1. Describe your process. Why did you choose your project? Why did you choose this method for sharing it?
I am currently really curious about combining a Floor Flow loop with Animal Flow. Going back-and-forth between the two movements. I started with a simple loop & went through it on both sides twice. Then I would go through a flow I had already decided on of Animal Flow movements, going through it both sides twice. Then back to the Floor Flow loop & so forth.
I am curious about what juxtaposing the two forms of movements helps elicit in someone’s movement as well as how it influences their emotional & mental state. Floor Flow is much more fluid, there’s more permission to move how your body desires in the transitions. Animal Flow is a very specific system with technical nuances in each movement that the body needs to do.
2.. What felt good (or provided a healthy challenge) in creating this project?
I taught this back-and-forth in a recent class of mine. I found participants liked the ‘break’ that the loop provided after doing a more rigid & muscular Animal Flow effort.
I think the challenge would be moving in & out of a more fluid flow state to a more rigid, exact movement state. The contrast between the two forms of movement might initially feel disruptive to some.
3. What do you think your project offers the viewer/participat? (Tools for accessing a Flow state, more awareness of the floor, etc. )
I was surprised to find that after going through an Animal Flow segment, it seemed much easier for my body to drop more readily into fluid movement, more into a Flow state & less thinking about ‘getting it right’.
I am still wanting to explore this concept of juxtaposing the 2 movements but I think the Animal Flow gives the mind an opportunity to work as you are consciously thinking of hitting each movement precisely. The fact that the mind has a ‘job’ I think helps a person access more of a Flow state &/or feel more connection from the ground when going back in their loop. I also think it has something to do with having more of a muscular response & work, meaning since the muscles just worked hard ‘were amped up’, the body can more readily let go of tension & melt into the support of the ground beneath it.
4. If there is ONE thing that you would do differently, what is it?
Bring more attention to breath, both in myself & when participants were moving through this. In a later round, asking them to sync breath with movement.
5. What did you learn from this experience that you will apply to your own training or teaching?
I keep coming back to simple is more. The simpler a loop is or an Animal Flow sequence is, the more opportunity there is to invite participants into exploring different qualities of movement, to explore their breath. When more & more complexity of movement is layered on, it brings folks more into their head & provides less opportunity for someone to access a Flow state or even to have a more enjoyable movement experience.
I played with combining a Floor Flow loop with Animal Flow (Quadrupedal Movement Training). I am curious about the immediate back-and-forth juxtaposition of a more fluid open loop followed by a predetermined Animal Flow, where you are still moving in multiple planes of movement but are more specific & rigid in your positions. In the video, I go through the loop twice on both sides, then go through the Animal Flow twice on both sides, then repeat.