrients to reach tissues more effectively. Also, various upside-down positions employed in Aerial Yoga have been known to activate blood vessels thereby improving and re-energizing whole blood circulation. Whether in Rolfing treatment or in Aerial Yoga session more blood flows into muscles, organs and brain enhancing their nutrition resulting into good health generally.
Lightness
If tension in the body is released this allows clients to explore new movement patterns, that make them feel light- hearted physically as well as mentally. Rolfing sessions can slowly remove the layers of tension and stress from the body in manual way. Similarly, in Aerial Yoga, the sensation of floating and flying cultivates a lightness of being, lifting spirits and giving rise to happiness. Together, these practices offer a feeling of lightness among the demands of daily life, inviting us to enjoy the present moment in open minded perspective.
Fear of New Ways
In both Rolfing and Aerial Yoga, there often exists a fear of the unknown. Whether it’s the fear of pain, movement, inversion position or letting go of old patterns. Rolfing practitioners or Aerial Yoga teachers may come across some kind of resistance when exploring uncharted territories with clients. Eventually Rolfing and Aerial Yoga provide safe and supportive environments for clients to explore their edges and expand their comfort zones, finally empowering them to exploit their fullest potential
Conclusion
In conclusion, the synergy between Rolfing and Aerial Yoga offers a transformative journey of self-discovery and embodiment. Through their shared exploration of gravity, orientation, breath, blood flow, lightness, fear and movement expression, these practices inspire us to embrace our potential for balance, vitality, and joy. Whether in personal guidance during Rolfing series or in Aerial Yoga classes, on the ground or in the air, let´s find harmony, guided by the wisdom of the body.
