Amanda M. Usher | The Valdosta Daily TimesSherri Henschke, co-owner of Hang Out Yoga, stretches during an aerial class her Northside Drive studio. 

VALDOSTA — Trust in others, a life lesson I’ve recently acquired. 

Hang Out Yoga taught me this.

A newcomer to aerial yoga, and having only learned what aerial yoga is not long ago, I had the opportunity to swing – and fall – into the unique activity.

Located at 353 Northside Drive, Hang Out Yoga is a studio co-owned by Erika Bennett and Sherri Henschke that offers a diverse range of classes.

Bennett led my class. She was the teacher and I was the student.

My nerves overcame me for fear of the unknown and unexplored, but Bennett ensured I would be OK.

We stretched and warmed up with “silks,” my only source of support which strategically hung from the ceiling and required me to have much muscle endurance.

The silks can hold up to 2,000 pounds each and are similar to hammocks or the material that’s used in Cirque Du Soleil, Bennett said.

“You gotta build up that trust,” she said. “That’s the hardest part about aerial yoga is trusting yourself with the silk because it is your partner.”

It was time for me to face a real challenge following stretches, yoga poses.

We had begun to dive into aerial tricks and I was seemingly doing OK until I wasn’t.

Bennett guided us through the steps for the inverted frog, and let’s just say, my frog was hopping all over the floor.

The class members mirrored upside-down frogs by wrapping the silks around our legs and literally hanging upside down.

I lost my trust somewhere between what I call “the wrap-up” and me leaning backwards toward the floor.

As I searched and scoured the floor for safety – not being in any real danger, Bennett came to my side, told me to lift my panicked hands off of the floor and grab hers.

She wanted to be my support as she directed me down from the burgundy silk.

I repeat, yoga taught me to trust more.

But for other students and professionals in the field, yoga is a way to relieve stress. Bennett said it mainly helps with self-confidence.

“Just by figuring out that you can do more than you might’ve could coming in,” she said. “We’re such a busy world these days, it’s hard to find that balance.”

Other benefits of yoga include toning, conditioning, improving the heart rate, burning calories and losing weight, flexibility and helping with better breathing.

Henschke was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 50 years old, and she said yoga helped it to go away. It helps with spirituality and the mind-body connection.

“It builds bone density, strength, flexibility, patience, the breath, all of it,” she said.

Bennett recommends beginners start with aerial first before moving to ground yoga as aerial can better prepare a person.

Tiffani Huff, a longtime Hang Out Yoga client, said aerial yoga led her to floor yoga.

“I pour my heart into it because I love how it has changed and helped me grow as a person,” she said. “I think ground can be a little more challenging, but this has more of the excitement. Just not being on the ground is awesome.”

Popular poses include the hanging butterfly, planks, the dancer, the bridge and the savasana.

The bridge pose can be done on the ground or in the air, and it stimulates the thyroid, Bennett said. The dancer pose utilizes every body part mentally and physically.

Every class finishes with a savasana pose, which looks like a cocoon in the aerial position.

Aerial classes hold up to 11 people while ground classes can hold up to 20-25 people.

Singles classes are $20, four classes per month are $60, six classes per month are $120, a five-class pass is $90 and a 10-class pass is $175. More information: hangoutyoga.com, (561) 715-4171. 

Amanda Usher is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1274.