Fly in March with AcroYoga Flight School at Mighty

Don't miss Mighty Yoga's 2nd AcroYoga weekend March 4-6th! Chris Loebsack returns accompanied by Lindsey Britt, and assisted by MY's Gina for 3 days of flyin' workshops in the AcroYoga Flight School! Come play with counterbalances, pyramids, flying, inversions and enjoy a yummy Thai massage and deep partner stretching. For a little refresher, check out these pics from last fall's AcroYoga weekend at Mighty.

There are only 8 days left to sign up before the Early Bird registration deadline, February 20th. So what are you waiting for? Register online now. Whether you're joining us for one workshop or all, it's sure to be an unforgettable experience! Let's fly!

Mighty AcroYogis a-flying

Some mighty yogis are still flying high after a dynamite workshop weekend at Mighty Yoga! Yogis from Ithaca, Binghamton and even as far as Toronto and Brazil came for a little AcroYoga. Friday featured an overview of the practice. Saturday had a nurturing focus with yummy Thai massage and therapeutic partner poses. Finally Sunday turned everything upside down (in a good way!) with some strength-building inversions and an intro to eye-catching partner acrobatics like Throne and Star (both pictured below).

The weekend sessions began and ended with everyone joining in a circle to share some yogi love and mutual support, a nurturing practice that celebrates the power of community. Because, let's face it, without teamwork, some of these poses wouldn't have been possible. Together, these mighty yogis hung in Folded Leaf. They flew in Bird. They sat in Throne, like the kind Ilana is waving from here (that's Nicole as base!).

And they shined in Star, like Zainab (flyer) and Chris (base) are doing here!

Thank you to all who participated in the fly fest and acrobatics in Mighty's first AcroYoga weekend! And our warm appreciation goes out to Chris Loebsack and assistant Gina Newlin for sharing their passion for flying with this community! For links to more cool pictures, check out the Mighty Yoga page and Ithaca Acro Yogis page on Facebook.

MY AcroYoga weekend is almost here!

Thinking about joining us for our Mighty AcroYoga weekend? Space is filling up fast, so register soon! Remember all levels are welcome; no partner is necessary.

In the meantime, wonder how yoga, acrobatics, and therapeutic Thai massage came together? It turns out amazing things happen when people unite… and share a love for pyramid building with their bodies! Nearly seven years after the founders had their first impromptu contact yoga session, AcroYoga is increasingly distinguished for its celebration of interdependence and play (For a fuller history, check out the official AcroYoga web page).

It is easy to see this practice as child’s play. Remember hanging over someone’s feet, sitting on someone’s shoulders or leaning back to balance a two-person tug-of-war? In AcroYoga, typically a triad of players play—a Spotter assists a Base as he or she supports a Flyer in dynamic variations of yoga poses with names like Folded Leaf, Bat and Bird (like the one pictured here).

We’ve already mentioned how the principle of bone-stacking makes seemingly challenging poses increasingly effortless and allows people of varying sizes to fly or base with greater ease. One more thing to note is that the spotter’s involvement is vital. Think of the spotter as the safety net; with his or her watchful eye, the base and flyer can more fully, and freely, explore those eye-catching acrobatics.

When MY’s Gina was introduced to the practice, she remembers that though the visual appeal of the partner poses hooked her, the underlying elements of trust-building brought her back to fly. “This amazing practice was another place to explore relationship, explore the intricacies of community,” Gina says. “It was another way to have a conversation in a safe, nurturing, playful, fun environment.”

This weekend leading AcroYoga instructor Chris Loebsack, one of the first certified AcroYoga instructors (pictured below), will be assisted by MY's Gina in sharing the playful freedom and benefits of therapeutic flying, Thai massage, inversion training and an intro to partner acrobatics. We hope you can make it for part or all of the sessions!

BUT if you absolutely can’t make it this weekend, Gina also coordinates casual, weekly Ithaca AcroYogi practice sessions at various parks, weather permitting. You can feel free to check the Ithaca Acro Yogis Facebook page for the next play session, too. Let’s fly!