Aerial Yoga Teacher Training
reviews, Ratings and buying guide
Looking for the best instructor courses that will teach you how to safely instruct students how to fly?
Confused by the range and number of courses available? If you have started looking you will have found that there are numerous training courses available and when you start to research them it all gets a little bit confusing. This is because it is a relatively new sport, still in it’s infancy and founders are all developing there own slightly different styles.
Aerial yoga, aerial hammock, antigravity fitness, flying yoga, aerial fitness etc, etc are just some of the names this amazing form of exercise is being referred to. The prop can be referred to as a hammock, sling, fabric, silk, chiffon or even a trapeze.
When you talk about yoga, the yoga alliance and 200 hrs registered hours springs to mind. Some places claim to be teaching aerial yoga…..but are they really teaching aerial fitness which offers many of the same things but possibly lacks the spiritual side and may offer more fun tricks.
Firstly there was antigravity fitness which was one of the first classes on the scene using a hammock (sling) and now has developed a branded antigravity yoga, AG-Pilates as well as numerous other syllabuses.
Aerial hammock is being taught at a number of pole studios around world – the instructor course for these claims you can teach yoga, flexibility, fitness and tricks classes after completing the short course run by Xpert Fitness.
A number of schools that teach aerial arts such as sling, silks, trapeze etc have developed courses that teach aerial yoga – these are possibly more flexibility, fitness and trick orientated and don’t teach it in the traditional sense of the word yoga.
Then there is certified aerial yoga being taught the those registered with a Yoga Alliance and come from a traditional yoga back ground. However, just like with mat based yoga in order to be a teacher all you need to do is start teaching, there is no legal requirement or regulations governing the yoga teaching world.
Then there is the exciting world of aerial sling. This uses the same apparatus but is flips and tricks. Think circus with this one. If you want to get up in the air, dance around and do drops this is for you.
As stated by Rebekah Leach – “aerial yoga is neither yoga nor aerial acrobatics – it is finding its own niche somewhere in between”.
Whatever you call it and whatever your background, in order to get insurance to protect you and your students you need to take a course that is recognised by a Governing Body. So before you start it would be wise to check with your provider that the course is recognised and make sure that the course is recognised by a body somewhere in the world.
This fun. flexible fitness is very much in it’s infancy and terminology is still being developed. In the mean time this page lists all the courses available. Some are 100% in person, face to face trainings, others are 100% online and some are a mix of the two.
Most Comprehensive guide to aerial yoga Moves ever!
The aerial yoga manual by rebekah leach
If you want to have access to the most comprehensive list of yoga moves ever then invest in the aerial yoga manuals created by the amazing Rebekah Leach.
After doing an extreme amount of research and taking a number of aerial yoga / hammock / fitness courses over the last few years we can say that these manuals contain the biggest list of moves you can perform in a hammock ever! It is a must have product for anyone teach or learning yoga in a hammock (sling).
Rebekah has written two aerial yoga manuals, which were developed from her use of fabric to teach her aerial arts students to work in the air.
She reports that her students often commented that the moves were very similar to moves they did in mat based yoga moves and she came up with the idea to create an aerial yoga syllabus. She created this in 2007. Not the first but it’s the only guide of its kind that we can find.
You will find grounded, flying, inversions that have an emphasis on restorative poses in manual 1. In the second volume you will find more back arches, planks, core, and strength work as well as more flying poses and inversions.
There are over 100 moves! The perfect reference handbooks to have on hand – A step-by-step guide for teachers and students of any aerial yoga or fitness program.
Available as a printed product or as a digital download – These are must have guides for anyone!
Our Reviews of the Top Rated Courses 2021
If you are looking for a quick rundown of the best aerial yoga teacher training course reviews, check out our top six reviews so you can enrol on the one that suits you today.
| Provider | Course Name | How Many Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerial Dancing | Aerial Yoga | 2 comprehensive manuals and online video. A handy reference guide. |
|
| Aerial Yoga Academy | Aerial Yoga | 250 | Open to anyone & you get a 200hrs Yoga Alliance Certification 100% Online |
| Aerial Pilates | 200 | Certified by World Yoga Alliance | |
| Restorative Yoga | 80 | Certified by World Yoga Alliance. ? If you get CPD Points |
|
| Born to Fly | Aerial Yoga | 100 | Recognised by American Circus Educators Also provide teacher training for aerial sling, silks, hoop |
| Teaching Aerial Yoga | Aerial Yoga | 20 | Yoga Alliance CPD Provider Anyone can take the course |
| Aerial Yoga Online | Unnata (yoga) | 65 (8 days) | RYT 200hrs Yoga Teachers Only Yoga Alliance CPD Provider |
| Aerial Play and Fitness | 30 | Open to anyone | |
| Antigravity Fitness | AG Fundementals | 2 full weekends | NASM & AFAA Approved |
| AG Yoga | Must have taken AG Fundamentals | ||
| AG Pilates | |||
| Xpert | Aerial Hammock | 2 days | Covers 4 aspects of aerial hammock; fitness, yoga, flexibility and tricks. Approved by numerous organisations including ACE, AFAA, EMPd, PdC and Active iq, CIMPSPA, Fitness Australia, REPS NZ, REPS SA Also offer pole fitness, aerial hoop training |
Aerial Yoga Academy
250hr Aerial Yoga Teacher Training Certification- Registered & Alliance Approved. In English & French
- A 250 hr international teacher training certification.
- The first 100% online, or part online/onsite Teacher training certification accredited by a Yoga Alliance
- Designed for complete beginners or yoga instructors ( add your Aerial training hours towards Yoga Alliance points.)
- Over 80 Aerial yoga poses!
- 20 bonus intermediate to advances poses!
- 30 More Flying fitness poses
- Aerial Yoga massage!
- Yoga business course!
- Available in English & French
An essential Aerial Yoga foundation course fused with traditional grass roots yoga principals. Active poses covering technique, benefits, cuing tips and therapeutic applications of each pose.
A brilliant course that is fully online, and all lessons can be downloaded and printed. The lessons are easy to understand. The first chapter focuses on anatomy and physiology, tips for sequencing, cues and spotting, the benefits of aerial yoga, chakras, Patanjalis Sutras, Pranayama, systems of the body, rigging your hammocks and 16 steps to business success. The following chapters look at postures – seated stretches, standing strengthening moves, standing stretches, inverted poses and moves that work that core. There are videos and detailed written instructions on how to perform each move.
To receive your certification you need to take a written exam and film yourself teaching.
The course is written by a yoga master who has
No other online aerial yoga course is focused purely on aerial yoga, there is one other online course that gets you certified but it focuses on 200hr traditional mat based yoga, and 50 hrs of aerial yoga poses.
The marketing is a little misleading as they state you get certified by “A yoga alliance”, don’t be mislead to thinking that this is Yoga Alliance based in the USA or Yoga Professionals in the UK as the certification is with the World Yoga Alliance based in India. However, the stamps on the site clearly show that it is the world yoga alliance. If you plan to use this instructor course, make sure with a sports provider that you will be able to get insurance to teach aerial yoga with this qualification.
The detailed manuals above by Rebekah Leach do contain more detailed references and instructions of how to do more moves than provided in this course.
We would also like to see sun salutation sequences referenced in this course, similar to those that the aerial hammock course by Xpert Fitness detailed below offers. It would also be nice in the manual covering aspects of yoga and anatomy and physiology has some video clips with explanations instead of just written information.
The cost of this course is very reasonable, especially considering that you get 200 hr yoga alliance certification.
All in all we think this is a brilliant course, that offers the student the option to further their knowledge with additional courses. We are particuarly excited about the restorative aerial yoga course and the Pilates course.
Xpert Fitness
Aerial hammock
A great course that is accessible for anyone to participate in. Xpert have a background in pole dancing teacher trainings but have expanded there repertoire to include aerial arts and aerial hammock as well. The aerial hammock course allows you to teach 4 techniques including yoga, fitness, tricks and flexibility. Courses traditionally are face to face but Covid-19 has pushed them to offer courses online.
It’s a 2 day course, that requires you to complete and online anatomy and physiology questionaire before you attend. Once you have signed up for the course you are given access to an online video library. Once on the course you get a course manual that is full of written information as well as video links that cover all topics within the book. You also get a learner workbook. Once you have completed this workbook you need to have a zoom chat with an instructor, pass a written exam and film yourself teaching.
It is accredited by the numerous organisations including Active IQ, AFFA, NASAM, Yoga Alliance, Pole Dance Community and the Pole Safe Federation. Once you have passed the course you are able to get insurance via one of their approved insurance companies.
Xpert fitness have offices located around the world. The course is accessible to anyone, but they do ask that you have taken some aerial yoga classes before hand.
A short course for those that want to increase their knowledge for personal use or want to teach.
Aerial Yoga Online
Unnata Aerial Yoga & Aerial Play + Fitness
Don’t let the name online trick you into thinking that this is a online teacher training. It’s not. They have a number of online videos that anyone can download and enjoy, for a small fee of course. Teacher training is done live, in person at studios.
They offer two trainings, which is quite cool. Looking at both elements of what you can use a aerial hammock for.
- Unnata Aerial Yoga – you need to by a yoga alliance 200hrs yoga teacher. It’s is an ALIGNMENT-BASED YOGA practice that uses the hammock as a prop to assist and inform yoga postures. This is a 65 hour course and looks brilliant, but as it is only open to qualified yoga teachers we are surprised that the course does not gain you yoga alliance CDP points – this is really disappointing.
- Aerial Play and Fitness – anyone can access this course. A FLOWING FITNESS practice that builds strength, flexibility, and aerial technique. Flexibility, strength, balance, endurance and tricks. You get a bit of everything with this course.
Antigravity Fitness
AG Yoga
Developed by Christopher Harrison, and is possibly, like he claims it is the original aerial fitness program. Whilst he didn’t release his branded antigravity yoga until 2007, his origianal course was around much earlier.
The courses are recognised by NASM and AFAA.
There are no pre-requisites for the entry course other than you are confident at teaching in front of a class. The introductory course, called antigravity fundamentals 1 and 2. Is two courses which both have to be purchased at the same time. It is run over two weekends. This course then gives you access to the other course
- Antigravity Yoga 1
- Antigravity Yoga 2
- Antigravity Pilates
- Antigravity Suspension Fitness 1
- Antigravity Suspension Fitness 2
- Antigravity Kids
- AIRbarre
- Antigravity Restorative Yoga
- AG 1on 1
- Ag Cacooning
As you can see there is a very comprehensive list of courses. Non of which are registered with the Yoga Alliance but they are registered with the NASM.
Born to Fly
Aerial Yoga
As well as in person teacher training you can also download Rebekah Leach’s amazing aerial yoga manuals (Level 1 and 2) – great as a reference for anyone who already teaches / participates in aerial yoga or perfect for those wanting to learn the postures at home and access the online videos which are a great accompaniment to the manuals.
The founder of Born to Fly Teacher Training Her background is in aerial silks, trapeze, hoop – all those circus orientated fun fitness classes.
I personally used Rebekah’s manuals to learn aerial yoga poses and tricks from the comfort of my garden. They are very detailed manuals – great instructions and diagrams provided. It’s the only manual we know of. I didn’t use the online videos – purely because I had experience of many of the moves from classes taken a few years earlier. If you have no experience I certainly recommend the videos as after taking a few online sessions with Rebekah she is amazing!
The course is 100 hours in total – 60 hours of live teacher training plus 40 hours of online practicum.
If this course is anything like the manuals and her aerial nerd convention the course will be amazing and it’s on our list of courses to take!
The course is recognised by the American Circus Educators.
Teaching Aerial Yoga
Aerial Yoga
Uses a swing / trapeze
This is a course led by two yogis who had a background in traditional yoga, mindfulnes and body training. They taught themselves to do yoga in a hammock who originally had an aerial yoga studio in London, UK. They set up there aerial yoga instructor training in 2017 when they moved to India.
They deliver a number of courses that are recognised by the Yoga Alliance. Teaching Aerial Yoga are registered Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Providers.
The courses are open to aerial yoga instructors looking to further there skills, yoga and trainee instructors, Pilates teachers as well as anyone who has 3 months aerial swing experience.
There courses include:
20 Hours “An Introduction to Aerial Yoga” – Level 1
15 HOUR COURSE `AERIAL YOGA TRAINING LEVEL 2′
10 HOUR BACK-CARE CPD COURSE
15 HOUR COURSE `AERIAL YOGA RESTORATIVE
Great for anyone with experience of aerial yoga or traditional yoga instructors and trainees.
Ayrx
Aerial Yoga
Online certification that gets you yoga alliance points. Although the website is a little confusing we discovered that they have developed there own version of the yoga swing and offer several different courses that anyone can access.
Not looking for aerial yoga teacher training courses? Take a look at our aerial yoga home page and find everything you could ever need for aerial yoga.