FFTT - Loop Overview
1) What are the easy to remember ingredients of your loop?
Basic:
Supine Resting butterfly
Prone arm sweep
Seated Folded star
Seated Knee lift to knee drop
Progression Part 1:
Supine Resting Butterfly
Leg swing
Prone Arm Sweep
Seated Folded star
Seated knee lift to knee drop
Kneeling leg switch
Roll back
Progression Part 2:
Supine Resting Butterfly
Leg Swing
Prone Arm Sweep
Seated Folded Star
Seated Knee lift to Knee drop
Kneeling leg switch
Undulating kneeling lunge
Back roll
Shoulder pivot
2) Describe your process.
Initially, I had grand plans of building a loop around front, side and back rolls. Rolls are a skill that I’d like to improve in my own practice and also in my teaching. So I started reviewing FFTT class vids to become more aware of what my hesitations have been around diving into these skills. Neck and head stuff has always made me nervous and over the years, I’ve realized that regardless of the awareness around those fears, I’d force myself into learning without really listening to any of the red flags that would come up.
In reviewing the FFTT material, I was able to become aware of some bad habits and it was very helpful and hopeful but I decided to shift my grand plan to something more simple - and more importantly, something that made me feel better. I think the combination of rolling to learn and unlearn - build and rebuild made me miss the experience of the floor. This was a GREAT lesson for me because I listened to what my body was calling for not what I thought the loop should look like.
Since the rolling was a little disorienting and I knew I needed to reset my nervous system, I started by lying down on my back and felt how my back body had been supported by the floor. Simply hearing the words in my mind that you’ve said before, “Let the floor hold you. Feel the ground beneath you” helped me to find my breath, slow down and allow for exploration to happen. Beautiful movement in flow reveals a seamless connection to breath, awareness, presence and continuity and so at this point in my learning process, beginning in a supine position and moving through side, prone -adding swinging and swirling positions helped me to feel those connections. I noticed that when I would speed up the tempo, I was not as aware or clear of the endpoint shapes. It became “muddy” movement. A former dance teacher once said to me, “Always clearly begin and complete movement or a phrase.” And this showed up in putting together this loop. Presencing to prepare my body, becoming aware of my contact points and breathing helped me to slow everything down.
How did you choose the parts?
A great takeaway from the small group work, feedback and learning from viewing your movement has been the “cause and effect” experience. I really wanted to challenge that aspect of my learning with the parts that I choose. Using the floor as an apparatus helped me to build the parts. I wanted to feel the significance of resistance into flow so that I could understand the crescendo of the phrase. Identifying contact points in Supine position is probably one of the easiest ways to begin. Feeling the perimeter around me with arm swoops helped me identify how I use space and time. Seated folded star is one that feels centering and accessible for my body. It’s also one that helps me to transition pretty well to other movements. As I progressed the loop, I knew I wanted to add some type of roll in keeping a promise to challenge myself with that skill. And that particular roll felt most natural to add to the end of the loop.
How was your experience leading up to filming this?
I’d say I second guessed myself about the contents of the flow, the filming of the flow, the music, my abilities and maybe even what I was wearing a whooolllee lot! I think I was trying to come from a perfection perspective vs experiential. This was good for me to notice because everything that I’ve been learning in FFTT classes has more to do with the possibility aspect than nailing anything per se. And in just re-watching the videos, I see the value of that as a student and would want the same for mine.
One thing that was very helpful was to connect with my FFTT group. We had a brief Zoom meetup to discuss how things were coming along and then texted one another our flows for feedback. Super helpful. I personally always do better when I engage some type of community.
What did you need to do to get in the right state of mind/body/spirit to Flow?
I needed to remove myself from exterior distractions and set up my environment in ways that would calm me. Connecting and settling into the floor by finding stillness from supine position were necessary in helping me to set a gentle, slow pace when experimenting. Another key component for me was to scan my body and give my nervous system permission to settle the weight of my body to the floor. I’d listen to specific music selections to find inspiration. I even needed to take off my yoga stretch pants and wear something that wasn’t suffocating me!
Simple as it may seem that choice goes a long way for me!
What felt good or provided a healthy challenge?
One of the things right off the bat that felt good and challenging was slowing the whole thing down. Even when I thought I was moving slowly, I’d check the video and see that was not the case. Slowing down movement is so much like being still during meditation. The stillness and focus on just breath, inevitably brings the monkey mind into focus. So when the loop would speed up, I had to ask myself “why”. “Why you flying through this lady? What are you trying to avoid? Were my expectations too high? Was I putting too much pressure on myself to make it perfect? Yep. All of it.
It also felt very satisfying to move in whirling, circular motions.
If you could do one thing differently, what would it be?
I think I’d experiment more with my torso during the kneeling leg switch. I feel I could have opened that space up a bit.
What did you learn from this experience that you would apply to your own training/teaching?
To utilize breath and rely on slow exploration to inform creativity and authentic movement.