Why I Use a Hammock as a Yoga Prop

When I was pregnant with my first child, I lowered my aerial hammock closer to my yoga mat. As a professional aerialist, I knew what I could do with that fabric up in the air. What surprised me was how much it offered with my feet on the ground. That discovery grew into AIReal Yoga®.

I still love a good inversion. But if you asked me why the hammock is my ultimate yoga prop, I’d tell you about the things you can feel close to the mat. A little support can help you find a hip hinge that’s been hard to feel for years. That same fabric can give you enough resistance to build strength, or carry the weight of your legs so you can rest.

What does it mean to create space?

If your hips are tight, getting into a seated hip opener can take so much effort that you barely get to explore the stretch. In standing Pigeon, the hammock holds one foot up off the floor. You can keep your torso upright, soften your standing knee, and tip forward just until you feel your outer hip. That’s what I mean by space. You have room to choose the angle that works for your hips.

Tight hamstrings offer another example. In a seated forward fold, you might feel your pelvis tip backward and your back round before you’ve moved an inch. With one foot supported in the hammock, you can bend that knee and hinge at your hips while keeping your spine long. Once you recognize that movement, you can bring it back to your mat. The next time you fold forward, you know what it feels like to bend your knees enough for your pelvis to move.

The pull-down that mat yoga often misses

Think of how many times you press the floor away in a yoga class. Your hands push in Plank, Downward-Facing Dog, and even on hands and knees. What the floor rarely gives you is something overhead to pull down on. That’s a whole direction of strength we can bring into our practice with the hammock.

In a supported Chair, a tiny pull-up is enough to feel it. As your elbows draw toward your ribs, notice the work under your arms and along the sides of your back. Lower slowly and those muscles are still working to control your return. Bringing that pull-down alongside the pushing you already do on the mat makes for a more well-rounded, full-body practice.

Time to find your alignment in a balance pose

In Warrior III, it’s hard to pay attention to your hips when all you’re thinking is, How do I keep from tipping over? Holding the hammock gives you time to keep the back foot low, feel if one hip has lifted, and ease it level. Because both sides of the fabric meet at a single point overhead, the hammock moves a little with you. Your standing foot, hip, and core still make the adjustments that keep you steady.

If your joints tend to move past straight, that extra moment gives you time to soften a locked elbow or standing knee and feel your muscles support you. As I get older, I care as much about how I step out of a balance as how long I can hold it. I want to choose where my foot lands. That’s a skill I use every time I step off a curb.

Somewhere to rest

Legs Up the Wall sounds restful, but if your hamstrings are tight, keeping your legs up against a wall can feel like one more stretch. I like to lie on the mat and let the hammock cradle my feet instead. My head and pelvis rest on the floor, my feet are elevated, and my knees can bend as much as feels comfortable. If your knees tend to hyperextend, the fabric can carry your legs while your knees rest in a soft bend.

This mild inversion gives you a chance to settle. You might enjoy a gentle sway before coming to stillness. Notice what happens to your breathing when you give the hammock the full weight of your feet. Sometimes a few quiet breaths like that are what help your nervous system settle and your mind grow quiet.

If you’d like to feel this for yourself, join me for What the Hammock Makes Possible. It’s a free 23-minute full-body reset, with time to pull, stretch, find your balance, and rest with your feet up. You can enjoy the whole flow without turning upside down. I’ve included a printable discussion and lesson plan, just like the ones I share with my on-demand members.