Renuatum Spa in Christiansted began taking yoga off the mat and into the air in July, offering aerial yoga to folks of all ages and turning the discipline on its head.

Along with this reporter.

I had arranged an interview to write about aerial yoga, and before I knew it was was hoisted up into the sling-like hammock. I do yoga a couple times a week on a mat, but it has probably been 50 years since I hung upside down from the playground’s monkey bars. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try.

It was a playful practice that made me feel like a kid again, yet it was a total mind and body experience.

Aerial yoga is practiced in a hammock suspended a few feet above the floor.

“It’s a great way to find balance, fine tune alignment, gain flexibility, and it’s youthful fun,” said Carlisle Amlak, owner and operator of Renuatum. “You get stronger and longer for mat practice doing aerial yoga.”

She added it diversifies a practice working different areas more in depth. That much I can attest to.

I haven’t done a headstand in years and I don’t care to do one on the floor, but hanging upside down and supported in the hammock felt great. I didn’t worry about falling on my head at all. Instructor Paul Beamer made me feel safe and confident. It was tough getting into the inversion – hanging upside down with my legs wrapped around the cloth hammock, but I got the hang of it.

It felt like almost all body parts were being used, forced to move and stretch in different yoga poses done in the hammock. I had to use my upper body and arms a lot, and I learned that my biceps and triceps are kind of weak. But finding and staying balanced was a lot easier suspended than on the floor.

“You get stronger and longer for mat practice doing aerial yoga.” Amlak said. She also teaches the practice. Carlisle’s husband and business partner Bale Kaza Amlak, said it is beneficial for people to do inversions and the hammock makes it easier.

Christopher Harrison, a former aerial acrobat and gymnast, found traditional yoga too hard on his injured wrists. In 2007 he created and launched the practice of yoga suspended in soft fabric.

The hammocks used at Renuatum are made of tricot, a soft but strong knit fabric. The fabric is seven yards long and 108 inches wide. The hammocks will hold up to 3,000 pounds. The steel carabiners holding the nine hammocks on the ceiling hold up to 11,000 pounds.

Beamer, a yoga instructor at Renuatum Spa, started doing aerial yoga two years ago with Marshan Sam at Integrative Energy Movement and Therapy Center on St. Thomas. He noticed that the ceiling at Renuatum would work well for aerial hammocks, and suggested that the Amlaks offer the practice that has gained popularity on the mainland.

Beamer said aerial yoga allows gravity to do the work. He said it stimulates the lymphatic system, pushing out toxins.

“If you sweat during this practice it’s a sign you’re flushing out toxins,” Beamer said. “It also relives pressure on the vertebra, helping to keep the spine young, and builds strength for support and balance.”

He said it also increases confidence knowing you can do this and get out of your comfort zone.

Laura Hunter Kaough, Deborah Phillips and Shera Elvins also teach aerial yoga.

Meghan Monokian, a participant in Friday’s class, said she loves aerial yoga because it helps her get in tune with her body and relieves stress and tension.

“It’s relaxing, and it’s a mind, body and spirit connection,” Monokian said.

Dawn Drew, also in class Friday, said aerial yoga helps improve her posture and she feels her body get into alignment.

Rashawn Drew, at her second aerial class of the day, said the class helps her mind and spirit and builds confidence.

“I feel like I can do anything after doing aerial yoga,” Drew said, adding that it helps strengthen her upper body that she uses in her work as a sailor.

Renuatum Spa, at 1246 Queen Cross Street, offers aerial yoga on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

At the end of practice we were all doing a shavasana with eyes closed, breathing deeply, muscles relaxed, lying in the hammocks, and Beamer came and gave me a gentle push. I could have easily fallen asleep rocking in the hammock.

Renuatum Spa offers holistic health care with locally-made, organic skin care products; energy healing, wellness therapy, massage, yoga and more. The Island Fresh Cafe in the courtyard of the spa offers local fresh vegan and vegetarian food and drinks for breakfast and lunch.

More information on products,wellness services, yoga schedules and workshops is available by calling 340-718-2440 or go to www.renuatumspa.com.