Aerial Yoga for Release Therapy

I met an amazing artist, performer, dancer, acrobat, and yoga instructor, Michelle Dortignac, and therefore, have been introduced to another fabulous way to bend, shape, lift and work the body with Aerial Yoga.

As with most of my teachers, (of every discipline) she kept telling me too slow down find “quiet the breath” as the work enveloped me with utter joy!  I get so carried away with the freedom of body movement, I gobbled up the first 30-45 minutes like a glutton.  Toward the end of the 90 minutes, I kinda got her point and “let go to release” my body to the gravity pull and my breath actually did slow down and went inside.

The next two days I felt my body, particularly the lines of my torso, in a way I have not experienced in sometime.  It was GREAAAAAT!

Using a soft trapeze, Aerial Yoga combines basic yoga postures with the miracles of gravity. The result is a new practice that encourages proper alignment by strengthening shoulder and core ab muscles and increasing shoulder and spinal flexibility—all without strain or pain.  Like partner yoga or any other type of assist, the hammock-like aerial apparatus counteracts the affects of gravity, which is a great way to relieve compression and elongate your spine.

Developed by Michelle Dortignac, a dancer and yoga instructor, she’s been teaching weekly classes since January 2006  in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and also teaches at JCC in NYC at 76th Street.  Looks like my all my anti-aging, fitness therapies will be in NYC:  Wednesday with Pilates and Susan;  Saturday with Aerial Yoga and Michelle and Sunday in Central Park with R&B and rollerblades!

Catch me if you can!!

I’ve got a bunch more images, and another video from my personal experience in Williamsburg. Share this with a friend via email: eMail