This weekend Abbi Jaffe will be leading a workshop in therapeutic flying yoga. That’s right.

Jaffe comes to Hampton Roads from her adopted home of Vermont, where she shares yoga, practices Thai massage and leads wilderness trips. She personally studies Anusara Yoga, Acro-Yoga, meditation, and continues to deepen her contact improvisation dance practice.

Now, I’m kind of a yoga buff. But for those who strain even in the lightest of stretches, therapeutic flying yoga, I’m sure, sounds, well, crazy. So I spoke with Jaffe to find out more about what flying yoga actually is, and why it’s worth your while.

I did a bit of flying yoga–we called it Acroyoga–when I lived in California. Is there a difference between these two practices?

Acroyoga is a beautiful practice that combines many things I love (Thai massage and partner yoga) and things I am just beginning to delve into (acrobatics). My personal practice includes many of the elements in Acroyoga, and also includes the practice of contact improvisational dance, where these weight sharing dynamics are found in the moment and may last only a moment.

Yoga is typically viewed as an individual practice. How does the yoga experience change when there’s partner involved?

The presence of a partner adds many elements to the practice of yoga. In partner yoga you have the opportunity to work on trusting yourself, trusting another, communicating your needs verbally and non-verbally, sharing your weight with another and safely taking their weight. The presence of a partner asks you to increase your awareness and to communicate your boundaries, limits, needs and desires.

Have you found that, by trusting your partner in flying yoga, you gain a trust in others in other aspects of life?

Definitely.

Let’s get back to the basics. What is flying yoga? Should people bring their capes, a parachute, a diaper if they’re afraid of heights?

Flying yoga is just what we chose to call this class. Please see the description above. If you are afraid of heights, you can still come and learn how to fly other people or support other flyers. Capes and parachutes are always fun to play with. Yes, bring those too.

When I was little my parents used to lie on their backs and hold me up on their knees. Stuff like that?

Yes, airplane! This is totally how I describe this stuff. Only it is totally possible for adults to fly other adults. And it mostly happens on extended legs, not knees.

It’s so rare in modern life that we release ourselves to another. Tell me about what this experience does for a person.

Perhaps is opens up new possibilities of how to move in our world. How we are already perfect in this moment and that we can be and feel supported.

And then there’s the other side, of holding someone’s physical safety in your hands. It’s an empowering experience, yes?

Yes. It feels great to be able to support people.

Describe the most intense flying yoga pose or experience you’ve ever witnessed.

It is so beautiful to witness someone who really doesn’t think they can do this, and then to watch them try and see them succeed. It is such an honor to help to provide a safe container for people to challenge how they see themselves and to find ways for people to experience success on whatever level they are working.

For someone who has never done yoga, might flying yoga be a good place to start, or is this something more for experienced practitioners?

A background in yoga or another movement practice is helpful but not mandatory. A healthy back is very helpful.

To find out more about the Flying Yoga workshop, visit the facebook event page. Workshops will be held all weekend long at The Space Above, an AltDaily advertiser.