Stick to poses where you lean, hold hands or breathe together, and keep both of you in control of your own weight. Anything that lifts one person off the ground is acro yoga, which needs a trained teacher and a spotter. The seven poses below suit two adults with no partner yoga experience, and a flat patch of Malta at a cool time of day is all you need.
What are the rules for safe partner yoga?
- Warm up separately first. Five minutes of cat-cow and gentle movement from our beginner poses guide will do.
- Talk all the way through. Agree on a word that means “stop now”, and use it without apologising.
- Never push or pull to deepen a stretch. Your partner’s body decides how far a pose goes, not yours.
- Keep pressure off the neck and spine. Do not lean on each other’s head, neck or lower back.
- Move in and out slowly. Tell your partner before you shift your weight, so that nobody is left falling.
- Check your health first. If either of you is pregnant, or has a back, neck, hip or knee problem, or high blood pressure, ask your doctor or midwife before you try these poses.
Which yoga poses can two people do?
1. Back-to-back breathing
Sit cross-legged with your backs touching, on a folded towel if that helps. Close your eyes if you are somewhere safe. Feel each other’s ribs move, and let your breathing slow down over ten breaths. Start and finish every session with this.
Easier: sit on low cushions or with your legs stretched out.
2. Partner seated twist
Sit cross-legged, back to back. Breathe in and sit tall. Breathe out and turn gently to your right, placing your right hand on your partner’s left knee and your left hand on your own right knee. Hold for five breaths, then change sides.
Easier: both turn only as far as is comfortable, with your hands resting on your own knees.
3. Seated forward bend with hands held
Sit facing each other with your legs wide and your feet touching, or knees bent if that is kinder. Hold each other’s forearms. One person tips forward from the hips while the other leans back only as far as feels easy. Swap after five breaths.
Easier: bend your knees and sit on folded towels, moving just a few centimetres.
4. Twin tree
Stand side by side with your inner arms around each other’s waists or holding hands. Both stand on your inner foot and place your outer sole on your ankle, calf or thigh, never on the knee. Stay for five breaths, then face the other way.
Easier: keep your toes on the ground, and hold hands instead of leaning.
5. Back-to-back chair
Stand with your backs together and your feet a step in front of you. Press lightly against each other and bend your knees a little, as if sitting on a high stool. Stay for three breaths, then stand up together, slowly.
Easier: bend only a little. Stop if either knee hurts, and keep your thighs well above level.
6. Temple pose
Face each other about a leg’s length apart, and rest your hands on each other’s shoulders. Tip forward from your hips with soft knees until your backs are long and your arms are straight. Do not press down on your partner. Stay for five breaths, then walk in to come up.
Easier: stand closer and rest your hands on each other’s upper arms.
7. Partner boat
Sit facing each other with your knees bent and your toes touching. Hold hands outside your legs. Lean back slightly and lift one foot to meet your partner’s in the air. Add the second foot only if your backs stay long. Stay for three breaths.
Easier: keep one foot, or both feet, on the ground.
End by lying side by side in corpse pose for a few minutes. It is the most pleasant part of the session, especially after a warm evening.
Where can you practise as a pair in Malta?
Choose flat, firm ground above all else. Balancing together on uneven rock is a good way to twist an ankle, and hard ground is unkind to knees, so take a mat or thick towel each.
| Spot | Good for | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Mellieħa Park | Open ground in the north, where Malta Yoga classes already meet | A public space, so you may share it with a class or other visitors |
| Ta’ Qali National Park | Open space in the centre of the island, near Attard | A popular picnic spot, so go early at weekends |
| Buskett Gardens | Shade under the trees of Malta’s main woodland, near Rabat | Roots and uneven paths, so stay seated |
| Manoel Island and the Sliema seafront | Easy to reach, with open-air classes close by | Busy with walkers, and hard ground underfoot |
| Sandy beaches such as Mellieħa Bay | Seated poses on the firmer sand | Soft sand makes twin tree and chair much harder |
| Qbajjar, Gozo | Where Yellow Rock Yoga holds most outdoor classes | Its class locations change with the wind |
Stay well away from cliff edges and low rocks where waves are breaking. Our outdoor yoga guide has more on quieter places and what the different winds do.
How do heat and timing change partner yoga?
Two people holding on to each other get hot quickly. Between June and September, go before 09:00 or close to sunset, and take more water than you think you need. By mid-morning in July, exposed rock and sand are uncomfortable, and an empty beach at sunrise is far more pleasant anyway.
Sun cream is the local hazard nobody mentions. It makes hands and forearms slippery just when you need a safe grip, so put it on well before you start and wipe your palms, or use a towel between your hands. Sweat does the same on humid days.
Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons, and on a calm winter day the middle of the afternoon can be lovely. Wind matters more with two, because it is harder to hold a shared balance in gusts. If the north-westerly is blowing, go to the east side of the island. In a grigal from the north-east, try inland instead. If either of you feels dizzy or sick, stop and find some shade.
Are there partner or acro yoga classes in Malta?
Not that we can find. None of the providers in our directory lists a regular partner or acro class, so do not travel for one without confirming first. These are the nearest options.
- A shared private session. Yellow Rock Yoga in Gozo lists 75 minutes at €50 for one person and €75 for two, and a location surcharge may apply. Other teachers may agree to the same, so ask them whether they would include partner work. See who offers private lessons.
- A session by the sea. Yoga with Una arranges one-hour outdoor sessions by location, and Airbnb bookings take up to seven guests aged 10 and over.
- Going to class together. A group class usually costs €10 to €25 each. Freemyme’s monthly unlimited membership in Sliema includes one guest pass a month, which is an easy way to bring someone along.
- A shared outing. Yoga Malta lists sunset sailing yoga, and Heritage Malta’s Echoes of Calm has held occasional sessions at historic sites. Neither is partner yoga, but both are memorable to do together.
Workshops come and go, so look at what’s on from time to time. If you see acro advertised, check the teacher’s experience and ask how spotting works before you agree to be lifted.