Same same but different: Enjoying the (Acroyoga)Variety

Same same but different: What a lucky chance to practice Acroyoga / Partneracro in the last weeks with so many good bases! Every base is different. Every flyer is different. Every person is different. A plurality of diversity. And everyone is special in his own way.

Today I had a very special experience. The differences could not have been more contradictory: a jam with two bases. One completely centered, resting in himself, radiating tranquility, slow flying, he feels every detail, every unevenness in the movement, every weightshift too fast or too slow. Back to basics: We practice Sidestar and Backplank Transitions. He feels every hesitation, every uncertainty – and wants to go there: into the detail. Intensive practice, a step back is a step forward.

The other: wild and enthusiastic. How many washingmachines can you fly in an hour? Let’s practice whips! It is not quite round. No matter. Again and again, until it works. The unevenness is still there. I can feel it. But we fly, fast and swinging. Where I stopped with the first base to go into the detail, we just keep going. When it fails, it compensates with strength. We have fun, a little flyer thrill.

Better or worse?

Two different experiences in rapid succession: the extremes of variety. What is better? What is worse? Is there any better or worse? Is not it just different? As everyone is different and unique?
I love to go into detail: When I have the opportunity to practice more intensively with a partner and work on the subtleties. If two are getting better and better together and it gets deeper instead of higher, faster, and further. When the unevenness dissolve and the flying becomes fluid and round.
On the other hand, I also love the higher, faster and further – in a safe and supported environment. Just like at Partneracro Training in Thailand. With great teachers and Acro people I could do things, that I thought would take years to try (if at all), such as Icarianpops like Castaway or H2H standing. Permanent partner change, short calibration, then from zero to hundred. Granted, that’s quite demanding and exhausting for me. But it’s also fun and a wonderful experience. Without flying with so many different bases, I would not have learned and tried so much.

Better? Worse? Is it better to first go into detail and then move on? Is that even a prerequisite for going further? Or is it not rather the diversity that makes Acroyoga the process it is? That’s the thing with perfection: If I were to strive for perfection, I would probably still practice Ninja Star exclusively. Everything is a matter of perspective. If my movements are very fluid and round for a beginner, a very advanced acroyogi will still find something to improve in depth. The quest for perfection can also keep you from getting ahead.

On the other hand, when practicing crazy Icarianpops like Castaway (only with Spotter! :)), I am automatically forced to take a step back if I want it to work out someday. Maybe after all a pop from the bird in reverse star stable? Or just work on the reverse star? Not a bad idea. And with the goal in mind, it’s twice as much fun.

That’s the beauty of Acroyoga: I’m learning so much about the otherness of each base and the many different ways of doing it – and I get to know and appreciate my own otherness. I want depth and expanse. The one does not exclude the other. A few steps forward, a few steps back. My very own Acroyoga way. How is your process going in Acro? Are you working on the depth, do you go into detail? Have you found a partner where you can really feel the connection? Or do you want to expand quickly? Do you love to always have new challenges and to go further? Or did you even find a way to combine both ways? Enjoy the variety …