We admit that some of us have had fantasies of trapeze artistry after reading Water For Elephants, but thankfully, we just discovered a happy medium with anti-gravity yoga.

With the help of a hanging hammock, we can escape the tired old yoga mat and literally hover above it. You'd be surprised what kind of things our bodies can do when not bound to the ground. While we still get to keep our favourite yoga positions, like the re-imagined Downward Dog, we are also introduced to some new gems like the Cocoon, with the complete bliss of floating in the breeze, nothing but you and your hammock.

Why stand when you can float? —Anya Georgijevic

$240 for 6 weeks at Steve Nash Fitness World, 610 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-682-5213, www.stevenashfitnessclubs.com

As kids, we loved summer camp. These days, we’d rather pass on bunk beds and communal showers.

But making new friends on an island getaway? That we can get onboard with. Amrita Yoga’s Summer Bliss Camp is sleep-away camp all grown up. It’s four days of yoga, swimming, hiking, kayaking and bonfires at Galiano Island’s picturesque Bodega Ridge. We were at their first sold-out retreat and our sore muscles can attest to the fact that it was a blast.

Even without the popsicle-stick arts and crafts. —KD

Amrita Yoga’s Summer Bliss Camp takes place July 29-August 1, from $645 per person, http://amritayoga.ca/retreats

A stinky, slippery towel is dogging our downward-facing dog.

So we were pleased as Prana to hear about Baktuli yoga towels. Designed by Henry Mah, a Vancouver visual artist and yoga enthusiast, the mat-sized towels are anti-bacterial, absorbent and easy to grip.

We love that they’re also emblazoned with mantras like “Some like it hot,” for Bikram believers and “Everything in its right place,” for those who pay reverence to Radiohead.

$48 at Fine Finds, 1014 Mainland St., Vancouver, 604-669-8325 or online www.baktuli.com

To our chagrin, walking a mile in ballerina shoes won’t get you the lean, strong bod of one.

But getting us closer to the barre they’ve set is the Dailey Method. Developed by San Franciscan Jill Dailey, it combines ballet, Pilates and yoga to lengthen, strengthen and tone the whole body (in other words, we worked muscles we never knew we had).

Certified instructors and sisters Karen and Jey Wyder are set to open a private studio in Vancouver soon, but until then you can join in on their regular sessions at the Centre for Peace or try a complimentary class at Lululemon locations this month.

For class info visit the Forum, call 604-290-3238 or email vancouver@thedaileymethod.com.

www.thedaileymethod.com

The Flow Yoga studio at Burrard and Smithe has a new lotus on life.

Partnering with YYoga, the new centre has stretched out from its former 1,800 square feet to six times the size. Offering 150 classes every week from Anusara to Yin (and even a yoga-spinning class called YRide), the  green-designed space, now named Flow Wellness, also offers services like massage therapy, chiropractic care and acupuncture to work out your other kinks.

Add in a tea lounge (pictured), health food bar, infrared sauna and eco-boutique, and our downward dog is happiest downtown.

Flow Wellness, 888 Burrard St., Vancouver, 604-682-3569, www.yyoga.ca

While some will be tempted to abandon their warm weather fitness routines, those with bigger plans will be keeping their svelte summer figures ready for winter vacations in tropical climates.

A surefire way to keep the motivation going? A retreat to Galiano Island with the yoga stars from Semperviva.

A quick ferry ride and $445 will get you 2 nights accommodation, vegetarian meals, yoga classes, hikes and either kayaking or a boat cruise. They’ll even collect you from the ferry dock and whisk you to your wilderness cabins. You can opt for morning meditations (but we choose to sleep in) and massages are available for extra tired bodies.

We spent the weekend making new friends, breathing fresh island air and learning some new poses. And after a few downward dogs, we were newly devoted to those toned muscles we earned—and planning a Maui getaway for January.

Next Galiano retreats: October 3, 2008 and April 24, 2009.

For more info visit http://www.semperviva.com/galiano.php

Experience the insider’s Eat, Pray, Love tour of Bali when you stay at Desa Seni, an eco-luxe village resort situated in the southwestern tip of the island amidst lush rice paddy fields and organic gardens.

We enjoyed our post-yoga haze while sipping on fresh ginger-lemongrass tea as we lounged on our antique Balinese day bed in Rumah Widjah, (Rumah is Indonesian for house), our favourite of the ten lovingly restored, Javanese villas that dot the property’s landscape.

Bliss was all we tasted when we downed some more of the creamy black-rice, coconut and sesame pudding after yet another soak in the salt-water pool and mulled over our only question—whether or not to try a traditional therapeutic massage with famed Balinese healer Pak Sami at the spa.

Our advice, do.

www.desaseni.com

Desa Seni is located near Canggu, Bali, about 40 minutes from Denpasar International Airport and a short walk from the Canggu Beach surf break.

A yoga class is at least a two-hour commitment, let's be honest. And some of us (ahem) are afraid of commitment.

But these new downloadable 5-minute yoga podcasts, designed to be done at your kitchen counter while your morning coffee brews or desk side while you wait for a conference call, are something all of us can fit in.

And you should see us do them in stilettos!

Listen to a free sample podcast at www.yogaon7th.com