The focus of yoga is originally to control body and mind, to achieve peace, and to improve fitness; however, if a yoga technique involves more than one person to make one unified pose, it becomes more acrobatic than simply therapeutic, hence the name acroyoga. The more people involved in the technique, the more acrobatic it becomes. For this reason, 3-people yoga poses are generally performed for acrobatic purpose. Although their performers still benefit from the physical and psychological therapeutic effects of the technique, they generally perform it as an acrobat or to show it off before their audience.
The Naming of 3 People Yoga Poses
Unlike 1-person yoga poses, which are mostly generic and have their own specific Sanskrit names (Asanas), 3-people yoga poses are mostly based on imagination and improvisation. As a result, they often don’t have Sanskrit names, their names are based solely on how the group form the poses, and the sky of creativity and imagination is the limit of how many poses can be made when three people perform acroyoga. Of course, every improvisation made is still derived from basic 1-person yoga poses with their specific Sanskrit names. If you like to practice 3-people yoga poses, here are two acrobatic poses that you can try.
Triple Down Dog 3 People Yoga Poses
This pose is derived from 1-person yoga pose called downward dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana. To do this pose, keep the upper body and lower body in almost perpendicular position on the hip and touch the floor with the base of the feet and the palm of the hands. Perform this pose by two people in mirror position with both of them facing each other, forming the bases. The third person—the flyer—will then climb and make similar pose by putting his/her palm on one of her partners’ hip and his/her feet on the other partner’s hip. This pose is good for stretching and breathing practice.
Perching Peacock Pose
This is a very intense pose that can only be done by experienced performers. Basically, this pose requires a flyer to perform a Mayurasana or peacock pose on the top of two stacking bases. The main base at the bottom lies on his/her back on floor and raises both the legs and hands and make them perpendicular to the floor. He/she uses both the legs and hands to support the secondary base, who performs a locust pose, keeping his/her body slightly curved backward and facing downward. The flyer at the top performs a peacock pose, putting one of their hands on the secondary bases’s back while using the other hand to hold the latter’s hands, which are stretched backward.
Precautions
3-people yoga poses are more difficult to do due to their acrobatic nature; however, it is important to understand that those poses are not acrobatics and their performers are not acrobats. Falling is thus common and it is actually good if the formation collapses in a graceful and safe way. For this reason, for everyone who wishes to practice 3-people yoga poses, their practice should focus more on safety and the physical, psychological and social benefits of their training than on the technique itself.
