Aerial Yoga: What It Is, Benefits, and How to Start Safely

Aerial yoga is a style of yoga practiced with a soft fabric hammock (sometimes called silks or a sling) suspended from the ceiling. The hammock supports part or all of your body weight, which lets you decompress the spine in inversions, deepen stretches with less strain, and attempt poses that would be difficult on the mat alone. Classes blend traditional yoga postures with elements borrowed from aerial arts and pilates.

Below is what actually happens in a class, which benefits are well supported, who should be cautious, and how to get started.

What happens in an aerial yoga class?

A typical 60-minute class follows a familiar arc: a grounded warm-up on the mat, standing poses using the hammock for balance support, hammock-supported stretches and strength work, one or more inversions (hanging upside down with the fabric supporting the hips), and a final relaxation — often cocooned fully inside the fabric, which many students name as their favorite part.

The hammock is rigged to support far more than body weight when professionally installed, and beginner classes keep the fabric low (around hip height) so you are never far from the floor.

What are the real benefits of aerial yoga?

• Spinal decompression. Hanging inversions let gravity gently lengthen the spine without the neck and wrist load of mat-based inversions like headstand.
• Deeper, supported stretching. The fabric carries part of your weight, so tight hamstrings and hips can release with less effort and better alignment.
• Upper-body and core strength. Gripping, pulling, and stabilizing in a moving hammock works the arms, shoulders, and trunk noticeably more than most mat classes.
• Balance and body awareness. The unstable support trains proprioception, similar to working on a yoga ball but in three dimensions.
• Low joint impact. Suspended work reduces compressive load on knees, wrists, and ankles, which some practitioners with joint sensitivity appreciate.
• Novelty and fun. Not a small thing — the playfulness keeps people coming back, and consistency drives most of yoga's benefits.

Claims you may see about dramatic calorie burn or detoxification are weaker: intensity varies hugely by class, and a restorative aerial session is gentle. Treat aerial yoga as a low-to-moderate intensity practice unless you choose an explicitly athletic format.

Aerial yoga vs. mat yoga: how do they compare?

If you are weighing styles more broadly, our guide to what vinyasa yoga is covers the most common mat-based starting point, and hot yoga sits at the other end of the intensity spectrum.

How to start aerial yoga: 5 practical steps

1. Choose a studio with proper rigging and small class sizes. Ask whether instructors hold an aerial-specific certification and how points are load-tested.
2. Book a beginner or fundamentals class, not an open-level flow. You need to learn basic wraps and foot locks first.
3. Wear fitted clothing that covers armpits and the backs of the knees — a snug top with sleeves and leggings — to prevent fabric burn. No zippers or jewelry, which snag silks.
4. Skip heavy meals for about two hours beforehand. Gentle inversion on a full stomach is unpleasant.
5. Tell the teacher it is your first time and about any conditions (see cautions below). Good instructors will give you floor-based alternatives for any pose.

Who should be cautious with aerial yoga?

Because the practice involves inversion and pressure from the fabric, check with your doctor first if any of these apply: pregnancy, glaucoma or other eye conditions, high or low blood pressure, heart disease, vertigo, recent surgery, osteoporosis, or disc problems. Inverting increases pressure in the head and eyes, which is the main reason for several of these cautions. If full inversions are off the table, many hammock-supported stretches can still be done upright — or consider a fully supported format like chair yoga while you build confidence.

Can I do aerial yoga at home?

Only with proper rigging. A hammock must hang from a ceiling mount drilled into structural framing, a freestanding aerial rig, or a doorway bar rated for dynamic loads — never from an untested hook. If in doubt, have a professional install the mount. Many people learn the basics in a studio for a few months before investing in home equipment. Partner-supported floor work is a rig-free alternative for variety at home; see our two-person yoga poses.

If you do decide to invest in a home rig, the equipment matters as much as the mount: look for a hammock and hardware sold as a complete kit and rated for dynamic loads, not repurposed gear, and keep the professional-install advice above in mind regardless of what you buy.

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This article is general information, not medical advice. If you are pregnant or have an eye, heart, blood pressure, or spine condition, talk to your doctor before trying aerial inversions.

This guide is part of our guide to yoga styles and lineages, covering how aerial yoga compares with other yoga traditions.

Have a correction? Contact us.

Last update 2026-09-10. Price and product availability may change.