Aerial Yoga vs Aerial Silks: Which to Try First?

Both classes look similar from the outside — a person, a piece of fabric, a beautiful shape in the air — but the experience inside the studio is completely different. Here's how to know which one to book first.

Aerial yoga (also called aerial hammock)

Aerial yoga uses a single loop of soft fabric set at hip height. You sit, lie, and stretch in the hammock — the fabric supports you while you sink into deep stretches and gentle inversions. It is therapeutic, restorative, and accessible to almost every body and fitness level.

Best for you if you want to:

• Decompress your spine after sitting at a desk all week
• Improve flexibility without forcing it
• Try inversions safely (the fabric does the work)
• Have a calm, low-impact movement practice

Aerial silks (aerial fabric / tissu)

Aerial silks uses two long pieces of fabric hung from the ceiling. You climb, wrap, invert, and drop. It is athletic, technical, and builds serious upper-body and core strength over time. Most students leave their first silks class sweaty, smiling, and bruised in surprising places.

Best for you if you want to:

• Build real upper-body and grip strength
• Learn a circus skill with progress you can measure
• Push yourself physically and creatively
• Eventually perform or take photos of dynamic shapes

Still not sure?

Take aerial yoga first. It introduces you to the sensation of being supported by fabric and gives you a feel for inversions before the strength demands of silks. Most of our long-term silks students started in the hammock — and many still come back to yoga every week to recover.