CAMDEN – Yoga is not new, but anti-gravity yoga is. It hasn’t been available north of Boston, until now. Betsy Kingsley, owner of Balanced Body Studio, introduced Jacquie Chamberlain to demonstrate the AntiGravity hammock on March 21.

The studio is accepting registration for the class. Chamberlain is a Level 1 AntiGravity instructor, and the Balanced Body Studio is the only place north of Boston licensed to present the program.

According to Wikapedia, AntiGravity Fitness is a company founded by Christopher Harrison in 2007 and based in New York City. It specializes in hybrid aerial fitness techniques that combine silk hammocks with yoga practices.

Harrison first developed the program, AntiGravity Aerial Yoga, based on backstage warm-up exercises through which he would lead his athletes as director/choreographer of his performance troupe.

Since 2007, Harrison has developed seven proprietary fitness programs under the AntiGravity Fitness brand, currently licensed in fitness centers in more than 40 countries.

AntiGravity Fitness also operates instructor training programs as part of their licensing agreements, certifying others to teach AntiGravity Fitness techniques.

It's for everyone and one doesn’t have to practice yoga to participate, but Chamberlain said the two go hand in hand.

"It can be for everybody and some people can push a little harder and some people can take it a little slower," she said.

Chamberlain said there is a small learning curve.

All the hammocks are adjusted to the height of the person using them.

"I feel the only learning curve is to just be comfortable in the hammock," she said. "Once you are comfortable it's more playful and fun. Starting out it will just be fundamentals. Everyone will start with a very basic level of instruction."

Marcie Howard and Aeilia Grant were two people attending the demonstration.

“It was fun. I wanted to do more,” said Howard.

Grant said: “it was fun and she was not scared. I'll definitely do it again. I felt like a little kid on a swing set.”

Chamberlain said initially participants can be leery.

"At first, going upside down when your not used to it and putting all your trust into the hammock is different," she said. "You just need to let go and trust that you are completely safe. Once you do go upside down you realize it's not at all as hard as it looked. And they like it."

How much weight will the hammock hold?

"Up to 1,000 pounds," said Chamberlain. "These are hung a little differently, but they would be able to hold anybody. The hammocks themselves are strong. They're nine-by-nine feet so they're not just a small piece of fabric. You can fully envelope yourself."

They offered to put me in one so I could see for myself how strong they are, but I declined.

"These specifically are trademarked as a Christopher Harrison AntiGravity hammock," said Chamberlain. "Those are the hammocks I trained under, which means knowing their safety precautions and their integrity."

Chamberlain said it's different then typical yoga.

"It's different in that this is more aerial work," she said. "Is it a trend? Well, maybe, maybe not, but it's definitely getting more and more popular. People want to be interested in doing different things. They want to try different things in terms of fitness."

She said this is the first studio licensed in the Midcoast doing AntiGravity. There are some people doing some aerial classes in Portland, but if you want to look specifically under the AntiGravity umbrella, the next studio is in Boston.

Kingsley said they started renovating the Balanced Body Studio building, at 2 Virginia Ave., in Camden, last August.

"We moved in last October 31, during the hurricane with no power our first day," she said. "We've been here four and a half months. We do group exercise, personal training and we have a full Pilates studio."

Kingsley said she saw that Chamberlain was giving AntiGravity demonstrations in another facility.

"I called and asked if she was going to be doing classes because I was interested for myself," she said. "She said she didn't have a space to give lessons, so I offered her our space. And it was convenient because we already have attachments to our I-beam."

Balanced Body Studio has one hammock right now and will have four. Plans are in the works to put more attachments in the ceiling so they can expand as the popularity of the class grows.

Find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BalancedBodyStudio/ for information regarding AntiGravity.