{"id":12837,"date":"2015-05-29T00:06:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-29T07:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=12837"},"modified":"2015-05-27T17:40:18","modified_gmt":"2015-05-28T00:40:18","slug":"israelis-flipping-for-acro-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/05\/29\/israelis-flipping-for-acro-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"Israelis flipping for acro-yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jerusalem-based instructor Ayo Oppenheimer bases student Rabbi Rachel Kobrin in her first acro-yoga flight. (photo by Daniel Cuevas)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As I walk through Tel Aviv\u2019s HaYarkon Park on a gorgeous day, I watch people enjoy nice, normal activities like soccer, running, rowing and yoga. But that\u2019s not what I\u2019m here for. No, I\u2019m at the park to join a weekly meetup of people who balance, flip and manoeuvre each other in a series of gravity-defying poses called \u201cacro-yoga.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though I don\u2019t know a soul, I instantly recognize the acro-yoga group. They are all partnered up, the \u201cbases\u201d lying on their backs with the \u201cflyers\u201d balancing on top\u00a0of them.<\/p>\n

Within minutes of joining them, I meet Yair Chuchem, a computer programmer who\u2019s practised these strange yet fun-looking moves for more than three years. When I tell him that I\u2019m writing an article about Israel\u2019s growing acro-yoga craze and ask for an interview, he responds, \u201cThe best way to understand acro-yoga is to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anything for my craft\u2026.<\/p>\n

The next thing I know, I\u2019m trusting Chuchem \u2013 a complete stranger \u2013 to balance me upside-down with my shoulders planted on the soles of his feet. Surprisingly, Chuchem doesn\u2019t feel like a stranger for long. After all, we are literally in a position that requires us to communicate and cooperate clearly and patiently with each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what acro-yoga is all about,\u201d he said after carefully lowering me back on my feet. \u201cIt\u2019s trust and teamwork, and it bonds people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the blood rushes out of my head, I realize he\u2019s right. Chuchem already feels like a friend (although, had he dropped me, I might feel differently).<\/p>\n

In terms of the physical dynamics, acro-yoga is a practice that combines acrobatics and yoga moves between the base and the flyer. But, as I learned from my first experience, it also involves cooperation and some fearlessness, which perhaps is why Israelis are going absolutely crazy for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcro-yoga is a really fun practice with lots of social components to it,\u201d explained Ofir Gothilf, an established acro-yoga instructor based in Tel Aviv. \u201cIt\u2019s a warm community that uses touch in a safe, secure way; and everyone is looking for that human experience \u2013 maybe Israelis more than others.\u201d<\/p>\n

While acro-yoga (or acro-balance) is an international practice \u2013 with the trademarked AcroYoga school founded by two Americans in 2003 \u2013 it has grown leaps and bounds in Israel, which is recognized as one of the strongest, if youngest, acro-yoga communities worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The community] started out as just 10 friends wanting to jam and get together in the park,\u201d explained Eitan Padan, an Israeli acro-yoga instructor with six years of experience. \u201cAnd now, in just two years, it\u2019s grown to over 4,000 members.\u201d<\/p>\n

That figure is based on current members of Israel\u2019s acro-yoga Facebook group called LaOof Nifgashim<\/em> or Fly Together. Padan estimates that among the 4,500 members, several hundred of them actively practise. The interest is also evident by the sheer number of acro-yoga opportunities throughout the country. According to Fly Together, Israel boasts nearly 30 instructors, classes and self-organized meetups spanning from Eilat to Haifa.<\/p>\n

From May 21 to 24, a few hundred Israeli acro-yoga enthusiasts of varying levels were in the Negev for the fifth Israeli Acrobatic Convention, featuring workshops led by world-class teachers hailing from cities including Berlin, Paris and Moscow.<\/p>\n

Among the headlining instructors was Lux Sternstein, who, for his third year in a row, traveled all the way from Seattle to lead several advanced workshops throughout the convention\u2019s four-day program. Upon each visit, Sternstein grows more impressed with the growth and diversity of Israel\u2019s acro-yoga community.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost remarkable to me is the age range [in Israel],\u201d Sternstein said. \u201cIt\u2019s the model that I wish the entire world would practise \u2013 to have teenagers and senior citizens working together. We don\u2019t have that in North America, where it\u2019s typically people in their early 20s to mid-40s.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it might seem shocking to imagine senior citizens doing acro-yoga, it speaks to the inclusive, welcoming nature of the practice, said Padan, who is in his 50s.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone can come join,\u201d he said. \u201cNo matter your sex, race, religion, size, age. There is no sense of competition in \u2018acro\u2019 like there is in other sports. It\u2019s about working together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond recreation and fitness, acro-yoga also has therapeutic applications, said Jerusalem-based instructor Ayo Oppenheimer, who taught in the United States before immigrating to Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcro-yoga is a tool for happiness, self-awareness and empowerment,\u201d she said. \u201cIn addition to teaching my regular practice, I\u2019ve taught here [in Israel] at a women\u2019s shelter for victims of domestic violence and at a hospital for teenage girls at risk. I don\u2019t see myself as a fitness instructor. For me, I really believe that acro-yoga can improve people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back at the HaYarkon acro meetup, I hear a similar sentiment. People aren\u2019t here for exercise, per se, but for a challenge that thrives on personal connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice that people are cooperating together for one goal,\u201d said Shira Rosenzweig, who is one of the best flyers at the meetup.<\/p>\n

Next comes a real visual treat: Rosenzweig and Chuchem pair up. From handstands to turns to straddles, Rosenzweig gracefully flows from pose to pose with Chuchem expertly guiding and supporting her. They look like an ice-dancing couple who has practised together for years. But, then I remind myself that this is acro-yoga. It\u2019s quite possible that they only just met.<\/p>\n

Israel21C<\/strong> is a nonprofit educational foundation with a mission to focus media and public attention on the 21st-century Israel that exists beyond the conflict. For more, or to donate, visit israel21c.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jerusalem-based instructor Ayo Oppenheimer bases student Rabbi Rachel Kobrin in her first acro-yoga flight. (photo by Daniel Cuevas) As I walk through Tel Aviv\u2019s HaYarkon Park on a gorgeous day, I watch people enjoy nice, normal activities like soccer, running, rowing and yoga. But that\u2019s not what I\u2019m here for. No, I\u2019m at the park […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4329],"tags":[3831,3832,3836,2864,3837,3838,3835,3839,3834,3833],"class_list":["post-12837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israel","tag-acro-yoga","tag-acrobatics","tag-eitan-padan","tag-health","tag-laoof-nifgashim","tag-lux-sternstein","tag-ofir-gothilf","tag-shira-rosenzweig","tag-yair-chuchem","tag-yoga"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}