Anti-gravity yoga comes to east Idaho
Do you ever get bored with your exercise routine? What if you could combine all the most wonderful aspects of Pilates, dance, aerobics and yoga and bundle it up into a hammock? You can! It’s called anti-gravity Super Fly Fitness.
“Start to fly. Take your arms up nice and deep,” says anti-gravity fitness instructor Alexandra Chapman.
A few years ago, she discovered exercise in a huge hammock. She got her certification and opened Super Fly Fitness in Snake River Landing in Idaho Falls. Recently, a master instructor came to Idaho Falls to certify other instructors.
“One thing that’s signature to anti-gravity fitness is zero compression of your joints. So, we’re decompressing the spine,” says Darlene Casanova, the master instructor. “We’re creating space in the spinal column, space between the discs. You’re opening up the joints and the ability to get health benefits such as bringing fresh oxygen into the brain.”
Chapman says she loves how it empowers her clients to do something they’ve never done before, like swing from a hammock upside down.
“It really will turn the way you feel inside by turning your world upside down,” Chapman said enthusiastically.
You might think this type of exercise is only for young, limber, athletic people.
“Oh no,” says Casanova. “This is an inclusive technique. Which means you can be an athlete who needs to do some cross training, or you can be the average person looking to bring some fun into your fitness routine.”
Christopher Harrison is the creator of the hammock that hangs from the ceiling. He designed the apparatus to hold 1,000 pounds.
“As we age, we need to fine-tune our bodies in ways that support us as we continue to move through life,” explains Casanova. “All these techniques in the hammock we use for health and youth and all you have to do is hang upside down. It’s an automatic face lift.”
You probably wouldn’t expect to see men in the class, but they also participate. Wyatt Poole is an outside linebacker for the Rigby Trojans, number 55. He and other football players come to Super Fly Fitness to stretch out sore muscles and increase flexibility.
“A lot of people think this is gender-specific, but there’s no gender in flexibility,” says Poole. “I can now do splits in all three directions, so being more flexible, I have the ability to build more muscle and be stronger. It helps.”
Anti-gravity yoga with Christopher Harrison’s hammocks can be found now in 50 countries. Twenty dollars will let you sample a class at Super Fly Fitness.
