portable rigging for aerial yoga
Best 6 Aerial Yoga Stands In 2023
Free Standing Frames Reviewed
Looking for the best aerial yoga stand to rig your yoga hammock from?
Your hammock / trapeze / swing can be hung from a range of products – this page focuses on free standing portable frames that you can use indoors or outdoors. You can find out all you need to know about permanent rigging here.
Finding the best Yoga Trapeze or Aerial Yoga Stand is a big decision. Safety should be your main concern when investing in a frame because after all you may have your whole body suspended in the air from it. Don’t buy the cheapest option to safe a few dollars or pounds, as that few dollars could cause you serious harm. Always buy a product from a reputable company!
There are a number of things to consider when buying including the height and stability, it’s portability, the weight capacity and if it comes with a warranty.
Why Use a Yoga Stand?
If you want to practice at home you need somewhere to suspend the hammock, swing or trapeze from. If you have an exposed beam or are happy to put a permanent mounting in one of the joists at home then you are all set. This isn’t possible for most people so they need an alternative solution.
A frame seems to be the easiest option as most of the ones available are easy to put together, they offer a reasonable amount of height to hang a 5m hammock and have space around the hammock so you can invert safely and with ease.
Other options include a fitess tree which is perfect if you have a garden. A tension mounted pull up bar in the doorway is another great option but whilst performing a downward dog and supported postures would be fine – if you wanted to invert into a straddle or stag it would be a little problematic.
What is a yoga hammock stand?
An aerial yoga stand is the equipment used by many to hang there yoga hammock / trapeze / swing from. It is a portable frame that has been specially designed to hang a Yoga Hammock / Swing / Trapeze from inside your house, gym, Yoga studio or outside in your garden.
They are usually made from high quality aluminium or stainless steel, making them perfect for aerial sports. The stands can be used inside or outside, weather depending of course. They are not designed to be left outside, so if you live in a wet damp country or state you will need to take it indoors / dismantle each time you use it.
Stands have been designed to be quite sturdy, so they won’t wobble around when you are inverting. They will also hold up to around 300lb – that is enough for most people or even two people at a time. When erected they are a height of 2900mm, so go up to around 3400mm but can be as little as 2450mm.
The stand can also be used to rig lyra, static trapeze, TRX suspension cables, silks and Olympic rings from. It can also be used to do pull ups on.
Not everyone opts to buy a yoga stand, some use door frames or suspension hooks which can be a cheaper option. Yoga stands are perfect for those who want to be able to take there frames anywhere to practice or those that don’t have space inside for a permanent rigging mount. Yoga stands offer yogis the opportunity to try other aerial sports as well.
Aerial yoga stands, free standing frames and aerial rigging is very popular so let’s compare the most popular brands of the moment…
Our Reviews of the top rated products in 2021
If you are looking for a quick rundown of the best aerial yoga stand reviews, check out our top five reviews so you can buy the one that suits you today.
| Product | Height Adjustable? | Weight Limit | Product weighs | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X Pole ‘A’ Frame | Yes (2450-3480mm) | 309lbs | 77lb | $599 |
| YOGABODY Yoga Trapeze ® Stand | No (2710 mm) | 600lbs | 59.7lbs | $495 |
| KT Indoor/Outdoor Yoga Trapeze Stand | Yes (1800mm – 2560mm) | 661lbs | 48.5lb | $299 |
| Omni Stand for Yoga Swings | No (2 heights options: 2499mm or 2167mm) | 300lbs | 55lb | $595 |
| Prodigy Aerial Yoga Stand | Yes (200 cm (approx. 6’6”) – 2.9m (9’6”)) | 304lbs | 84lbs | £399 ($563) |
| JALAL Aerial Yoga Stand | Yes | 551lbs | 64lbs | £596 ($843) |
#1 X-Pole A Frame
A superb choice for those that want the option to practice aerial yoga as well as other aerial arts such as aerial silks, static trapeze, lyra, flying pole or use TRX suspension cables.
It is the most portable, height-adjustable, multi-discipline aerial rig in the world. The frame is can be extended from it’s lowest height of 2450mm up to 3480mm.
The product is extremely well priced for those wanting to practice aerial arts other than just aerial yoga or aerial hammock.
If you’re just looking to practice aerial yoga or aerial restorative yoga and have no intention of wanting to take up aerial sling (still uses a hammock but the bottom of the loop is around shoulder height) or silks or flying pole there are cheaper options available that you could choose.
The A-Frame is made by X-Pole a very reputable company, that has been around for some time. When the company first set up in 2004 when it produced it’s first portable pole dancing pole. They developed the A-Frame back in 2012 so it has been tested by a huge range of people. We believe the last update to the model was in 2017.
The frame can be put up in 10-15 minutes once you know what you are doing. The instructions state two people are needed to errect, but I do know people who put there up on there own. However, lifting the frame alone could lead to back injuries or the frame could fall over and damage itself or others – so best with two people if you have a spare body to hand.
The frame can be taken down in a similar amount of time.
The frame is designed for indoor and outdoor use but it is not designed to be left up all the time outdoors. If you are looking for a permanant outdoor solution take a look at the fitness tree or a wooden A-Frame design.
This was designed with the home and studio user in mind. It was not developed for the the aerialist out there who want to perform crazy circus drops on a silk or sling. If you want to perform professional aerialist drops take a look at the more expensive rigs listed on our aerial rig page.
We chose this as our number one choice as it gives you portability and choice over whether you do just aerial yoga and you can diversify to other aerial sports.
#2 Prodigy Aerial Yoga Rig
The stand by Prodigy is one of our favourites. After being designed in the UK, it has been properly tested by experts in the field. It looks great, performs well and is priced reasonably.
Prodigy is a great UK company with a history of making good quality aerial and circus equipment.
The rig first came on the market in 2020, so it has been designed with knowledge of how aerial yoga works.
The stand can be used indoors and outside. Whilst you can’t leave it outside, it can be put up or taken down in about ten minutes by just one person. So it’s no big deal if you can only use it outside, as you can errect it in no time at all.
Find out more by having a read of our review.
#3 YOGABODY Yoga Trapeze Stand
This product has been in production since 2009, so it has been well tested over the years.
At only 59.7lbs it’s one of the lightest frames in our list, it comes in a carry case, is portable and it can be erected in minutes.
It isn’t height adjustable, but the 2710 mm high frame is just about the perfect height if you only want to use for hanging Yoga Trapeze, swings, hammocks, Olympic rings or heavy bags, You can even use it as a pull-up bar. It will hold up to 600lbs, that’s 42 stones. That’s about 3 people so it will definitely hold you.
The only real downside is that shipping is only available in the USA.
It’s only $100 cheaper than the A-Frame above and isn’t available for consumers around the world, hence the reason why we would choose the A-Frame over this option.
A huge positive for this stand is the 365 Days, 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If for any reason (or no reason at all) you decide the Yoga Trapeze is not for you, simply send it back for a full and prompt refund.
#4 KT Indoor/Outdoor Yoga Trapeze Stand
The lightest frame in our list making it the most portable option. It is also height adjustable (1800mm – 2560mm) but at the lowest height of just 1800mm – we’re not sure – 2560mm).
This stand made us a little suspicious as it is only available to buy on Amazon sites and it doesn’t have it’s own website so you can’t find anything out about the designers or buy direct. But it gets a customer rating of 4.5/5 from 195 reviews on Amazon.com – so it must be worth buying. Due to the demand for this frame over lockdown it is no longer available in some territories. If you are in the US it is still available.
This is the shortest stand in the options available, at a maximum height of just 2560mm you would be able to use this with a 4m hammock. The images show someone inverting but we imagine that you would have to be very need in your inversion and getting your leg back into an inverted pigeon pose would be somewhat tricky.
This stand once put together just folds away for easy storage. Perfect if you are short on space and have no intention of doing any aerial sports on it..
It has some advantages such as it folds away nicely, it’s lightweight and it doesn’t cost the earth. But whether we would buy this over a pull up bar for the doorway is another matter. This frame isn’t portable and doesn’t offer a great deal of height.
#5 Omni Stand for Yoga Swings
Omni gym has been in production since 2001 so is one of the very first product made for aerial yoga. It is a portable yoga swing support stand, which sets up in 10 minutes for indoors or outdoors use. Perfect for travel as it fits as an airline check-in. Great for home, office or travel. Sturdy, portable and long-lasting.
The stand is not height adjustable but does come with two height options so you can do aerial yoga and restorative practice with this stand. The website suggests you can do some acrobatics with these stands – but we’re not sure about it. This stand is perfect for aerial yoga – but we’re not sure that you could use it for much else. The design would make suspension training somewhat difficult.
#6 Jalal Aerial Yoga Stand
A portable rig we found on amazon. We’re not very sure about this one and I can see it going even further down our list of poles as we review some others we have on our list to take a look at.
In fact if we were you, we would skip straight passed this Jalal one.
Other Stands
As time passes, more and more yoga stands are coming on to the market. These include the GNY yoga frame.
As the list grows we will add them here.
What To Consider Before You Buy!
If you are looking for a quick rundown of the best aerial yoga stand reviews, check out our top five reviews so you can buy the one that suits you today.
Do you wish to use the frame just for aerial yoga or do you plane to use it for other aerial arts, if so you may prefer to buy a frame which is height adjustable and has telescopic legs.
The height – if you plan to use it indoors make sure that the frame will fit under your ceilings.
How Much do aerial yoga stands cost?
Depending on where you buy the frame from it might set you back as little as £195 or as much as £3000. Either extreme seems a little wrong. Our portable frame, which can be used at height for aerial silks, lyra, hoop etc cost £399. This was purchased from a reputable company that offers products at an affordable price. The rig is portable and has been fully tested to ensure that it is safe to be used at home. A product that is just for aerial yoga or suspension training may cost less than this it’s just that the product we choice can be used at a greater height for aerial silks etc.
Make sure that you buy a product that states or makes available the working weight limit and breaking load limit minimum breaking load and offers a warranty of some kind.
Are There any Alternative ways to hang the hammock?
There are a number of way to hang the hammock. Many feel that a portable frame is the best option, but if you don’t have the space for one other options include permanent rigging points in the ceiling, a pull up bar tension mounted in a door frame, a fitness tree, a strong tree in the garden or park or even a rig to suspend a boxing bag from.
There are numerous options, they all have advantages and disadvantages attached to them.
Where to Buy the Best Aerial Yoga Stands?
As always most products can be picked up an Amazon – but in protests of Amazon taking over the world we would suggest buying direct from the products own company if you can. These products can’t yet be just picked up from a high street or department store so they need to bought online.
should I Give Aerial Yoga a Go?
There are so many reasons and benefits to give aerial yoga a go. If you have the money and the space we would opt for the A-Frame by X-Pole as it offers flexibility in what you train, offers a range of heights, is made by a reputable company and is available world-wide.
Learn at Home
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Frequently Asked Questions
Wear soft comfy clothing – ideally a top that won’t ride up if you go upside down. For example:
- Tracksuit bottoms/leggings
- A top that covers your armpits – this is for both hygiene and to protect your skin
- Aerial Yoga (sticky) Socks if you like
Aerial yoga is very safe, as long as you are taking a class with a professional or you have purchased a yoga hammock, sling, swing or trapeze that is made from good quality material, carabiners and rigging that has a WLL.
People have been using inversion techniques for spinal traction for a number of years. However, there is no research on how long somebody can be inverted for. Practitioners using inversion tables only invert people for 5 or 6 seconds at a time. Those performing circus moves tend to invert and them turn themselves the right way up before inverting again as they progress through there routine. If you are new to inverting, it would be wise to start with a few seconds to start with and slowly build the length of time up.
There are some people that should not invert:
If you are unsure whether it is safe for you, please check with your GP or Doctor.
It’s always a good idea to hydrate yourself before participating. Eat something light – but leave at least 2 hours to digest before class.
There are a few steps you can take to protect the prop when you practice:
- Don’t wear any jewellery or hair accessories (small stud earrings and wedding bands are fine) as it can snag/create holes in the fabric
- Wear sleeveless tops
- Don’t wear any garments with zips or metal buttons – again to prevent causing snags and holes in the fabric.
- Don’t wear long/acrylic fingernails… they can get caught – painful for you and can tear the fabric
- Don’t wear strong perfumes…..they linger on the fabric
- Don’t use too much moisturiser – it ends up on the fabric….and it makes them and you slippery – you might not be able to grip the prop for inversions.
Aerial Yoga is utilises the fabric to perform specially adapted yoga postures – these can be grounded (part of your body is touching the ground), floating (you are suspended in the hammock) or inverted (you are hanging upside down).
The fabric can either be hung so that it is just a few inches from the floor (restorative yoga) or with in the strike zone, this is around the hip height.
The fabric can be used for meditation, relaxation, stretching or to increase strength. You can
- stand, sit or lay down in the fabric
- Stand and the floor and hold the fabric in your hands, use the hammock like a backpack to support your weight or suspend your legs in it.
That’s a difficult one to answer
