4 Acro Yoga Poses for Beginners

Many people who practice yoga do so to feel connected to their earth and to themselves. After a while, however, they may want to push themselves and practice yoga with another person. Acro Yoga is a wonderful way to practice with someone else. It combines acrobatics with yoga and the end result is beautiful, grounding, and forms a connection between the two people. Read on for a few beginner poses that will have you doing acro yoga today!

1. Plank on Plank

Basic plank pose gets a major upgrade when done with a partner. In this pose, one person – usually the bigger one – gets into plank position. The other places hands on the partner’s ankles, and steps back onto their shoulders, pushing up into plank. This is a challenging position and one that will work your core muscles as well as shoulders and arms.

2. Front Plank

After mastering plank on plank, you and your partner can move onto this pose. The base is flat on their back with arms holding onto partner’s hands and feet pressed into their hips. While the flyer leans forward and presses into the base, the base extends arms and legs, holding the flyer up in the air in a plank position. This impressive pose will be built on later, so it’s an important one to master.

3. Front Bird

After you and your partner have mastered the front plank it’s time to move on to the front bird. While in front plank, the flier releases hands from the plank and stretches, heart up to the sky. Arms will be flat and parallel to the ground, held back next to the body. This is a gorgeous pose, and once you master it you will be able to move on to one of the most impressive acro yoga poses.

4. Bow Pose

The same as front bird, except the flyer will be in a bow pose while the base supports them with their feet. The base needs to be active, pressing up into the flyer’s hips, while the flyer bends their knees and reaches back to grab them for the bow pose.

While these poses may look tricky for the beginner, by working through them in the order listed you will gain confidence and be able to master them quickly and easily. It’s important to remain patient, breathe deeply, and trust your partner. It’s also a good idea to have a spotter available if needed.