Acro Yoga Fusion Throwdown, Day 4
Today began with learning a complex and long performance flow created by by Eugene and Jessie. Layer upon layer upon layer of seamless dynamic moves and intricate weaving of acro yoga techniques with a dance and yogic flair. Sutble, fierce, challenging but oh so beautiful. I partnered up with the beautiful and talented Laurence … so competent in fact that she was equally skilled as both flyer and base. Working with me (an inexperienced acro flyer) is an incredible challenge as it is … but Laurence was patient, kind and solid as a base. Although I have dabbled as a base the past four days, I am nowhere close to providing the necessary caliber of stability needed to safely hoist people through such maneuvers as ‘Star’, ‘Around the World’, ‘Ninja Star’, etc. The trick to getting to this level is practice, practice, practice. Wish I had someone more my weight and height to play and experiment with on a regular basis. The afternoon revealed a mini-workshop with Jason Nemer of acroyoga.org on the basics of successful handstands. Again, lack of mobility and strength in my shoulders left me wanting for more …. I’m learning that both daily core and shoulder strengthening and building is becoming necessary in this lifestyle of more advanced acro yoga (or what we call yogaFLIGHT). Time to redirect my focus.
The ending of our weekend climaxed with a boy vs girl Creative Process. With a quick 30 minutes to prepare our staged act, we stepped in to ‘the Cypher’ and rocked our performances with giggles and fire … the penultimate throwdown before an informal acro-jam. 
Personally, I was hoping for more flow practice after the throwdown with Eugene and Jessie. But as with all endings and beginnings, the flow of their structure is what I make of the time and interaction within the context. So perhaps I was expecting more of myself. However, feeling somewhat reticent with my new-found knowledge and skills, I sat back shyly whilst the more experienced acro-yogis soared through delicious flows and experimental flights in their acro-jam. Sometimes just watching can be enough. I am however yearning a deeper connection with an acro community. Time to investigate the Toronto scene whilst we’re in the area for a few months!
The evening was spent cooking and dining with our hosts at ‘Chateau Yogi’. Paul and Bryce had the perfect kitchen and patio space to enjoy a twilight potluck of personalities and stories. Of course, I enjoyed finding the beauty in photographing shadows, light, people and textures.
