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What to Wear to Aerial Yoga: Avoid Silk Burn, Snags, and Slips

The hammock wraps around your legs, armpits, and back. Cover them, skip anything that snags, and leave the body lotion at home.

Nadia Kessler

Nadia Kessler6 min read

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A woman in full-length leggings inverting in an aerial yoga hammock
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Key Takeaways

  • Cover the backs of your knees, armpits, and lower back to avoid friction from the hammock.
  • Avoid zips, jewellery, sequins, and lotion.
  • Choose fitted, opaque clothing that stays put upside down.
  • Check with a clinician about inversions if you have certain health conditions.

Aerial yoga uses a soft fabric hammock hung from the ceiling to support inversions, stretches, and playful poses. It is gentler than it looks, but the fabric changes the outfit rules. The hammock wraps around the backs of your knees, your hips, your armpits, and your lower back. Bare skin there can get friction burn, and anything with hardware can snag or damage the silk.

Fast answer

Full-length leggings, a top covering armpits and back, nothing that snags

No zips, sequins, jewellery, or lotion. Eat lightly beforehand — you will be upside down.

Bottoms

  • Full-length leggings protect the backs of your knees, where the hammock often wraps.
  • Choose a smooth, opaque knit; you will be inverted and in wide-leg poses.
  • Avoid shorts unless your studio says they are fine for that class.
  • No zippers, buttons, rivets, or metallic logos.

Tops

  • A fitted tee or long-sleeve top that covers your armpits — the silk runs under them in many poses.
  • A longer length that covers your lower back and stays put when inverted.
  • Avoid loose tops; they fall over your face upside down.
  • A sports bra underneath with no hooks or clasps at the back is most comfortable.

What to skip

  1. Jewellery, watches, and hair clips — they snag the fabric.
  2. Lotion and oil — they make you slip and can stain the hammock.
  3. Sequins, studs, and embellished clothing.
  4. A heavy meal in the two hours before class.

Is aerial yoga for everyone?

Many beginners love aerial yoga because the hammock supports their weight. Inversions are not suitable for everyone, though: if you are pregnant, have glaucoma, high blood pressure, heart conditions, recent surgery, or vertigo, check with your clinician and tell your instructor before class.

Prefer staying grounded? Compare yoga and Pilates, or read how yoga pants should fit before you buy new leggings.

Frequently Asked

What should I wear to aerial yoga?

Full-length leggings and a fitted top that covers your armpits and lower back. Avoid zips, jewellery, and lotion, which can snag the hammock or make you slip.

Can I wear shorts to aerial yoga?

Usually not recommended, because the hammock wraps behind your knees and can cause friction burn on bare skin. Check with your studio.

Should I eat before aerial yoga?

Eat lightly and allow about two hours after a full meal. Inversions on a full stomach can be uncomfortable.

Sources

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