Yuki Tsuji-Hoening is no stranger to flight. “I started skydiving in Massachusetts. I was teaching it in Florida for awhile. That’s when I got into the body movement and arts. It’s not just fitness, it’s also an art—especially when you’re doing a freestyle. In freefall, you can actually sit, you can be upside down, you can do lot of turns, curving, lots of amazing fun stuff. I used to teach in a wind tunnel in Orlando. It’s like a skydiving simulator. That’s where I really discovered that I loved moving my body and using my body to express myself.”
It was while teaching skydiving in Orlando that Tsuji-Hoening first discovered AcroYoga. “When I was in Florida, I found a website, AcroYoga.org on internet. I was just playing around with my friend. My friend, he is a gymnast. He does martial art and he knew a little bit of acrobatic type of things. We saw bunch of photos and started practicing, without any instructions. Mostly just photos, we learned from. We had no idea how to do it. So falling down hundred times to get most basic pose.”
Tsuji-Hoening had already mastered flying through the air. With AcroYoga, she had the opportunity to tackle a significantly lower altitude version. “I like flying because I can move my body in many orientations and directions with different shapes. When I completely surrender into my base’s control, I feel light.”
AcroYoga Fundamentals, Tsuji-Hoening’s upcoming five week series, kicks off January 7 at Radiance Power Yoga in Boulder. For further information, YogaYuki.com