Partners in Play

Learn to support and be supported with this innovative form of partner yoga.

By Andrea Ferretti with Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein

It's inspiring to watch AcroYoga founders Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein do their thing—one acting as the base, the other flying through the air from pose to pose. With their combined backgrounds in acrobatics, circus arts, theater, and yoga, the two bring a refreshingly playful approach to an ancient tradition. But AcroYoga—which blends yoga postures and philosophy, Thai Yoga Massage, and acrobatics—is more than just monkeying around. It's a progressive system that includes two forms of flying: acrobatic and therapeutic. Acrobatic flying is dynamic and involves an active base and flier. Therapeutic flying is accessible to almost everyone and uses gravity to gently release the flier's spine.

This therapeutic sequence gives the benefits of inverting without the effort. It's also empowering for someone who may be fearful about supporting another person. "You learn to stack the bones, and then you can support the weight," says Sauer-Klein.

Learning to trust, communicate clearly, and give and receive are some of the main emotional benefits of AcroYoga. "It's not a substitute for solo practice but an expansion," says Sauer-Klein. "When you are able to give and receive completely, it brings up what yoga is all about—union." Adds Nemer, "You become joyfully connected to each other, which spreads into the community and spreads peace."

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