Key Benefits of using a Yoga Swing

You have probably seen and heard about aerial yoga all over social media. My newsfeed on facebook was being flooded with ads titled "Try the yoga swing for $1!". After watching countless videos on youtube, I decided to give it a try. A few days later a lovely package came in the mail with my new yoga swing. It can be a bit challenging trying to figure out where and how you want to install it.
I decided to run down to the local hardware and grabbed a 4 foot galvanized pipe that is 2" thick, 2 elbows, 2-3" long pipes that were 2" thick and then 2 floor flanges. It has worked great and has allowed me the freedom to move and adjust the swing as I see fit with ease.
Once it was up, I got scared. First I decided to test my bar that was holding it. I had to make sure that sucker would hold before I went flipping upside down. So naturally I made my husband sit on it and bounce up and down. If it held him, it will hold me. 
Alright, we are ready for take off! Listed below are a few key benefits that I have discovered after using the yoga swing for 1 month.

1. It's a Total Body Workout!
There are so many things you can do with this piece of fabric. The options are endless! I found myself experimenting putting my legs and arms in positions I would never try on land, let alone be able to even do on land. The act of floating in air gives you the flexibility and mobility that is similar to being in water.  All of your muscles are forced to move and be engaged when moving any body part.

2. Stress Reliever
I found myself reminiscing back to the day of hanging upside down on the swing sets on the playground in elementary school. It brought me back to a sense of child-like capability. I wasn't scared of doing flips, standing and turning because I was in the privacy of my own home. I wasn't on the playground in 4th grade surrounded my boys. ha! It becomes very relaxing even just sitting in the swing because it gives you that sense of weightlessness. 

3. Improves Flexibility
The yoga swing helps you move more freely with less effort. Being suspended in the air helps relieve the tension and stress on your bones, joints and muscles, allowing you to move into deeper stretches. 
It also challenged me to try new ways of stretching and with the added benefit of the swing itself, it helped hold me in those stretches for longer periods of time.

4. Say Goodbye to Back Pain
This one was pretty amazing. I would hang upside down at least once a day for as little as 30 seconds and it made such a difference in my back. I felt looser and less stiff, and I even felt like my posture improved. I say "an upside down a day keeps the doctor away".  My back would crack, but I could tell it was a healthy crack of everything going into it's natural place. 

5. It Increases Strength and Balance
The strength part shocked me at just how weak I actually am. I would see videos of people doing certain poses on the swing and think, "piece of cake". I would then go to try it and laugh at just how delusional I really was. In the month of using it I have noticed that my strength has developed and grown. I still have a long way to go, but there has been an improvement from day one. The balance is interesting. When you swing and turn yourself into different poses, the swing swings! Balance is needed in this as you are moving and suspended from the ground. 

If you have been on the fence about trying the yoga swing, I would highly recommend you giving it a try! It is a great tool to have in the house and like I said, it gives a total body workout. Aerial Yoga classes in the area I live in are quite expensive and I wasn't willing to relive those fears of falling on my face in front of a group of people. Or having my who-ha in the air aimed at everyone. This introvert loves having the yoga swing in the privacy and embarrassment of my own home. 

Let me know if you decide to give it a try or if you have done aerial yoga in the past!