In our Acroyoga Retreats, either for beginners or more advanced ones, we love as well to talk with our students about how to improve their acroyoga but not only from a physical point of view. Most of them start their acroyoga journey with us, and as with any other journey, the beginnings are most of the time full of questions. Here, we like to discuss mentoring, motivation, goal setting, dreams realisation... since from acroyoga you can take many lessons to your life. If you want to know "6 things you learn from Acroyoga besides nice poses!" (click here).
Our beginnings
Everything started in March 2017. Sergio just saw some pictures of Zlata doing basic acroyoga with a friend, and he just asked her: "do you think I can do this?". Zlata answered: "of course!".
If you have been already to our acroyoga or yoga retreats, you probably know that it was not so easy. It took us almost three hours on the beach of Barceloneta, to get a decent 2-3 seconds Front Plank. The picture down below from 2017 was taken after a month of full practice!
How long did you train to get there? Probably much less than us, and that takes us to our first...
Trick 1: feel already thankful for the level you are at right now!
Mentors and shortcuts
Probably one of our first mistakes was to walk alone too long... it took us some time, courage and motivation to train and learn from other acroyogis.
Finding the right mentor is not an easy task. Actually, in 2018 we were living in Barcelona and we tried some workshops, and classes... but most of the time was something missing: no connection with the teachers, level too easy or too difficult, no proper security or knowledge of what was being taught, etc.
Until... we found our mentors and we accomplished our AcroYoga Teacher Training! From there we decided to find many other acroyogis and be part of a wonderful community. And we cannot regret any step we did!
Why do you need an acroyoga teacher or "sparring" partner? First, we tried to learn through videos, Instagram posts, etc. but most of the time the Acroyoga poses are based on mini adjustments, techniques... that you cannot see or read in a video, and getting that directly from someone that has been already there, is the best shortcut you can have. Secondly, and more obvious... a spotter! We can just repeat this mantra from us: a good spotter = safe and improvement practice!
As we like to say to our students when we have to say "goodbye, and see you next time", the acroyoga journey does not finish in our retreat home or after the class. We love to see the improvement of our students and to keep in touch with them through any social media or type of contact. We are and will be more than happy to be on your side in this beautiful journey...
Trick 2: find a teacher or sparring team that creates the connection for the love in acroyoga!
Find your acroyoga "partner"
“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together” - Ratan Tata
We probably are the luckiest acroyogis we know. To share a passion like acroyoga with the person you love means not only an improvement for your acroyoga practice but as well for your relationship. We are 100% sure that our relationship improved astonishingly thanks to acroyoga!
Of course, now comes the open point of many acroyogis... you can try to convince your life partner, but not force him/her to practice acroyoga with you. Therefore, the acroyoga communities are so important! Unless you live in a very remote and/or small place... most probably there is a Facebook, or WhatsApp group with acroyogis willing to meet people and fly together.
Even though it is fun to fly every time with someone else and meet amazing people, one of our main pieces of advice is to try to find a "stable" acroyoga partner. Why? For us was the key differentiator in our development for many reasons: you know which next tricks to train without starting to meet your partner, the days that you are missing motivation your partner will bring it in, communication and trust are values that need time to be properly built...
Trick 3: find a "stable" acroyoga partner that motivates you and shares with you the amazing path of acroyoga development!
Acknowledging where you are and how to improve
Too often we went too far in our acroyoga journey, while we were not prepared. As you can see from the picture down below Sergio's legs were still not prepared for a Shin to Foot Camel pose. Yes, we tried and gave our best! However, sometimes we went too far, and this can have some negative outcomes, from the soft ones, like demotivation, to harder ones if you get injured because you pushed too far.
Most of the new stuff we try, is mostly from other Instagram or YouTube accounts. Based on a video, you can evaluate in three ways:
the pose/flow is easier than it looks,
the pose/flow was right evaluated,
or the pose/flow is much harder than it looks like.
And believe us, most of the time was the last point. We checked flows that were far beyond our level at that time, and we got no more than frustration, and anger... luckily, no serious injuries!
Therefore, assess properly your next steps/poses/flows to try. Give it a try and if it is dangerous or it becomes harder, get a good spotter to help you! Or even better talk to your teacher or look for a specific workshop related to it. Finally, if it goes beyond your actual level, just... TRAIN more to get there! Save that video, and pictures.. in your next poses/goals! And try again when you are ready for it! We are sure you will master it then!
Dreams realisation and setting goals
Last but not least, and as in real life: the better the plan for your journey, the easier and more comfortable you will get there! Of course, you do not need to do it very complicated with Excel Files, or KPIs… (unless you want). But at least setting some clear goals will help you to keep motivated and follow the journey that you really want to achieve.
We have our own ritual so that every 31st of December we tried to enjoy the evening together reviewing everything we achieved in the actual year and afterwards set the goals for the next one.
What kind of goals you could set for AcroYoga? Many:
· A specific pose or movement: H2H high, stable F2H, whips, etc.
· To meet other acroyogis: join in a festival, retreat, etc.
· Try different skills: acro dance, acrobatics, pole dance, etc.
· Organisational goals: meet an acroyoga partner, train at X hours per week, etc.
The best moment to start is right now, so…
What are your acroyoga goals for the next 365 days?
Leave your thought and opinions (maybe as well as your acroyoga goals for the next year) in the comments below! We would love to hear nice stories about your personal learning in acroyoga!