The hammock is a prop. A very good one.

Aerial yoga benefits

Same loft, eight hammocks. The fabric does work a mat cannot — decompress, invert, and make the core show up.

• The spine unloads

  The hammock takes your weight. Vertebrae get a stretch they do not get on a mat, which is why people who sit all day usually leave taller than they arrived.

• Inversions, with a backstop

  You go upside down a few feet off the floor. The silk holds you. No handstand tryout, no crashing into the person next to you.

• Core, the whole hour

  Every wrap, every transition, every hold. The fabric does not cheat for you. That is the work, and also why you feel it the next morning.

• Strength without the grind

  Pulling, wrapping, and balancing in the silk builds upper body and grip without stacking more compression on the joints.

• Hips and shoulders open

  Supported splits, chest openers, and long holds you would not stay in on the floor. The hammock lets you linger without muscling it.

• Play that still counts as class

  It looks like flying. It is still yoga. Eight silks, all levels, no circus resume. Curious is enough.

Wear fitted clothes that will not ride up. Leave jewelry at home. Arrive 15 minutes early on your first aerial day so we can fit you to a hammock.