4 person yoga poses are becoming increasingly more common as yoga also becomes more popular. The type of yoga that involves four people is known as Acro Yoga. When there are two people practicing Acro yoga it’s known as doing partner yoga poses.
This is a fun type of yoga that requires all the people involved to be fully engaged and committed to the practice. It’s not always made up of couples’ yoga poses and it doesn’t have to be a difficult practice.
It incorporates easy poses like child’s pose or forward bending poses for beginners. Variations of forward folds and the main warrior poses are seen in Acro yoga during the warm up to teach the students the basics of a pose and how to hold it.
What’s Arco Yoga for 4 People?
Acro Yoga is a type of yoga that combines the various styles of yoga together. It traditionally comes from Hatha and Vinyasa yoga, which are calming yoga styles. It has origins in acrobatics as well.
It’s a type of yoga that includes partners and can be fun whilst also challenging the people involved. It can be done by anyone, you don’t have have flexible hips or hamstrings to participate in a 4 person yoga challenge or class.
There’s a minimum of three people involved in an Acro Yoga group. Two people who are practicing and then there’s one person standing nearby, often crouching on their knees to get a good view, known as the spotter. To understand the roles better you can read more here.
The person who’s at the bottom is known as the base and the person lifted is known as the flyer. When two people practice Acro Yoga together often the roles tend to stay the same. This way people can improve on their roles and work together better.
An Acro yoga class will begin with a warmup. Once the warmup is completed then the teams will begin working together on some poses. Towards the end of the class, there may be a massage portion, depending on where you chose to do the practice.
Benefits of 4 Person Yoga Poses
If you are looking for a healthy and interactive method to reduce back pain, strengthen bones, build connections, reduce stress, and relieve depression, there is no other better choice than doing yoga together with your family or friends.
1. It Improves Your Mental Health
Group acro yoga retains the essence of traditional solo yoga, it can drastically improve your mental health by simultaneously combining mental, physical, and respiratory exercises to sync your breath and movement, as well as improve your flexibility and balance skills.
During the practice and even have finished it for a while, you may experience a sort of “flow state” zone where you will have a feeling of focused, present, relaxed, and inspired.
2. It Builds Better Relationships
Acro yoga is a group activity that needs to bond with your friends or family together to play. Some studies have shown social bonding can be largely increased through group movement that leads to deeper social connections.
When 4 people come together in a collaborative acro yoga, they can strengthen their friendships, collections, and ability to be open with each other, while simultaneously, they can improve their flexibility and balance skills.
Also, group acro yoga is one of the most fun ways you can play with your family and friends. You can talk with your partner, built better trust, and enjoy the support from your partner. On top of that, you can take some amazing photos with the most incredible poses together. The fun is real!
3. It Generates Better Communication
When doing solo yoga, it is more of a silent experience. However, group yoga involves lots of chatting and talking. One of the key factors that makes a successful collaborative effort of acro yoga is how you express your needs better.
As a result, doing acro yoga with partners can drastically improve your communication skills. On the other hand, you will learn how to be a good listener by practicing patience and conflicting resolution between your friends and family members.
4. It Relieves The Back-Pain
Of course, acro yoga can benefit you on a physical level. You are allowed to perform poses and stretch your body in ways you couldn’t do on your own.
For example. The classic Super Yogi is a safe and rewarding pose that can soothe the flyer and base’s back, hips, and spine. Also, the Acro Bow Pose exemplifies this pose that offers incredible back pain relief.
How to do poses with 4 people
4 person yoga poses are not easy to do. Some groups have an easier time because they know that teamwork is the key to making the pose work. The pose will never be accomplished unless the team works together.
Chose a team that you know you can work well with and begin by deciding who’s going to have what role in terms of base, flyer, etc. No matter what pose comes up, the roles given to each person should be easily adaptable to every pose.
Once the pose is explained to the group, talk through it with your team again to decide how you are going to move into and out of the pose. Ensure that everyone understands and has had a say in the process. Take a big inhale and exhale before moving into the pose. It’s important to breathe whilst doing the postures.
Once moving into a pose, complications may arise. Don’t get angry or judgmental with group members. Simply communicate what you’re needing or what you think will help. Never talk over or dismiss other group members.
Remember to have fun and enjoy the process of working with many people. Acro Yoga is supposed to be enjoyed whilst challenging your strength, balance, and flexibility.
Common mistakes made when doing poses with 4 people
One mistake that people can make when doing 4 person yoga poses is putting one person in charge. This can result in other group members not being listened to and the teamwork falling apart.
Another mistake that people often make is rushing into the poses that they are given. Ground down into the soles of your feet, connect to your breath, and then proceed into the posture. Rushing into an Asana has never helped any yogi.
Beginners’ tips
A good tip for beginner yogis is to practice the shape of the pose. Before going into the final shape with everyone involved, each person should practice the shape they’re meant to do. This helps you understand exactly what you need to be doing.
Another tip to remember is to move slowly and constantly communicate. There’s no need to rush into a pose because that’s how mistakes are made. Decide together, with your team, your plan to get into the pose and then move consciously into it.
The last tip for beginners is to understand what you’re good at. Before going into the class, know what you want to be doing and what position best suits you. This makes it easier to fit into the class and know your role as soon as you walk in.
4 People yoga poses ideas
Here are a few of our favorite group yoga pose ideas to inspire you. As we mentioned above 4 person yoga isn’t very common, so before you dig into 4-person poses, we also pick up some tutorials of 2 people to help you master the basics. Enjoy!
The L-shape downward dog pose
This Acro yoga pose differs from the previous in that everyone is on the floor in some way. The first person will form a perfect downward-facing dog. The second will place their feet on the first person’s back/glute area and palms on the floor.
The second person will walk their hands back until they are in an L-shape with their body. The other two group members will do the same as the second person to make three L-shaped bodies and one in Downdog.
The quadruple plank pose
This pose is the same as the double plank position found in Acro yoga except there will be four yogis stacked on top of each other. The base will be the strongest in a firm plank, the feet must be hip width distance apart and the hands should be shoulder width distance apart.
The other three group members, watched by a spotter, will individually make a plank on top of the person below them. They will hold the base’s ankles and place their feet on their shoulders and form a strong plank by using their core muscles. Core muscles can be engaged by pulling the navel to the spine.
Double & 4 Person Planks
Planks can be one of the first poses you should earn in yoga. You can start by rolling out of the yoga mat and placing it side to side. Then, you can do the plank position by placing your toes and forearms on the mat and looking down.
Make sure that your elbows should be right below your shoulders, and your head should be relaxed. Check the video that shows How to do Planks with 4 people?
Chloe Knoerschild 4 Person Yoga Poses
Chloe Knoerschild shows a group of teenage girls demonstrate some fun 4 person yoga poses. This video contains plenty of troubleshooting, giggling, squealing, and goofing off as you try to accomplish these team poses.
The L-shape flying pose
In this pose, there will be two base partners lying flat on their backs with their tailbone tucked under and their feet straight up towards the ceiling. The base should hug their inner thighs towards each other to make the legs sturdy and face their back thighs parallel to the other persons.
The next person will place their back on top of the bases’ feet and make the same L shape as them. The flyer will then be helped by a spotter to get onto the third person and be hoisted into the air in a cobra shape.
4 Person Acro Stunts
If you excel in your flexibility, this 4 person acro stunts video is the ideal one for you! It showcases 4 person’s poses in a more advanced way. This pose might require some background knowledge in cheerleading or gymnastics.
The handstand seated pose
This pose is a fun variation of handstand that can be done with two people seated in front of each other with legs straight out in front of them. Their feet should be touching, and their spines should be straight.
The other two people will have their hands grab onto the bases’ ankles and face the bases. Each base will hold one foot of each of the flyers. The other leg of the flyers will go straight into the air.
The bases can place one hand behind them for further support in the pose. Their hands holding the flyers foot will go up to the sky and their own arms will be parallel with their ears. The flyers can stay as is or chose to have their feet that are in the air touch each others.
The superhero flying pose
There will be two people used as a base in this pose laying flat on their backs with their heads touching. Their legs will be straight up towards the ceiling and their shins will be parallel to the other persons. The two flyers will then place their hips on the feet of the bases
From there, the flyers will be lifted into the sky. Whilst being lifted, the flyers will hold the arms of their base. Once they feel stable they will let go and grab the arms of the flyer in front of them to make the posture complete.
The reverse warrior pose
This pose is great for warming up or cooling down the class. Everyone is on the floor and will go into a reverse warrior. Two people will go first, lining up their back feet next to each other. They will reverse their warrior and hold onto each other’s wrists.
The other two people will do the same, except one of them will line their front knee with one of the people who are already in the reverse warrior pose, so that their knees are touching. The last person will proceed to line their back foot up with that person and lean back into reverse warrior as seen in this photo.
The line-up yoga pose
The first person in this pose will begin by going into a strong headstand. The next person will stand behind them and hold their feet. Both will have their spine straight and gaze directly ahead of them. The third person will go into a low lunge directly behind the second person and hold onto the second persons waist.
The last person will place their palms on the third person’s shoulders and walk their feet back until they are in a variation of a plank pose. This will create a line up of people all in different postures but connected.
The stable tabletop pose
Two people will be the base for this pose and go into a tabletop pose. Their wrists should be directly under their shoulders and palms flat on the mat. Their right shoulder and right foot should be touching each other’s. The third person will make a table top pose on top of the two base people.
Their right hand will be on the one base and their left hand will be on the other base, the same for the legs. The fourth person will climb onto the third person and place their feet on the third persons lower back. Standing tall in mountain pose, they will complete the posture.
Conclusion
Whether you want to upgrade your yoga practice or are just looking for some group fun on your yoga mat, either way, 4 person yoga poses are for you. There are easily adaptable poses for beginners to advanced yogis, and from families to friends.
Doing Acro yoga helps teach you how to work as a team, master strength, and balancing. It’s an engaging and well-rounded activity that provides a lot of entertainment whilst getting in a good workout.
