Written Overview of Loop

Sam Stephens

1. What are the easy to remember ingredients of the loop? (this could be movements, actions, images)

The basic movements could be broken down into

· Seated straddle

· Cobra pose

· (shoulder roll/stand for more advanced iteration)

· X-pose/bridge

2. Describe your process. How did you choose the parts? How was your experience leading up to filming this? What did you need to do to get into the right state of body/mind/spirit to Flow?

I chose my loop through experimentation with connecting different positions and finding what resonated with my body. Different music pacing and cues led to positional exploration, while I tried to keep the basic elements visible simple before I built onto it. Leading up to filming this, I explored this loop in different settings and with different obstructions (poles, dogs, people, etc.).

Getting into the right state of mind was a matter of time, repetition, and isolation from distractions.

3. What felt good (or provided a healthy challenge) in this loop video experience?

A healthy challenge came from maintaining spacing from walls and poles, which forced me to change directionality or take care as I moved throughout my space. It felt good though because it introduced different pushing/pulling or shifting of body parts to keep in flow while introducing variation in unintentional ways.

4. If there is ONE thing that you would do differently, what is it?

Pause more (then maybe rock in that pause).

5. What did you learn from this experience that you will apply to your own training or teaching?

Exploration is a great way to discover what works for my body, but different variations is a great way to provide a level-appropriate challenge for all bodies, be it from mobility, strength, space, body arrangement, or who knows what else (still figuring that bit out  ).