Sports Supplement 2014: Aerial Spin

It’s a dreich Tuesday afternoon in Leith and I am upside down, suspended only by a slivver of silk. I’m being instructed to clench my buttocks and point my toes. It may sound like role play gone wrong, but I am, in fact, indulging in fitness’s newest craze – aerial.

Aerial is a broad term that encompasses a range of disciplines that involve being suspended from a hoop, a trapeze, a silk or a rope. In the interests of easing myself in gently, I opted to take to the silk to try out Scotland’s first aerial pilates class. A devotee of pilates for the best part of a decade, I’m unsure how the small, precise movements of classic pilates will translate when being performed in a giant silk sling suspended from the ceiling. Luckily, my instructor for the day, Debbie Robbins, has no such qualms. “Aerial pilates shares a lot of the philosophy of traditional mat based pilates, but the addition of the sling allows you to work into poses and target areas you might not be able to reach without it. You can use the sling to aid your practice and support your weight or it can be used to intensify moves and make them harder.”

As we head into the Get Down Dog yoga studio I’m faced with what look like large hammocks suspended from the rafters, but any thoughts of sleep are quickly banished as Debbie hops into one and promptly flips upside down. She assures me that I can do the same and it’s perfectly safe – and she’s right, it’s easier than it looks. Holding each side of the sling either side of my waist, I tentatively lean back and take both legs off the floor. Before I know it I’m completely upside down with my legs in the air, parted as far as they’ll go in a most unladylike fashion. The next step is to take my hands off the ground, which I do, reluctantly, and with a little (by which I mean a lot) of encouragement from Debbie. And she’s right – I didn’t face plant the floor and it does feel good.

At first all I can feel as I hang there is the blood rushing to my head, but the longer I'm suspended, the calmer I feel. As I relax into the position and get used to the inversion, I swear I can feel my spine lengthening. Even my shoulders begin to release from their usual hunched position somewhere near my ears. Just as I'm beginning to enjoy myself, Debbie decides it's time to put me through my paces.

I defy anyone who thinks pilates is an ‘easy’ exercise to try the aerial version of a plank. Starting on all fours on the ground I tentatively place one foot into the bottom of the silk, followed (even more tentatively) by the other. I am now in the normal plank position, apart from my feet, which are resting on the sling. Not so bad I think. Except that's not all – now Debbie explains I am` going to move my knees together into my chest, supporting my weight on my arms, and then back again. Ten times. It’s hard – really, really hard. My arms tremble, my core burns but I manage the ten, just. Then I’m made to do it again with straight legs, pushing my hips up into the air as I go to end up in a sort of half handstand. I manage one before unceremoniously hitting the deck.

Another thirty minutes of pain ensues, as I learn to master handstands, shoulder control and some balance work. Throughout the session Debbie makes tiny adjustments and corrections to my posture, making sure I’m engaging my core muscles and working all the bits I’m meant to be. She explains: “Aerial pilates is a great way to learn things about your own body. Because the swing means you’re working with gravity you notice imbalances and discrepancies between the right and left side of your body, things that aren’t always so noticeable when you work on the mat. That’s the thing about aerial pilates, it works you in ways your body isn’t used to. It’s not just about strengthening your muscles, it’s also good for your flexibility. And it’s fun, it’s a really liberating experience.”

And it seems other people agree – aerial classes in all their guises are popping up across the country. Aerial yoga (also known as anti-gravity yoga) is one of the best known. Much like aerial pilates, its yoga counterpart uses a silk sling to aid poses and sequences. The yogi purists might not approve, but it’s attracted a strong following, including the cast of Made in Chelsea, but don’t let that put you off.

Gillian Watt is an aerial yoga teacher in Edinburgh. “Props have always been used in Iyengar yoga, and the hammock is just an extension of that. It allows you to iron out the spine and try inverted and advanced postures with an added level of support. Aerial is a more playful take on traditional yoga classes, there is a lot of laughter involved. But that’s not to say it’s easy, the hammock forces you to be really present in your practice. Instead of just thinking about left and right, when you’re inverted you also have to think about up and down and it challenges your perception. It’s great for stress relief because you’re concentrating so hard on what you’re doing it’s impossible to think about anything else.”

At the other end of the spectrum is circus style aerial – think flying trapeze, teeterboards, hoops and acrobatics. Although faster paced than either aerial pilates or yoga, they have a lot in common; building strength and flexibility are at the core of both.Mark Gibson is the Director of Aerial Edge, a Glasgow based school that teaches everyone from complete beginners right through to professional performers. There has been a definite increase in the number of people taking up aerial. When we took over the school in 2006 there were six classes a week, now we run somewhere between 80 and 90 a month. Acts like Cirque du Soleil and Pink have really brought aerial into the mainstream. I think as awareness of aerial grows, people have started to realise that it’s a viable alternative to the gym. Aerial is really good for improving general fitness, as well as being fun and exciting.”

It’s hard to disagree, despite my initial scepticism, aerial is actually incredibly fun – it feels like being back in the playground. The day after my session with Debbie I can really feel that I’ve been worked, much more so than after a regular pilates class. I feel this may be the start of a new addiction – something tells me my fitness regime may have just been turned on its head.