If your energy starts to dip in the middle of a busy workday, maybe it's time to try something a little different to recharge your batteries. Revving up your production mid-day can be challenging if you sit in an office, stand in a classroom or care for small children for long hours each day. At a Charlotte, North Carolina fitness club the owners created a special class to increase productivity called Air Napping.
Air Napping is the updated, twenty-first century version of the old standard, the afternoon siesta. Air Napping takes place in a silken hammock hung indoors alongside other hanging cocoons, each filled with a snoozing client. While it may seem odd to require an instructor for a nap, the instructors help clients safely in and out of the hammocks while creating a soothing atmosphere with soft, meditative music.
Creator of Air Napping
In an interview with Marissa Acker, Member Relations Coordinator for Flex + Fit Health and Fitness Club, Suite 101 wanted to know more about this unique class filled with sleeping students.
Suite 101: Who created the idea for this nap-and-go sensation?
Marissa Acker: Shama Patel, the owner of Flex + Fit, originally worked in an organization that had a nap room for their employees. Taking this idea to another level we decided to use the aerial silk hammocks for the napping sessions in addition to the fitness classes.
What Air Napping Can Do For You, Your Boss or Even Your Grandparents
Suite 101: Do you find that people really enjoy this class or is it something they just try once out of curiosity?
Marissa Acker: We offer Air Power Nap™ every afternoon at 1:30-2:00 p.m. Air Power Nap™ is offered at this time because the body tends to slow down and needs a brief resting period to finish the second part of the day effectively. Many of our corporate clients utilize Air Power Nap™ during their lunch hour to rejuvenate and relax, so when they head back to work they are more productive.
Suite 101: Are the silk hammocks used for Air Napping comfortable for any age? Are the elderly able to use them or would you recommend them for people already in good shape?
Marissa Acker: The hammocks are comfortable for anyone to use at any age. In regards to Air Power Nap™, the hammocks are great for the elderly because the silk material is gentle, easy to maneuver around in, and relieves pressure on sore joints.
In regards to our more challenging fitness classes, Air Yoga™ would be an ideal class for the elderly, because again it is designed to relieve stress on joints and relax the body and mind. Air Fitness™ and Air Ballet™ are more challenging fitness classes designed for those who are already in good shape.
Air Yoga, Air Ballet and Air Fitness
Suite 101: So, you use the hammocks for purposes other than napping?
Marissa Acker: Yes, we use the hammocks for fitness classes, including Air Yoga™, Air Ballet™, and Air Fitness™. Air Fitness™ is a whole body strength-training and flexibility workout which introduces students to aerial exercises on the fabric. Students follow a circuit of exercises to increase flexibility, endurance, and strength in their abdominals, back, and upper body creating a solid foundation.
Air Yoga™ fuses basic to advanced yoga poses with our aerial silk hammocks to allow for a full-body stretch that increases flexibility beyond what traditional yoga provides. The hammock is used as an apparatus to help you delve deeper into your asanas.
Finally, Air Ballet™ uses basic ballet technique while incorporating the traditional ballet barre and aerial silk hammocks. This is a total body workout, focusing on increasing flexibility and coordination while burning fat. The hammocks allow this class to be a low impact ballet fitness class for anyone suffering from minor injuries.
Air Napping From an Insider's Viewpoint
Suite 101: Have you air napped, Marissa? If so, could you tell us about your experience?
Marissa Acker: Yes, I have taken Air Power Naps™. Once I got into the hammock, I immediately began to relax. While you lay in the hammock it's best to cross your hands over your chest or rest them on your thighs. I placed my hands across my chest and immediately began to snooze.
The feeling of the gentle silk fabric surrounding your entire body is comforting and warm. Relaxing and meditative music plays quietly throughout the Air Power Nap™ class. I enjoyed this because it blocked out any external noises and helped me to relax into a Zen-like state. This type of relaxation is like nothing else.
Future of Air Napping
Suite 101: Do you visualize this restorative napping spreading around the country and even into Kinder classes in schools?
Marissa Acker: I'm confident that the “Air” brand of classes (Air Nap™, Air Ballet™, Air Fitness™, and Air Yoga™) will continue to spread all over the world. Once you've been able to experience this kind of workout and relaxation, you will never want to go back to traditional gym machinery or traditional yoga. Flex + Fit™ has replaced traditional fitness equipment with four state-of-the-art studios, where we specialize in group fitness classes, including culinary classes.
For anyone interested in seeing an air nap class in-progress, check out this CNN video. For more information on air napping classes, go to the Flex + Fit website to see for yourself if this is the stress relieving solution for you!
Source:
Marissa Acker, Member Relations Co, 550 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC, 28202, 980-219-8425, Flexandfit.com
Vicki F. Chavis - Growing up in Asia, Europe and North America left Vicki with a love of cuisine, history, language, fashion and travel. Today she writes on ...
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