Why Flexibility Is Important & How Aerial Yoga Can Help

Originally published on 6/10/2020

 

Most of us are guilty of the fact that there are certain things in our lives that we do not put much importance on until we get older, especially when it comes to health. When you’re young, your body just operates differently hence you won’t notice the concerns or issues you’ve neglected until you reach a certain age.

Understandably, you’d have a certain lifestyle during your 20s and 30s. It’s all about the grind, after all. However, you have to take note that fitness and health should always come first. If you plan on living a good and long life, there are adjustments you ought to make.

In this article, we’ll talk about the importance of flexibility and how aerial yoga can help you improve this.

 

The Importance of Flexibility

Many people may be under the false impression that becoming more flexible can be achieved by nothing more than a few stretches before and after a workout, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In order to become truly flexible, a lot more effort is required.

Flexibility is not just important to gymnasts, dancers, athletes, or those professionals who require a higher level of flexibility in their jobs. It is also not just about being able to impress friends with the splits and how far you can reach your leg.

Flexibility is about having a full range of motion that in turn helps you improve your balance and prevent injuries. This actually relates more to how you move and how easy it is for you to achieve this movement.

There are many different ways how you can improve your flexibility, but the most common ones would be dynamic stretching and regular exercise. As easy as these may sound, many people still find difficulty in sustaining this lifestyle due to inconsistency. It could take time before you can actually see the difference in your body, so patience is a must for this undertaking.

Additionally, there are certain practices you can do to ensure that you’re on the right track for this. One of the practices that highly promote flexibility is yoga. If you’re not keen on extreme exercises and just want to focus on improving your flexibility, you can definitely start with yoga.

 

Aerial Yoga For Flexibility

The Yoga practice heavily focused on enhancing your flexibility. This generally aims to increase body awareness and mind/body control, which in turn increases your flexibility. One of the yoga practices that is becoming a top choice for beginners is Aerial Yoga.

Aerial yoga has a wide range of benefits such as promoting relaxation and building strength. It also does its part in helping maintain a healthy weight. But out of all these, one main reason why people take up any type of yoga is to improve flexibility.

At first thought, you may pass over the importance of being flexible however, when we look more closely, we see that flexibility is very important, and working to improve this will have several advantages for your health and well-being.

 

Benefits of Improved Flexibility

If you’re still not convinced, here is a list of some benefits of improved flexibility. You could take these things into consideration when planning your workout.

Fewer Aches And Pains

As your flexibility develops, there will be changes in how your body feels after. Perhaps slowly, you will begin to notice that the aches are less and your body doesn’t feel as sore as it used to.

As we get older, our flexibility decreases. Though this is a natural occurrence, this could still be prevented by maintaining a good routine of stretches and exercise. Lack of movement and a great decrease in flexibility can result in back and body pains since they could be painful as we move around.

If we can move more fluidly and easily, we will not face many of the mobility problems that so many older people are confronted with. It’s quite common to feel pain in the joints and the back, especially as we age, but an increase in flexibility can greatly alleviate these pains.

Staying flexible will likely give us fewer problems in the long term and aerial yoga is a great way to implement this with a variety of yoga poses designed specifically to target flexibility.

Feel Better

One of the great advantages of having a regular aerial yoga routine is that it makes us feel better in general. With the many aspects that an at-home yoga workout can target, it is no surprise that our overall health and well-being are improved.

Flexibility is no exception to this rule. As you enhance and improve in this aspect, you will begin to feel much better about yourself. Think about the early days of your yoga practice when getting into even the simplest asana was a challenge. Then over time, as you practiced more and more, these poses became easier and struggles were less.

Though it is definitely rooted in your hard work and consistency, it is no doubt that flexibility played a big role in this. An improved range of motion allows you to get deeper in the poses without being constricted by your bodily limitations before. In the end, it feels great when we achieve things we thought may never be possible hence this sense of well-being and positive feelings can translate into improved mental health.

With all the benefits at play, it is safe to say that improved flexibility does not only contribute to your physical state, but it also has a hand in improving your mental well-being. By placing a focus on your flexibility, you can feel confident that you are caring for yourself more and this can also make you feel a sense of achievement.

Greater Athletic Ability

For anyone that takes part in sports, particularly those that require a good amount of flexibility – aerial yoga can be a great complementary exercise.

This is especially important if you compete in your chosen sport, as having improved flexibility can give you the edge over other athletes, putting you at the forefront of your game.

Aerial Yoga can be a good addition to your routine as it also allows you to relax while improving your physical state. Not only that but you can actually enjoy it with your teammates and friends!

Improved Sex Life

There’s no denying that there are some positions in the Karma Sutra that require a very flexible body. if you are looking to improve your intimate life then working on your flexibility can definitely contribute to satisfaction in the bedroom.

It’s important to remember that a healthy sex life runs a lot deeper than many people think. Not only does it strengthen the bond with your significant other which can improve your emotional and mental health, but it can also play a part in staying physically active.

You can definitely increase your connection with your partner once sexual satisfaction is achieved. Though you might be at a great level right now, spicing up your intimacy will take you places.

 

So, How Does Aerial Yoga Help With Flexibility?

If you are looking to develop your flexibility, aerial yoga workouts are one of the best ways to do this.

One of the main reasons for this is that, unlike traditional yoga, you have the added support of the yoga hammock or aerial yoga swing which allows you to get into poses that you may not be able to whilst on the mat. This means that the muscles and tendons can be more deeply stretched which is key when attempting to become more flexible.

Additionally, one of the main reasons that so many people are attracted to aerial yoga is that you are far more easily able to do inversions. Not only do these types of poses have a vast array of health benefits but they are also excellent at promoting better flexibility.

How does this happen exactly?

When we are in an inversion, the reverse pull of gravity allows the spine, muscles, and tendons to lengthen. In turn, this increases flexibility and allows you to reap all the benefits that this can bring.

 

How To Use Aerial Yoga To Become More Flexible

Jumping onto your aerial yoga hammock is a great way to become more flexible but there are some things to keep in mind when doing this. You may be tempted to simply work on one particular area of the body that you want to make more flexible, but there is a better way.

Pay Attention To The Entire Body

You do not want to work on just one area. As much as possible, try to improve all the areas in your body to achieve better results. Ultimately, it is much better to stretch out the entire body and become more flexible all over than just having one specific area improved.

Since every bit of our body is connected in one way or another, it pays to develop flexibility as a whole unit rather than treating the body as separate components. This goes right down to the smallest body parts like the fingers and toes – they need stretching as well.

When we focus on the body as a whole, we are targeting all potential aches and pains and renewing the energy flow throughout the whole body, leaving us feeling boosted and invigorated.

Improve Your Stamina

One of the best ways to improve the flexibility of the muscles and tendons is to hold certain asanas for longer periods of time. This may be difficult when practicing traditional mat-based yoga but when we are up in an aerial yoga trapeze, this becomes a lot more doable.

Use your yoga swing to move into a pose such as an inverted pigeon pose, which is excellent for the hips, and hang here for an extended period of time.

Admittedly, you will likely not be able to hold these poses for very long at first, but with practice, your stamina will increase and you will be able to sit for long periods in these flexibility-boosting poses.

In addition to working with these poses to improve your stamina, it is also important to work on other aspects of stamina relating to the cardiovascular system and even patience. These can both be tackled using an aerial swing since you can perform a full-body workout as well as practice restorative yoga for meditation and focus.

 

Once you develop stamina in these areas, it will be much easier to develop it whilst holding flexible poses.

 

Know Your Limits

Since your yoga swing will give you an advantage where stretching is concerned, it can be tempting to bite off more than you can chew. However, where flexibility is concerned, it is important to take it bit by bit to avoid overstretching yourself and potentially causing an injury.

Whilst performing each of the poses within your routine, you should feel a gentle stretch but you should never feel pain or discomfort.

If you do, it is an indication that you are pushing your body too hard and it is time to take it down a notch.

There is no shame in this, as even the most adept yogis had to start somewhere. It is preferable to take your time and get it right than to rush and put yourself out of action altogether.

 

Get Started Today!

Aerial yoga has a world of benefits and one of these is that it is a great way to improve your flexibility. Whilst many people may be under the impression that flexibility doesn’t have an important role in our overall health, this is far from the truth.

Being flexible means that we feel less pain in our day-to-day lives and are more able to move our bodies freely.

When we work on our flexibility whilst in the yoga swing, it is important to follow certain rules and steps in order to yield the best results, these include not overexerting ourselves and working on the whole body rather than just one area.

Overall, there is no doubt that being flexible is super important and aerial yoga can help you to achieve and maintain superior flexibility.