“Yoga is the fountain of youth. You are only as young as your spine is flexible”- Bob Harper

I was in Bombay for a week and had heard a lot about the classes at Tangerine Arts Studio. Tanvi Mehra started Tangerine Arts studio with an aim to bring Yoga, Pilates, Zumba and other fun forms of exercise to the consumer. She hired experts to come in and train small groups and encourage people to move freely and move often. The studio is located in Pali Hill- a few minutes away away from busy Bandra. The interiors are beautiful; the studio is spacious and has plenty of natural sunlight, happy vibes and great music.

I walked in for an Aerial Silk class with Lara Saluja. Lara has been a dear friend and has cultivated a love for dance, movement and other dynamic art forms in the last few years. She has dabbled in ballet, silk, yoga, contemporary dancing and has found her happy place in teaching her students to let go and embrace the silk.

Aerial Silk is performed when long drapes of silk are suspended from the ceiling. It looks absolutely stunning when you are watching someone work the silks. Aerialists learn how to trust their bodies and manipulate the silk as they perform splits, inversions, headstands and other feats with ease. This kind of workout builds stability, improves balance, works at stabilizing your core and upper body. An important element in Aerial that is often forgotten is learning how to trust and channel your inner child. If you learn how to let go and trust your body- you glide effortlessly and with much grace on the silk.

We started with some restorative yoga and dynamic stretches to open up the body and prime the muscles for the workout. Lara was a tough taskmaster but she was patient with me as it was my first class. We learnt how to work with the silk and how to hook our arms and feet into it to get a good grasp and balance. We worked our way from simple exercises to splits, climbing on the silk and doing inversions. I have to admit that the inversions looked incredible but I was petrified of letting go because I was afraid I would fall flat on my head. Lara kept telling me to imagine myself as a younger version of me and allay my fears because the silk was strong enough to hold me. We did a lot of pull-ups for upper body strength and core stability. I could feel my arms burning post the session. We would eventually have to stretch our fingers out when they started to get clammy and slippery. You can’t fall if you don’t climb but there’s no joy in living your whole life on the ground -anonymous. Lara Saluja’s silk class yesterday taught me exactly that. I felt unbearably light, weightless and being suspended with all that blood rushing to your head and face is exhilarating. I never knew “letting go” could be so graceful and so much fun- at once.

Lara likes to keep the classes small and intimate so she can supervise and there’s enough time for everyone to work the Aerial silk. There were a few of us in class that evening and I was the newbie so I got a lot of help and attention from the fellow aerial yogis. I have to say it became more fun and liberating when I started to get the hang of it and we worked up quite a sweat through the session because Lara was successful in working all the major muscle groups and encouraging some deep stretching.

I was particularly impressed with myself when I attempted a split because I had never done one before. I’ve been a swimming and gym rat for as long as I can remember so I never imagined I would be ever be that flexible. Lara prodded and coaxed me into pushing myself harder each time until I knew I could do no more. The physiological and psychological benefits of yoga are innumerable but Aerial silk or anti-gravity yoga also come with a host of benefits.

Benefits of Aerial Silk/ Anti Gravity Yoga-
• A stronger, rock solid core
• Better balance and improved stability
• Bragging rights: P
• Stress Release and reduction of cortisol.
• Increased upper body strength and toned arms
• Spine massage and gentle stretching of the back
• An enhanced connection between the mind and body
• Being able to tap into your inner child and learning how to let go.

Verdict- it was absolutely terrifying at first but oh so worth it in the end. My arms felt sore for days post the session. I can’t wait for this to pave the way for more Aerial Yoga studios in Delhi and Mumbai. For all those of you who need to change your workout regime, build core strength and need help channeling your inner side- this is absolutely perfect for you. I believe in doing one thing every day that scares me because someone once said freedom is on the other side of fear and I am so glad I tried this because now I can attempt more classes with ease.

About Tanvi Mehra- founder of Tangerine Arts Studio
In February 2014, she launched Tangerine Arts Studio.
Tanvi has a Bachelor’s degree in
Media Management from R.D. National College in
Bandra, and a Diploma in Fashion Business from the
London College of Fashion. Prior to getting into yoga and
dance full time, she worked for about a year as an editorial
assistant for a fashion magazine called L’officiel. Her instagram feed has her performing inversions in gorgeous locales.

About Lara Saluja- Having trained in various forms of dance, Lara recognized the power and pleasure of movement. Her training over the years ranges from lyrical jazz to contemporary and aerial silks, she pursued a year long diploma in movement arts and mixed media at Attakalari, Bangalore. Lara describes her relation with dance as true surrender – an expression and to be as graceful, as enormous as your energies actually are.

About Tangerine Arts Studio
Tangerine is a multi-disciplinary arts studio in Bandra. It’s
a versatile space that lends itself to dance, yoga, and
fitness programmes as well as to the performing arts.
Our daily roster of classes includes ashtanga yoga,
pilates, zumba, jazz, hip hop, contemporary dancing,
bollywood dancing, muay Thai, and belly dancing. On
weekends, the studio has a more flexible schedule that
incorporates fun workshops across disciplines be it
baking, bartending, hula hoop, acting, pop-ups and more.

Quick Notes-
Tangerine Arts Studio
9, Rukhsana building,
Off Pali hill,
Near Puja Casa.
Email- info@tangerineartsstudio.com
https://instagram.com/tangerineartsstudio
https://www.facebook.com/TangerineArtsStudio
Price- 900 for a drop in
2800 for 4 classes
Please inquire for rates and membership for other classes.