Evolution Transformative Arts teaches a dynamic – and acrobatic – form of yoga.

Going up into bird pose takes a little nerve. I have to drop my weight forward onto Jennifer Haydu’s feet and hands and trust her to support me as she’s laying on her back. From there, I raise my chest up and my arms out to the side like wings, all while she balances me on my hip bones.

Once I’m up there, it’s invigorating. My muscles feel engaged, I’m attuned to Haydu’s movement and more aware of how my body and balance interplay.

This is one pose in the practice of acroyoga, which combines yoga, acrobatics and Thai massage. One person acts as the base, raising the flyer into the air. There is usually a spotter ready to provide a steadying hand.

Haydu, 42, has been running Evolution Transformative Arts Studio for 10 years. She’s seen many approach it hesitantly.

“Usually people go, ‘I can’t do that.’ It can look really complicated, but it’s all physics,” she says.

The atmosphere in the Thursday evening classes is playful and mostly informal. Haydu calls it a “romper room,” complete with the occasional kid darting around. Participants chat and laugh while warming up with stretches, and pause to greet a little dog named Jackson, who belongs to a student.

Then participants partner up and start going into poses. At this point in the class, it’s mostly spontaneous – no teacher is guiding everybody into the same pose. People practice poses like throne (where the flyer is sitting upright on the base’s feet) and high-flying whale (where the flyer bends backward in the air, supported on the shoulderblades and ankles). Bases and flyers communicate verbally and through touch, guiding each other’s movements by push and pull.

When basic poses like bird and super yogi become second nature, participants move on to more advanced tricks. These incorporate more motion and twisting and start looking akin to what cheerleaders or gymnasts do. Haydu and an advanced student demonstrate a reel of cartwheels done over the base’s supportive feet, and then she climbs on his shoulders for a shoulder-stand. Next: hand-to-hand handstands, with the flyer totally inverted.

It may sound intimidating, but people are surprised by how much they can do. Kevin Ludwig, who has five years of experience, remembers the first time he balanced a partner on his feet and supported the flyer at the hips.

“I was shaking,” Ludwig says. “But every time you do it, it gets easier.”

Haydu guides an individualized process that balances self-improvement with contentment while emphasizing certain fundamentals.

“The physical part [of yoga] is secondary – it’s awareness training, breath work, self-study,” she says. “The way in for most people is physical, but hopefully they stay longer to realize it’s more than that.”

Ludwig explains why he loves it: “It’s the grounding feeling. Also, you’re doing the things you did as a kid again.” Things like somersaulting, lifting your partner into the air and stretching your arms like a bird are just plain fun. And learning to be in contact with another in a thoughtful way can build community and trust on top of strength and flexibility.

Haydu simplifies the whole effect. “It makes a lot of sense in the body,” she says.

As if to reinforce the sense of mutual support, by the end of class participants at Evolution wind down by exchanging massages.

Acroyoga classes meet 7-9pm Thursdays at Evolution Studios, 125 Oceanview Blvd., Suite 211, American Tin Cannery, Pacific Grove. $10/class. 601-0427, jennifer@evolutiontransformativearts.com