All photos by Myself, Dina Devine and Brian Cruikshank

The Acro Dome was an amazing installation that happened at this year’s Gratitude Migration inside of the Solar Temple. Several wonderful teams came out to teach the participants of the festival some skills to engage in this incredible art.

AcroYoga creates a tangible sense of tribe and celebration which is hard to find anywhere else, and this dome was alive with the sense of community all weekend long. Filled with laughter and play, we were so glad that we chose to make this space visually the brightest and most playful out of all the domes we created for the weekend.

AcroYoga has its roots in the beginning of the century and has continually been developed by practitioners since then. It is a mix of partner acrobatics, Thai massage, and yoga. Essentially, it builds a practice of the understanding of trust. Trust within the body, trust within the community, and trust in the fact that it's a lot of fun to do these amazing things you never thought you'd be able to do.

Unlike practicing alone where you can spend a lot of time in your head, partner work is deeply rooted in a shared experience. In addition to honing the skill of sharing a physical practice, AcroYoga helps to develop open, direct, and compassionate verbal communication with whomever you’re paired with.

The practice of AcroYoga is split into two parts, Acrobatic (Solar) and Therapeutic (Lunar). Each side explores the relationship between the mover and those being moved. In the dynamic Solar practice, participants learn three different roles: Base (mover), Flyer (being moved), and Spotter (knowledge of both). Lunar theraputics embraces the deeply healing connection to metta—loving kindness. Here, the Giver is the mover, the Receiver is the one being moved and balance is the midpoint between extremes.

This dome was such an embodiment of the spirit of the practice; communicative, playful, and focused on connection. It was so wonderful to watch the myriads of people opening up in this space all weekend.

Thank you to all of the incredible people who taught and participated. Your joy and engagement was truly inspiring!