Went flying this weekend...

I went to Dance Jam with Lisa on Friday. It was my first time, but I found it similar to Groove Garden. Only no one got naked (someone decided to go topless at Groove Garden, and the really weird part, to me, was that none of the men stopped dancing to check her out). Actually, Dance Jam was a lot bigger, and the music was better, in both the hot room (upbeat music) and the chill room (ambient music). Wow, this all sounds very Burning Man.

Lisa was once a Dance Jam regular, but life intervened, and now she wants to get back to the way she looked and felt when she spent a lot of time dancing. Frankly, I was worried, because I'd worked out for over 3 hours the night before, I was up at 5:30am that morning for an hour and a half of spin, and I had a ride planned for Saturday morning. But I'm her support, as the former personal trainer and, well, compulsive exerciser. Plus, I thought it would be good for me to dance. I don't dance much.

Andreas
There was this guy, in the chill room, lying face up, twisting and turning a woman in the air above him in slow motion with his arms and legs, to the beat of the music, for what seemed like forever. She never once touched the ground, and she never stopped moving. It was all very fluid. He brought her upside down into a split, his legs tucked into her hips to hold her up. Then she was facing the ceiling, then she was standing above him, then his foot was in her back and he had her in a deep backbend, etc. At times, only one of his limbs was in contact with her body. It was like a really advanced version of that airplane game you played as a kid, where someone's got their feet in your stomach and you're above them holding their hands for about 5 seconds until their legs give out and you fall forward, hitting the floor with your face.

Lisa saw me staring. I asked her what it was called, and she said she didn't know, but that "that's what he does." Actually, another guy saw me staring too, and he walked all the way across the room to tell me I should try it. Then Lisa said she knew him, and she asked me if I wanted to try it. Of course I had visions of falling on my head after either the poor guy's strength gave out (his current partner looked awfully light and limber) or my body didn't cooperate, so I said no. Lisa then went over to hug him hello, and the next thing I knew, they were both beckoning me. I shook my head. They came closer and beckoned. I shook my head. This went on until they were within hearing range. Andreas said, "I just wanted to say hello!" Oops. Hello! Then Lisa asked me if I was sure I didn't want to try it. I said no, I've never done it and I didn't know how. Andreas said it didn't matter.

So I said OK.

And Andreas said, "Yay!" What?!

Then I was in the air, twisting and turning, and transitioning slowly from one pose to the next without ever touching the ground, for a really long time. I was totally relaxed, and no words were exchanged. When my hand would fall backwards, for example, he would grab it, and he'd use it as leverage, together with his foot on my hip, or leg, to flip me into another pose. It felt like I was flying, and like I was being stretched, and like a massage, all at once. Unbelievable.

So I researched it on the web, and apparently it started here in the Bay area. It is a blend of yoga, acrobatics and Tai massage, and it's called Acro Yoga, specifically, the "flying sequences". Aptly named.

Here's an example I found on the web:
I did that!