What is AcroYoga Lunar?
AcroYoga Lunar is the calm and healing side of AcroYoga practice that includes gentle movements, Thai massage, and relaxing poses. In contrast to Solar AcroYoga’s dynamic acrobatic focus, the Lunar Therapeutic Practice includes massage, therapeutic flying and partner yoga, where there is a receiver and a giver. The primary aim is not performance or strength-building but that both the giver and receiver can feel more full and balanced.
Lunar practice emphasizes passivity, surrender, and nurturing. The receiver is very passive in this practice and it’s their job to hand over control and relax. Meanwhile, the base acts as caregiver, using gravity, sensitivity, loving kindness, feeling and releasing as their primary tools. This creates what practitioners describe as a movement-based meditation that unlocks bliss and deepens connection.
Origins & Lineage
AcroYoga Lunar emerged as one of three foundational elements when AcroYoga International Co-Founders Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein began codifying the practice of AcroYoga in 2003. Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein met in San Francisco December of 2003, bringing complementary expertise: Jenny’s background in Circus Yoga and Contact Yoga, combined with Jason’s expertise as a world-champion in Sports Acrobatics.
Jason and Jenny wrote the very first AcroYoga training manuals in 2004 and soon after, they formed an official curriculum and certified the first group of AcroYoga Teachers in 2006. The Lunar element drew directly from Thai massage lineages and healing arts traditions, integrating them into a partner-based framework. The practice is structured around three interdependent elements: solar acrobatics, which builds fitness, energy, and exhilaration; lunar therapeutics, which promotes healing, relaxation, and touch; and earth yoga, which fosters balance, mindfulness, and grounded connection.
While partner yoga poses existed in earlier traditions—T. Krishnamacharya was known to practice assisted stretches with students as early as the 1930s—the formalized Lunar therapeutic framework as a distinct pillar of AcroYoga was Nemer and Sauer-Klein’s innovation.
How It’s Practiced
Lunar practice unfolds through three primary modalities, each emphasizing receptivity and healing touch:
Thai Massage: Massage is an ancient gift from traditions and is a practice that can be cultivated to open the body using bodyweight, loving touch and mindfulness. Practitioners learn how to offer a full 60min Thai massage from head to toe, applying compression, stretching, and acupressure to the partner on the ground.
Therapeutic Flying: Therapeutic flying is an inverted aerial massage where the base supports the flyer with their legs as the flyer hangs passively, and the base uses gravity, stretching and sensitive touch to open the flyers upper body. This allows the flyer to surrender weight completely while receiving supported spinal traction, hip opening, and shoulder release.
Partner Yoga: Partner yoga is the art of using each other’s body weight and breath to open and warm the body, a way for us to use a partner’s strength or bodyweight to open our bodies in new ways. Partners move through assisted stretches, supported backbends, and restorative shapes on the ground.
A typical Lunar session begins with the Lunar Asana flow that will teach you the basics of how to connect to your breath, energy and body, then progresses through grounded Thai massage sequences before moving to therapeutic flying and concluding with integration.
AcroYoga Lunar Today
Lunar practice has become a cornerstone of the global AcroYoga community. AYI has taught and certified over 1,500 AcroYoga teachers around the globe, many specializing in the therapeutic Lunar branch. Students encounter Lunar practice through:
- Lunar Immersions: Multi-day trainings focused exclusively on therapeutic flying and Thai massage technique
- Mixed-format classes: Elements of lunar/restorative AcroYoga are woven into most AcroYoga classes alongside Solar elements
- Thai Bodywork Workshops: Standalone courses teaching massage principles applied both on the ground and in flight
- Wellness retreats: It incorporates elements from Thai yoga massage and is often used in wellness retreats and therapeutic settings
- Online learning: Video courses and virtual instruction have expanded access since 2020
Many practitioners find in the beginning it’s easier to start with the lunar practice before progressing to Solar acrobatics, as it requires less strength and builds foundational trust and communication skills.
Common Misconceptions
“Lunar is just stretching”: While passive stretching occurs, Lunar practice is a sophisticated healing modality requiring the base to have refined sensitivity, anatomical knowledge, and the ability to read subtle cues about pressure, pace, and the flyer’s edge.
“It’s only for beginners”: Though often taught first, Therapeutic Flying is the most healing and nurturing aspect of AcroYoga and the best way to make new friends, build trust and help others feel their best. Advanced practitioners continue deepening Lunar skills for years.
“Lunar requires no strength”: The base must maintain stable leg engagement, core activation, and shoulder integrity throughout therapeutic flying sequences. The work is subtle but demanding.
“It’s always gentle”: While the intention is therapeutic, some Lunar sequences involve deep tissue work, strong traction, and challenging inversions that require courage from the flyer to fully surrender.
“You need a romantic partner”: Lunar practice thrives in community settings with rotating partners. The emphasis on consent, boundaries, and clear communication makes it appropriate for practitioners of all relationship configurations.
How to Begin
For those drawn to what is AcroYoga Lunar and seeking an entry point:
Find a certified teacher: Search the AcroYoga.org teacher directory for instructors offering Lunar Immersions or therapeutic flying workshops in your area.
Start with self-care: Learn to fill your cup so offering loving touch is coming from your abundance. A personal yoga and breathwork practice supports becoming a more sensitive practitioner.
Practice giving and receiving: The first steps in the practice of AcroYoga are listening and relearning to be open. Both roles—giver and receiver—teach essential skills about boundaries, communication, and surrender.
Learn basic Thai massage: Before students fly each other it is key for them to have some massage technique so they can be more confident when they massage people while they are in the air. Ground-based bodywork builds the foundation for therapeutic flying.
Consider the Lunar Therapeutic Practices video series: Jason Nemer’s instructional content offers almost 2 hours of therapeutic training covering Lunar Asana sequences, supine and prone Thai massage, and therapeutic flying progressions.
No partner is required to attend most classes—community practice emphasizes rotating partners and building trust with diverse practitioners. Those seeking AcroYoga Lunar for beginners will find the practice accessible regardless of flexibility, strength level, or previous yoga experience, as the emphasis remains on presence, communication, and compassionate touch.