J'aime

My New Favorite Yoyo

10 years ago by

The idea behind my stay in LA was to spend time writing, do yoga and eat macrobiotic food. Like a sort of pre-winter detox, I was picturing…

All right, so, you know me, it didn’t happen that way at all and I ended up drinking way more red wine than green juice but I still got to go a few times to yoga and I discovered something wonderful…

AntiGravity Yoga.

AntiGravity Yoga is a sort of yoga that you practice in a sort of very light hammock in which you can roll or attach yourself. You find yourself with your hair down, doing exercises in the air, shouting a lot.

I mean I shouted a lot. These types of exercises are a big challenge for me because I’m very scared of moving my body in space. I could never do a cartwheel and even back bending freaks me out.

I must have some sort of psychological thing…

I think that is why I love the exercise so so much. After class, I not only felt totally zen, but having been able to trust myself enough to be able to roll on myself and end up head down (as you see me doing in the picture) gave me the feeling I had totally outdone myself.
I felt elated for days after that.

The bonus also was that it totally relaxes the spine. My back hurts pretty often but here I left like I was walking on a cloud.

In short, I absolutely totally adored it, it’s my new favorite activity, because it mixes all the things I love: yoga, fun and even a little dose of Cirque Du Soleil!!!

Have you ever tried? Do you know a good studio in downtown New York?

37 comments

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  • try yoga union… not sure they have the exact same hammock but they have ropes to hang yourself off the walls, and do suspended and inverted poses. the idea is really to stretch your spine. it’s great.
    yoga union on 28th street bet 6th and broadway

  • i love the pic w/ you upside down! and this kind of yoga does sound great! :)

    http://cheezburger.com/7884700928

  • you should try om factory in NYC

    http://www.omfactorynyc.com/

  • You went to LA to spend time writing – Garance, are you writing a book? You should write a book. About being a woman, because your honest take on it is very refreshing.

  • Avec mon mal de dos chronique, ce “yoyo zen” me plairait beaucoup surtout si, apres une séance, on a l’impression de marcher sur un nuage !

  • Where did you go in LA for this? And what other spots do you want to share for my upcoming trip there?

  • That looks like a lot of fun! No idea it existed.
    But I guess having you iPhone in hand while doing it is less zen ;)

  • Wow! Head down, love it already, never tried it, but I know, that this would be fantastic for me, because I used to do freefly (skydiving). But I guess this takes ages, until a studio in Switzerland opens… I have to be patient, haha an other yoga practice ;-) xxx

  • Hi Garance, yoga in space sounds brilliant!
    Just a quick note not on space-yoga as I was indulging on ebay shopping as a (decadent) break from work and there I found this:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190926105720?var=490194986151&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

    So pretty!
    Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe it’s your print design, isn’t it?

    I’m gonna get one!
    Cheers
    Mx

  • Very cool! You should check out antigravity fitness in NYC, I have heard great things about it :) also Om Factory Yoga, offers aerial yoga, I think it is the same thing! Have fun, it is great that you finally found a workout you love doing, that means you will do it and that is good thing ;)

  • OM FACTORY is the original……CRUNCH downtown also offers anti gravity yoga!
    it’s so fun – i felt the same liberating sensation when i left – i could have never imagined that i would have flipped myself all over and upside down!!! x

  • Je suis pas sure que ce soit trop mon truc ! Par contre, je suis une grande fan du yoga bikram !
    La parenthèse Enchantée.fr

  • I’ve never tried it but I do love yoga, the entire thing. the body, the mind and the soul.
    Xo,
    Belen
    http://www.androbelinsider.blogspot.com new post! :)

  • Je ne fais toujours pas la roue aussi, meme une roulade ca me stress, donc le poirier et tout ces trucs c’est foutu, c’est grave?
    Sinon j’ai toujours evite ce yoga, mais pourquoi pas alors?! j’ai toujours pense que il fallait etre encore plus souple que pour le yoga sur terre..

  • Actually, Christopher Harrison is the creator of Antigravity Yoga, and he has a lab w/ classes in Midtown (same building as OM factory, but they’re not affiliated). I highly recommend taking a class at his studio, or going through the Antigravity website to find a class that is taught by an AG trained instructor. Lots of locations in NYC!

    http://antigravityfitness.com/

  • Wow! Ça m’a l’air génial! Dommage que je ne connaisses pas d’endroit proche de chez moi où en faire1

    Sandrine x
    http://www.iamsandrine.com

  • I think yoga is the best way to exercise. On one hand, it is a workout and on the other hand it is also a way of relax! :)

    http://andreavytlacilova.com/

  • When I first read this, I thought that it was “fro-yo” but I guess in terms of trends, it’s the same thing. Looks fun!

    Your Friend, Jess

  • ok first: what is macro-somethingie food and who eat’s that? You where right to stick with the red wine. And second: that photo of you hanging in these things made me smile, haha looks like so much fun! (why did you bring your phone btw, you made calls while hanging? ;P) Not sure if i’m able to do this serious tho, I think the teacher would kick me out. But hey, i’m going to find out if they have something like that in my hometown Taipei. Seems to me this is something I should try. Thanks!
    -xadinda

  • I love aerial yoga! I tried it at an aerial yoga school in Brisbane, Australia. Great for my back aches. : )

  • Studio Anya on W. 24th between Broadway and Fifth. It’s a great, light-filled, beautiful, super clean yoga and Pilates studio and they have a couple different antigravity yoga classes. A more active, fitness class and more passive, stretching and relaxation classes.

  • There’s an anti-gravity yoga near my place, and I’ve been wanting to try but I’m worried that I might look stupid doing it! Hahaha.

  • Believe me, everyone looks silly! Hardly anyone looks graceful trying to flip around in the air like that (I definitely didn’t!). I’ve never seen so much giggling in a yoga class until I went to an anti-gravity one :)

  • Garance, this looks hazardous! I’m glad you enjoy it, but be careful. ;-)

  • I suppose you were able to trust yourself hanging upside down after the shots of wine?
    Right?!!!
    Anyhow, I use to make this figure on the parallels since I was a child and I didn’t know they are called gravity yoga now….This must be called Sports Evolution….
    https://abdsign.blogspot.com

  • I love anti-gravity yoga! I had to do it two years ago when I had a pretty complicated ankle surgery. It was a fantastic way to stretch out my whooooole leg/body during my rehab period without fiddling around with those big plastic bands.

  • One question..just for me…do they sell anti-gravity bras?? xxx

  • à NY, non, mais à Paris : Fly yoga
    http://www.supersaas.fr/schedule/FLY-YOGA/RESERVATION_COURS_PARIS
    testé et approuvé.

  • Ahahaha, ta photo tête en bas est géniale!!
    Tiens, moi aussi j’ai toujours été flippée de faire la roue. Mais le pire, c’était les cours de gym au collège où il fallait sauter sur le trampoline et faire un salto, l’angoisse, je détestais ça.
    En revanche, je pense que j’aimerais bien ton AntiGravity Yoga, ça a l’air très fun.
    Merci pour la découverte.

  • C’est fait tu! tu as testé le « air yoga », alors ça pue ou pas ?

  • I tried it too and although it won’t replace my regular yoga practice I loved the fun and playfullness!

  • I do Iyengar yoga …and we do lots of inversions and also in the ropes…I love doing them. and it does feel like a cross between gymnastics and acrobatics. Total fun..RIght up there with Karaoke for me!

  • Ooohh le kiff! J’ai la même phobie que toi, ne peux pas faire les positions renversées en yoga et encore moins la roue. Ça me reconforte que tu aies aimé! Je n’ai plus qu’à essayer mais ce n’est pas encore très répandu hors grandes villes.

  • :))))))))…

  • Le Yoga ne m’a jamais trop tenté, mais présenté comme ça… Tu sais si ça existe en France ?

  • Dernièrement j’ai pourant vu aux infos que certains coach proposent ce type de relaxation en France, alors faut se renseigner dans vos villes, on ne sait jamais!

  • I don’t know more about NewYork but yeah in Spain and in India there is one really good institute for Aerial or you can say antigravity yoga named by AnaahatYog

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