In short: aerial yoga is a modern format, not a traditional style: familiar yoga poses done with the support of a soft fabric hammock hung from the ceiling, a few inches to a few feet off the floor. The hammock can take some of your weight, help you balance, and let you hang upside down without weight on your head or neck. It was developed in the United States from the 1990s and 2000s by teachers including Christopher Harrison (AntiGravity) and Michelle Dortignac (Unnata). Inversions are a big part of most classes, so people with some eye, heart, blood pressure or other conditions, and anyone pregnant, should check with a doctor first.
Aerial yoga looks spectacular in photos, and it is more approachable than it looks: beginners’ classes spend much of the time with feet on the floor. This guide explains what it is, where it came from, how the hammock and rigging work, what happens in a class, and who should be cautious.
What is aerial yoga?
Aerial yoga (also sold as hammock yoga, AntiGravity yoga or flying yoga) uses a wide, soft fabric hammock, usually hung from two points so it forms a sling or loop. In class, the hammock is used in three main ways:
- As support: taking some of your weight in standing poses, lunges and balances, or cradling the hips in a supported version of downward-facing dog.
- As a seat or cradle: sitting in the fabric, or lying fully wrapped in it for relaxation.
- For inversions: hanging upside down with the fabric under the hips or around the thighs, so the head and shoulders carry no weight.
It is best understood as a format: a set of tools and techniques added to yoga poses. Like chair yoga or AcroYoga, it is a modern way of practicing, not a lineage with its own philosophy or historical texts. Many aerial classes also borrow from Pilates, dance and circus arts.
Origins: a modern format
Aerial yoga is recent. AntiGravity Fitness says its founder, Christopher Harrison, first conceived the idea in the 1990s and developed both a hammock designed for yoga and fitness and the AntiGravity technique; the company describes itself as the originator of the aerial fitness genre. Separately, Michelle Dortignac began developing an aerial yoga class in 2005, which she later called Unnata Aerial Yoga, and began teaching it to the public in January 2006 at a studio in Brooklyn, New York, according to Unnata’s own timeline.
Since then, many studios have developed their own aerial programs and teacher trainings, and the format has spread internationally. There is no single governing body: training standards are set by each school.
The equipment: hammock and rigging
The hammock. Aerial yoga fabric is usually a wide, low-stretch or medium-stretch fabric with no seams in the load-bearing area. Makers state their own load ratings; AntiGravity, for example, says its hammock is load-tested to withstand forces of more than 1,000 lb. Those figures are the maker’s own and apply only to that product, correctly installed.
The rigging. The hammock is only as safe as what it hangs from. In studios it is attached to rated hardware fixed into a structural beam or a dedicated frame. If you want to practice at home:
- Have a qualified professional (a structural engineer or experienced rigger) check the ceiling or install a freestanding frame. Never hang a hammock from a light fixture, a curtain rail or drywall.
- Use only the hardware the hammock maker specifies, and inspect fabric, carabiners and straps regularly.
- Learn the basic shapes, especially inversions, in a class with a trained teacher before practicing alone.
What happens in a typical class
A beginners’ aerial class usually lasts 60 to 75 minutes, with one hammock per person, set at about hip height. A typical structure:
- Warm-up on the floor and in the fabric: gentle stretches holding the hammock, standing mountain pose with the fabric for balance.
- Supported standing poses: lunges and balances with a foot or hands in the hammock; a hammock-supported tree pose is a common one.
- Hip and back stretches: supported downward dog with the fabric at the hip creases, and hammock variations of hip openers such as pigeon pose.
- Inversions (optional): a simple supported hang upside down, taught step by step, with a teacher close by. In beginners’ classes you can always stay upright.
- Cocoon relaxation: lying inside the hammock, wrapped in the fabric, in a version of corpse pose.
Wear close-fitting clothes that cover your armpits and the backs of your knees (the fabric can rub), remove jewelry and avoid lotions, which make the fabric slippery. Most studios ask you not to eat a big meal for a couple of hours before class.
Intensity and level
We class aerial yoga as moderate. Beginners’ classes are mostly gentle and supported; intermediate and advanced classes involve climbing into the fabric, holding your own weight and more complex inversions, which take real strength in the arms, shoulders and core. Most people find the first few classes surprising: the fabric presses on the hips and thighs, and hanging upside down can feel disorienting at first.
Inversions: what to know
Inversions are the main attraction for many people. AntiGravity describes its “zero-compression” inversions, with the body supported by the hammock and the weight of the head lengthening the spine; that is the maker’s description of what the technique aims to do, not an established medical treatment. Being upside down does have well-documented effects that matter for some people. A 2015 study found that pressure inside the eye rose quickly in head-down yoga positions such as downward dog and standing forward bend, in people with and without glaucoma, and returned to normal within two minutes of sitting up. Full aerial inversions are more head-down than either.
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health suggests that people new to yoga avoid extreme practices such as headstands and shoulder stands. If those are off-limits for you, do not assume an aerial inversion is automatically safe because your head is off the floor; ask your doctor and tell your teacher.
Who should check with a doctor first
Talk to your doctor before trying aerial yoga, and tell your teacher, if any of these apply:
- Pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises pregnant people to avoid activities that may result in a fall; most aerial work, and all inversions, fall into that category. See our prenatal yoga guide instead.
- Eye conditions such as glaucoma, or recent eye surgery, because of the rise in eye pressure upside down.
- Heart disease, high or low blood pressure, a history of stroke or fainting.
- Recent surgery, hernia, or problems with the spine, neck or shoulders.
- Vertigo or inner-ear problems, or if you are prone to motion sickness.
- Weight limits: ask the studio about their hammock’s rated load.
If you feel dizzy, nauseous or have a headache, come upright slowly, sit down and rest. These are general cautions, not individual advice.
Breathing in the hammock
Slow breathing helps you stay calm when you are off the ground or upside down. Simple diaphragmatic breathing works well, and a few rounds of box breathing before an inversion can steady the nerves (skip the breath holds if you have heart or blood pressure problems). Never hold your breath while upside down.
Who aerial yoga suits
Aerial yoga tends to suit people who are curious, enjoy a playful class and like a sense of novelty. The support of the hammock can make some shapes easier to explore than on the floor, and the cocoon relaxation at the end is a highlight of many classes. Dancers, climbers and people who enjoy circus-style movement often take to it quickly.
It suits you less if you dislike heights or the feeling of being upside down, if pressure from the fabric on your hips and thighs is uncomfortable, or if you want a quiet, traditional practice with breathing and meditation at its center. In that case, a hatha class or a meditation practice may be a better fit.
Aerial yoga and the yoga tradition
Because aerial yoga is so new, it has no texts or philosophy of its own. Good teachers bring in the same foundations as any yoga class: steady breathing, attention to how the body feels, and the ethical principle of non-harming from the yamas, which in a hammock simply means not forcing a pose or an inversion before you are ready. If you want to understand the older practice that aerial classes borrow from, our guides to what yoga is and the history of yoga are good places to start.
Aerial compared with other styles
| Aerial | Hatha (modern class) | AcroYoga | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kind | Modern format with a hammock | Traditional roots, modern class | Modern partner format |
| Equipment | Hammock and rigging | Mat, simple props | Mat, partners, a spotter |
| Inversions | Supported, a central feature | Optional, unsupported | Partner-supported |
For a slower and more grounded practice, see hatha or yin; for partner work, see AcroYoga. All our style guides are on types of yoga.
Aerial yoga on retreat
A few retreat centers have aerial rigs, usually as an extra class rather than the main program. If it matters to you, ask before booking whether the rigging is permanent, who teaches the class and whether it is included in the price. Our guide on how to choose a yoga retreat lists the questions to ask, and our history of yoga puts modern formats like aerial in the context of a much older practice.
