The Best Aerial Yoga Hammocks for your Home Practice in 2021

Looking for the best aerial yoga hammock so that you can practice your yoga moves in the air?

Because of the myriad of benefits of Aerial Yoga, many people are not only attending classes but are investing in a hammock for home use. 

To participate in aerial yoga you need a specially designed hammock (sometimes called slings) or yoga swing. The Yoga Hammock is the most popular style in use around the world. 

The hammock is perfect for allowing us to get deeper into some grounded poses, allows us to hold others for longer, we can relax fully into inversions, complex inversions become accessible and we can even do some completely new moves – floating asanas as well as flips and tricks. 

The hammock also lends itself well to Aerial fitness (sometimes called anti-gravity fitness), aerial Pilates, suspension training and can be used for aerial sling which is becoming popular as a precursor to some aerial arts such as aerial silks (fabrics/tissue), rope, trapeze and hoop. 

If you’re looking to get Spinal Traction, Deep Yoga Backbends and Core & Upper Body Strength grab your hammock today.

However, the market has been flooded in recent years with cheap copycat versions.  As safety is extremely important when performing postures when elevated, buying a good quality product is essential.

So, “Which is the best aerial yoga hammock?” To answer that question we have created a go-to area of our site for everything related to these products.

There are two main types of products available on the market – yoga trapeze swings and aerial yoga hammocks. The main difference is that the former have handles that can alter the way you practice.  This page focuses on those without handles. 

Top 3 Aerial Yoga Hammocks

If you’re looking for one with handles take a look at our post on yoga swings……

#1. Prodigy 6m Aerial Yoga Hammock

prodigy aerial yoga hammock

The Prodigy aerial yoga hammock is made from premium low stretch material (~6%) 2 pre-tied steel O-rings which can be attached to a carabiner (not included). 2 pre-tied O rings means that you can hang from either a single or a double point. 

This low stretch material behaves in a predictable way so you don’t have to keep adjusting the height of hammock. They provide just the right amount of support for suspensions and inversions, meaning we had  to use less energy to perform poses in the hammock.

They are 6m in length and 2.90m wide – the perfect length and width for performing cocoons, Shavasana, static postures and more advanced tricks. These could even be used for Aerial Sling as well.

They are made from nylon that has been woven in a way that gives them a small amount of bounce. The material is shiny so they look great but they are still grippy enough to climb and grip with ease.

As this material comes from reputable company within the UK they have been tested and certified  – they have been assigned a WLL (working load limit) of 220kg (485lbs) based on a safety factor of 7 (data taken from website – correct at the time of writing). 

#2 Fire Toys Aerial YOga Hammock - 6m or 10m

Firetoys

The aerial yoga hammock from Fire Toys is available in 2 length 6m or 10m. 

It is extra wide (2.80m), medium stretch, nylon fabric that was designed especially for use a hammocks for use in aerial yoga. They have been tested and certified with a WLL: 172kg (Correct at the time of writing).

The stretch of the firetoys silks is about 10%, slightly more than the Prodigy mentioned above, so the hammock will support you during asanas (postures) and cushion you when in forward folds and hip hangs.  

If you opt for a 10m length you have the option to do higher standing moves and you could also use it for aerial sling – where you do aerial silk styles wraps and rolls. It also offers more options for adjusting the height of your hammock. This length is perfect if you have a very high ceiling.

Fire Toys is a very reputable company and is one of the stores recommended by the UK Circus industry.

These hammocks come in a variety of colours, and as they are available in 2 lengths they make the perfect option for those that want to practice aerial yoga and /or aerial sling. 

 

#3 Arize Aerial Hammock from X-Pole

X-Pole Hammock Kit

The hammock from X-pole comes is 4 amazing colours – hot pink, purple, white and blue. Although it is slightly shorter that the ones above at just 5m in length it is perfect for practice aerial yoga at home or in the studio. The 3m wide material  is great for shavasana or open hammock moves such as skin the cat (inverted planks), crane, and waterfall sequences.  

If we wanted to perform more aerial silk like drops and roll ups, we would probably opt for the slightly longer hammocks above.

The medium stretch material is perfect for beginners and pro’s alike. It has been tested and certified to have a WLL of 440lb. 

You have 2 buying options – you can buy just the silk or a connector kit as well that include 2 caribbiners and 2 daisy chains. 
 

X-Pole supply goods for home and studio use. The advantage of ordering from X-Pole is that they also sell A-Frames and ceiling mounts at a very reasonable price – so you can get everything you need for home or studio in one place.

They are a great company with mostly great customer service. There background is selling pole dancing poles for home and studio use. They have expanded to sell products and instructor courses for other aerial arts as the growing demand for fun and alternative workouts is growing. 

 

What is an aerial yoga hammock?

Aerial Yoga Hammocks are made from a silky material. They are available in several different styles and lengths depending on the brand. 

Some are one long piece of silk (no handles). If you come across one that has long tails and moulded handles and foot loops for ease we refer to these as yoga swings. They can be made from thick, grippy and stretchy material. (If it is made from thin parachute material with no stretch it is a yoga swing. Hammocks are attached to an anchor point via D rings, O rings, Nylon slings or Carabiners. 

Generally speaking, the industry-standard hammock that is found in studios around the world are made from thick stretchy material that is grippy and has O rings attached at the ends. These can then be attached to daisy chains or nylon slings via a carabiner.  Most studios that we know about do not use hammocks with handles attached to the tails. However, these are readily available to buy on the internet.

The hammock is hung from either secure mounting in the ceiling, an aerial rig, a swing stand or we’ve even seen units that go inside a door frame (like a pull-up bar). 

The price of hammocks can vary greatly. We have seen them priced as cheaply as just £20 ($26 USD) and as much as £269 ($299 USD) plus tax and shipping. We’re not convinced that the overly cheap hammocks we would put our trust in, if you plan to use them to support your entire body weight in inverted moves.  

The material for the hammocks from reputable companies are made by special companies in the USA so we can’t expect to be paying super cheap prices.   

Aerial Yoga Swing Buyer’s Guide

How Do I Choose the Right Hammock for Me?

Not all aerial yoga hammocks are the same, therefore you should do a bit of research into your requirements before you buy. The first thing to determine is it is a yoga hammock you are shopping for or a swing – we discuss the differences in our aerial yoga page? 

Next, there are a few considerations you need to make before you press the buy button. These are 

  • Colours – fabric comes in a full range of colours such as purple, green, red, white, blue, yellow and you can even buy rainbow fabric.
  • Weight/Load Limit  – make sure it will support your weight and any dynamic load you might put upon it and your rigging hardware. If there is no wright limit stated do not buy it.
  • Width – if you want to lay down for a Shavasana make sure the width of the fabric is wide enough to accommodate it. 
  • Length – if you plan to do floating poses like floating mountain or tree, make sure that the vertical height will be long enough for your height.
  • Price – if you have a budget this will be important to you. But avoid buying a hammock that is very cheap might not be safe to use. Always buy from a reputable store.
  • Portability – yoga hammocks are quite lightweight, but if you do plan to travel with it, make sure that the weight meets your requirements. 
  •  Easy to set up – unless you have a place where you can leave your hammock rigged up permanently you will want it to be easy to hang up. Carabiners are great to quickly hang the hammock up to your rigging point. 
  • Warranty – as you may be putting your entire body weight into the hammock you want to know that it is safe. If a warranty is offered it provides a little confidence in the product. 

Hopefully these points will be useful and will be able to guide you towards buying the correct hammock for your needs. 

Once you’ve bought your own aerial yoga hammock for home you might be onterested in some online aerial yoga classes

Learn at Home

Relax at home in your aerial hammock

Learn how to perform the poses safely with a range of media

Online Lessons, Instruction Manuals, Video Libraries and More

Frequently Asked Questions

This will depend on whether you buy just a hammock (the fabric) or you buy a hammock kit. 

If you buy a kit it will come with the fabric attached (pre – tied) onto O-Rings or a carabineer. 

If attached to an O-ring you can then attach this directly onto a carabineer or a loop and then a carabineer. 

The carabineer can then be attached to a daisy chain so that you can easily adjust the height of your fabric. 

 

 

The advantage of having the fabric attached to O-Rings is that you can quickly hang these onto a single caribineer if you want to use a single point to hang the hammock from. 

Yes!

If you plan on just doing grounded moves then a good quality yoga mat will work perfectly for keeping your feet steady and preventing you from slipping around on the ground. 

If you plan of doing swings, drops, tumbles, flips, leaps and other high-risk poses – thicker and bigger mats would be recommend. 

This will depend on a combination of facts.

  1. Where you are hanging your hammock from and
  2. Whether you want to the bottom of the hammock to hang at floor level for restorative practice, waist height for aerial yoga or shoulder height for advanced flips and tricks as seen in aerial sling (circus).

Unless you want to join the circus, are very experienced or have very high ceilings / anchor point  a 5 meter hammock (16 feet) will be perfect for aerial yoga moves and inversions. 

With a 5 meter hammock you will be able to hang from an anchor that is around 2.45m from the ground and using a daisy chain you will be able to adjust the height. 

If you want to buy a hammock that is exactly the right size for your anchor point measure the height, multiply by two and then add at least 1.2 meters on. This is how much fabric you will need. 

The exact height will depend on whether you plan to do simple aerial yoga moves or you want to try more advanced flips and tricks. 

For most people standard aerial yoga inversions will be enough. For those the hammock should hang just around hip height so that when you bend over the hammock you will be able to reach the floor to comfortably do a downward dog and high enough so that when you do an inversion like an inverted Baddha Konasana the head doesn’t touch the floor. 

Using a daisy chain to suspend the hammock means that you can adjust the height quickly to suit your exact preferences on the day. 

 

Yes, aerial yoga is amazing outside. 

There are a few things to note is you do take your practice outside:

  • Exposure to the sun can cause the fabric to fade.
  • Birds could drop onto the fabric, meaning that you need to wash it.
  • It it rains, snows or it’s cold and condensation accumulaties on the fabric it could be come slippery and wet.
  • Animals could climb into the fabric and cause small tears with there sharp claws.

It would be wise to take your hammock down after each practise and store inside.

If you plan to practise outside you could suspend the fabric from a strong tree branch or a special frame or swing stand. 

 

Low stretch material is commonly seen in yoga swings and trapeze.

Hammocks tend to be made from medium strtech material. The stretchier the material have much mor egive and are more suited to mves that require drops.

Lower strech material is more suited to beginners and to studios. This is because it is easier to climb and perform floating moves. It also will not get longer in class, so the height does not need to be adjusted. 

Hammocks come with either O-Rings attached or carabineers. Both options work well.  

Using O rings, means that you can quickly rig them as either a 1 point or 2 point hammock.

Most who plan to just do aerial yoga use just carabineers.

Opt for O-rings if you plan to do more dance / circus based movements or you want the hammock to spin. 

As we’ve already seen on our list, unfortunately not.

In general, the good quality stands and rigs do not come with hammocks or swings. This is because the stands can be used for more than one aerial art. Some stands that are sold on Amazon may be sold as a kit which includes a hammock. Sadly we don’t recommend too many of these stands.  

In general it’s usually cheaper to buy hammock fabric kits and stands separately. 

 

There are no age restrictions on using an aerial hammock. In fact, children have a brilliant time in them, however, they should be supervised at all times. 

If you are an older person it would be wise to check with your medic if it’s okay to invert. 

 

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Aerial Yoga Hammock