5 things you didn’t know about antigravity yoga

Antigravity yoga… It’s more than just hanging upside down in suspended silk hammocks. Owner of sky-lab aerial studio Shari Veitch tells us more about this unique practice.

1. it all started on broadway

Antigravity® yoga originated in the US during the late 1990’s by Christopher Harrison, former competitive gymnast turned Broadway aerial designer and founder of the AntiGravity® aerial acrobatics company. The unique apparatus the Harrison group developed for performance was modified to lend itself to the everyday athlete, and through a hybrid fusion of yoga and aerial arts the practice of antigravity yoga was born, allowing the experience of flight and levity to all.

2. it can make you taller

Zero compression inversions allow decompression of the spine through gentle traction and hydration of vertebral discs. Enabling you to extend to your true natural height. This can vary between 1⁄4” to 1 1⁄2” taller (and unfortunately the effects are not cumulative).

3. it can increase your cardiovascular capability without increasing your heart rate

Inversions create a unique environment where the lungs and diaphragm are working harder during regular breath cycles to lift upwards against the additional weight of the internal organs, increasing cardio vascular conditioning without increasing heart rate – cool hey! Who said you need to go for a run?

4. hello happy hormones

Zero compression inversions allow circulatory and lymphatic systems to refresh while stimulating greater cerebellum function. Increasing the release of neurotransmitters from the brain and stimulating the release of “happy hormones” – serotonin, dopamine, enkephalins and endocannabinoids.

5. it can make you more agile

The practice of Antigravity yoga can increase your kinaesthetic awareness and develop a more astute proprioceptor response allowing a fine tuning of balance, coordination and greater agility.

Shari is our visual merchandise trainer for Australia and New Zealand as well as an AntiGravity yogi, dancer, designer, artist, visionary and pioneer of the aerial arts. She’s the founder of sky-lab aerial studio in Surry Hills and co-creator of the artist collective Soldiers rd Studios. You can find her travelling the world, dancing on ceilings and sharing her creative passion to live an elevated life. Follow her on instagram and facebook, and come fly at the lab: [email protected]