This is one of my favorite stretches:
At the bottom of an externally rotated toe-balance squat, with your heels just under your sit bones (1st position grande plié for the ballet speakers), grab onto your knees. Pull your knees outward as you press your knees into your hands. Lengthen your lower back then puff your chest and look upwards. This requires major ankle stability and a lot of upper back activation.
Photo by Pole Ninja Photography.
Hi Friends:
I see so many social media posts of movement journeys accompanied with a flexibility complaint. I’d like to discuss the motives behind these negative comments to gain a more evolved perspective on our capacity for movement.
Comment #1
“This would be good if it wasn’t for my (insert body part)”. Please stop blaming your body parts for your perceived shortcomings. You ARE your movement. Your shoulders have not wronged you. Your hamstrings are not total assholes. Perhaps it’s life-long movement patterns demobilizing parts of you. Perhaps you’ve suffered injury because of how you chose (consciously or not) to use it. Now, you want your body to function in a new or long-forgotten capacity. (Structural deformities and accidents are different, but still, blame doesn’t lead to healthy movement). Blaming your body reveals a detached relationship with…. yourself.
We are training our physique every possible micro-second of our lives. Even if you don’t consider your drive home or screen time to be ‘training’, it actually is. Like a creepily placed Facebook ad, the body (like Facebook) is constantly encoding our patterns. Our breath, positioning, and thoughts, are essentially imprinted in our brains and body tissues for future use. (If this sounds like cray-cray hippy talk, look into the works of Katy Bowman, Jill Miller, Tod Hargrove and Thomas Meyers). Our 90 minute stretch sessions will never override the effects of our lifestyles. Yes, we can see flexibility gains from a few sessions a week, but the power of the other 22.5 hours a day is greater. This is not my opinion; it is science.
Comment #2
“I need to start working on flexibility.” Do you? Do you NEED to? Or do you just feel compelled to say that you need to because you are judging yourself against your own standards? Now, if it is your soul’s desire to be bendier, do it. Flexibility training can be a beautiful, enlightening, awareness-building journey. I’m simply suggesting that, like a retirement plan, you should know what you are really working towards and what you will *actually* come out with in the end.
Most people, (and I mean all humans, not just humans trying to do crazy stuff on a stick in the air) could use more movement in a few locked-up parts, while learning to be more stable in other parts. Heck, we can all use a greater sense of connection between our core and extremities.
So… How much flexibility do we need to be healthy? Hint: it’s not the same as what’s needed for trending shapes, or to be on par with recently post-pubescent Russians (yes, they are amazing).
There are actual measures of healthy ranges of motion in every joint of the body. When we try to get more movement out of a few joints, rather than healthier movement in all joints, we are quite possibly throwing off a delicate balance between desirable movement and ego-driven movement exploitation.
Some of us are wound super tightly, both in body and mind. Some of us have trouble spots, and then there are those who appear to lack the very things that hold us together—the noodle-people, the globally hyper-mobile. What is global hyper-mobility? There are plenty of very trained examples of this in the ballet and rhythmic world because of their “aesthetically desirable” lines. But even lurking among the sedentary exists the globally hyper-mobile. Hyper-mobility is considered a dysfunction, as in… the body not functioning properly.
I, too, look at rhythmic gymnastics videos and say, “Wow, imagine how impressive I would be if I could casually hit my head on the back of my thigh while doing 10 pirouettes.” But, I look at them differently than I once did. I admire, but I also hope that these young movers are being educated. Their later years look expen$ive as they seek answers and relief from the numerous ailments stemming from excessive motion and deteriorated connective tissues.
Real talk, I worked towards crazy range (ROM) for nearly 20 years, and as a result, I suffered some game-changing injuries that taught me some important lessons.
What would flexibility training (and pole/aerial/dance) look like if it emanated from a steadfast commitment to health and movement longevity? Are we willing to look less impressive, not meet industry standards, or get less likes on our social media if it means less pain and a healthier relationship with our bodies?
What if being excellent, and being a role-model, was about committing to performing and sharing movements that enhance health? The endorphin rush from a new trick is amazing, and it has its benefits. But when we sacrifice balance and form— time and time again— for what we WANT to attain, there is a cost.
I do believe it is possible to be amazing without destroying oneself.
Knowing the WHY behind our goals (and statements) is important. The more we know what supports our WHY, the more real a goal becomes. It is more palpable. Most importantly, we will embody our desire in a way that invites the change to come. For our collective health, please make smart choices about the movements you desire. I want to see all of us moving well for decades upon decades to come. Here is a cute and completely unrelated pic of a turtle offering encouragement....
-M
Have you ever bought any digital tutorials or courses? Or saved videos on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?
Chances are you grabbed them because wanted to remember and LEARN the material.
But, did work through them?
How has it been integrating what you learned into your dancing/living/teaching?
Or, are the videos collecting digital dust...waiting for you to give them a chance?
If you have gathered materials, especially if you PAID for those materials, but haven’t given them the attention you intended, how about getting out your calendar RIGHT NOW and booking yourself some self-learning time?
If you look at any beginner movement class, you'll see widely-varying degrees of bodily awareness. However, regardless of how someone moves, with a little bit of cueing, anyone can feel if they are in contact with the floor or not.
You don’t need skill or imagination to sense your contact with the floor. You may not be paying attention to it most of the time, but it doesn't require anatomical awareness to grasp what 'weight-bearing' is or to notice which of your parts have the most pressure.
Weight bearing is a constant thing (unless you are temporarily airborne, space traveling, or swimming, you are bearing weight, somehow).
Yet, the details of rolling contacts are rarely zeroed in on outside of higher-level movement environments. But...they could be.
The first is called ‘Bodyfulness’ by Boulder author Christine Caldwell. It’s swelling with information for or anyone who’s ready to look at the how and why of how they move. The author founded the Somatic Counseling program at Naropa University and has been in practice for more than thirty years.
She says:
“The body isn’t a thing we have but an experience we are. Bodyfulness is about working toward our potential as a whole human animal that breathes as well as thinks, moves as well as sits still, takes action as well as considers, and exists not because it thinks but because it dances, stretches, bounces, gazes, focuses, and attunes to others.“
Have you been to a dance class that was supposed to be beginner-appropriate or all-levels, but the class progressed in a way that made you want to disappear?
Maybe you had fun the first few minutes when the sequence was short, but then the instructor moved on, and on, and on. With rapidly dwindling confidence, you were left stumbling in the wake of an ever-growing sequence. Perhaps physically you could have done it all, but you needed more time to really 'get it'. It was just too much to remember.
I've been there. In classes and in auditions, I've been there.
You can only stumble around, a count behind everyone else, for so long before you want to shrivel into the corner and become unseen.
When you’re new to a style or form (or even just with a new teacher), learning a lengthy complex piece of choreography (maybe alongside people much younger or more skilled than you) is daunting and often
disheartening. Based on what I've observed, the amount of choreography delivered in many dance classes leaves a LOT of people behind.
In my opinion, if you are still trying to remember the choreo during the last minutes of class, you're missing out on the joy of dancing, the part where the movement starts to carry you and you can transcend who you were when you arrived.
My message is this:
If you flow with a gourd of your choice between now and Nov 5, I’ll send you a code for $5 off any event or video.
How:
Get busy with you pumpkin and catch it on video.
Post at least 15 seconds on FB or IG and tag #pumpkinflow and @flowmovement
Send us a message on either platform with the link to your video and we will send you your discount code.
Yesterday, I witnessed a group movement experience that I was SO glad I was not a part of.
After a month away and a week of living the truck driver life, I got a month-long pass to a nearby gym. It’s primarily a rock-climbing gym, but they have a weight room upstairs.
This particular gym runs some group conditioning classes inside of the weight room. While I was gleefully doing irreverent things on the back extension bench, a voice came over the loudspeaker letting everyone know that “Body Blast with Mr. Blasty Blast” [ok, not his real name] was starting soon. I thought, “Oh nice, I’ll get to see if I would ever want to join the class.” Consensus:
OH NO, I WILL NOT FUCKING EVER. (Unless you pay me. I’d consider it if money were involved.)
A great New Year requires great tunes. Here is a mac-daddy 33 song playlist to get you step-touching, crawling, sliding, and breathing heavily.
Photo by Pole Ninja Photography.
1. Choose three breathy songs with minimal lyrics.
(Suggestions from the December Playlist are listed below.)
2. Assume one of the following positions: seated, supine (laying on your back) with feet on the floor (start of a hip bridge), quadrupedal (all fours), or sitting on your heels.
3. Practice breathing at a slow comfortable pace.
4. Then, follow the rhythm of the music as you...
As you move through the song, focus on moving from your pelvis. Gradually, incorporate body parts you didn’t incorporate before: use your head, your arms, your fingers, and toes. Emphasize the lengthening on the front side of your body as the back side shortens -- and vice versa. When you find spots that offer more resistance, explore them more.
Can you curl so small it is barely visible? Can you make it bigger than you believed it could be?
Song suggestions:
Track #3 - Kareful, "Backwards"
Track #4 - Ash Walker featuring Zeb Samuels, "Blue Veins"
5. Either remain in that position, or change positions for the next song as you...
Isolate the movement to one part of the body; sway the hips, arms, or head as the rest of the body rests. Then gradually, move your head and pelvis together in a side bend. Swish to the other side...like a snake or a cloth in the breeze. Work out the kinks as you follow your breath.
Song suggestions:
Track 5 - Handbook, "Sixteen Lights"
Track 6 - George Fitzgerald, "Full Circle" featuring Boxed In (Bonobo Remix)
6. Finally,
for the entirety of the third song.
Can you do it only with the thighs, the head, or the hands? Feel the floor beneath you and the space around you as your circles become strong and continuous. Reverse your circle and see what it offers.
Song suggestions:
Track 7 - Bluetech, "Phoenix Rising"
Track 8 - OBESØN, "Friend To An Enemy [NEST HQ Premiere]
As you repeat the patterns over and over again, you may drift into new positions. This is ok!
Focus on moving as a result of your breath. Begin small, subtle and easy. Gradually express full range of motion as you move.
There are no wrong answers, as it is an exploration. You think you look weird? Great, you are doing it right. Keep going. You feel sexy? Fantastic, exactly. You feel stiff? Beautiful, move through that.
Heightened focus brings greater results, so focus IN, and feel the space around you.
Enjoy, and share your discoveries....
“I don’t do balls,” I used to say.
Like many other dancers I knew growing up, I formed an identity around being a dancer with no interest in activities involving balls, pucks, paddles, etc. (unless I was dancing with it).
In high school, I almost failed P.E. class because I flat-out refused to participate in any sports activity. As a result, in later years, whenever someone would throw me a ball I’d duck away rather than catch it, or if I did attempt a catch, it would be in a stiff and panicky state. It was embarrassing.
Ki’ilani (seen in the video) changed my relationship with catching. She loves balls more than anyone I’ve ever met. Every trip to a large store includes a visit to the sports aisle to feel balls. She even keeps a ball in her pocket for comfort tossing. One of our quarantine activities has been ‘dance catch.’
Have you ever bought any digital tutorials or courses? Or saved videos on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?
Chances are you grabbed them because wanted to remember and LEARN the material.
But, did work through them?
How has it been integrating what you learned into your dancing/living/teaching?
Or, are the videos collecting digital dust...waiting for you to give them a chance?
If you have gathered materials, especially if you PAID for those materials, but haven’t given them the attention you intended, how about getting out your calendar RIGHT NOW and booking yourself some self-learning time?
If you look at any beginner movement class, you'll see widely-varying degrees of bodily awareness. However, regardless of how someone moves, with a little bit of cueing, anyone can feel if they are in contact with the floor or not.
You don’t need skill or imagination to sense your contact with the floor. You may not be paying attention to it most of the time, but it doesn't require anatomical awareness to grasp what 'weight-bearing' is or to notice which of your parts have the most pressure.
Weight bearing is a constant thing (unless you are temporarily airborne, space traveling, or swimming, you are bearing weight, somehow).
Yet, the details of rolling contacts are rarely zeroed in on outside of higher-level movement environments. But...they could be.
The first is called ‘Bodyfulness’ by Boulder author Christine Caldwell. It’s swelling with information for or anyone who’s ready to look at the how and why of how they move. The author founded the Somatic Counseling program at Naropa University and has been in practice for more than thirty years.
She says:
“The body isn’t a thing we have but an experience we are. Bodyfulness is about working toward our potential as a whole human animal that breathes as well as thinks, moves as well as sits still, takes action as well as considers, and exists not because it thinks but because it dances, stretches, bounces, gazes, focuses, and attunes to others.“
Have you been to a dance class that was supposed to be beginner-appropriate or all-levels, but the class progressed in a way that made you want to disappear?
Maybe you had fun the first few minutes when the sequence was short, but then the instructor moved on, and on, and on. With rapidly dwindling confidence, you were left stumbling in the wake of an ever-growing sequence. Perhaps physically you could have done it all, but you needed more time to really 'get it'. It was just too much to remember.
I've been there. In classes and in auditions, I've been there.
You can only stumble around, a count behind everyone else, for so long before you want to shrivel into the corner and become unseen.
When you’re new to a style or form (or even just with a new teacher), learning a lengthy complex piece of choreography (maybe alongside people much younger or more skilled than you) is daunting and often
disheartening. Based on what I've observed, the amount of choreography delivered in many dance classes leaves a LOT of people behind.
In my opinion, if you are still trying to remember the choreo during the last minutes of class, you're missing out on the joy of dancing, the part where the movement starts to carry you and you can transcend who you were when you arrived.
My message is this:
If you flow with a gourd of your choice between now and Nov 5, I’ll send you a code for $5 off any event or video.
How:
Get busy with you pumpkin and catch it on video.
Post at least 15 seconds on FB or IG and tag #pumpkinflow and @flowmovement
Send us a message on either platform with the link to your video and we will send you your discount code.
Yesterday, I witnessed a group movement experience that I was SO glad I was not a part of.
After a month away and a week of living the truck driver life, I got a month-long pass to a nearby gym. It’s primarily a rock-climbing gym, but they have a weight room upstairs.
This particular gym runs some group conditioning classes inside of the weight room. While I was gleefully doing irreverent things on the back extension bench, a voice came over the loudspeaker letting everyone know that “Body Blast with Mr. Blasty Blast” [ok, not his real name] was starting soon. I thought, “Oh nice, I’ll get to see if I would ever want to join the class.” Consensus:
OH NO, I WILL NOT FUCKING EVER. (Unless you pay me. I’d consider it if money were involved.)
It's the last month of 2015! Whoa. I remember when the year 2000 was unfathomable. Here are some tracks from artists I've been moving and decluttering to....
Here is the first ever monthly song playlist! Each month, I am going to introduce you to 10 or so songs that I like to move to and teach to. Expect a blend of higher energy dance songs to get you warm, sexy, deep, moody tracks, and ambient breathy songs. Let me know which ones work for you and if it led you to any new discoveries.
All up in my Kindle at the Denver airport
I usually read full books, but out of curiosity I read the 15 min summary of the "Motivation Manifesto" by Brendon Burchard. I will never go for a summary over the experience of reading the book again. I felt like I was cheating on the author. Plus, similar to someone telling you about how good a class was, secondhand info can never replace what you may have learned from having the experience yourself.
Anyway, that’s not what I am writing about, there was a quote in there that struck a cord....
"Waiting for the perfect day to initiate change is essentially the same as choosing never to start, because perfect opportunities are so few and far between.”
If you keep hearing yourself say “I should …..,” either take steps to make it happen ASAP, or have an honest talk with yourself about why that thing is not actually very important. It will probably never be done.
Harsh? maybe. But I’m here to fuel your fire.
You are probably subscribed to Flow Movement because you are interested in moving better. Perfect, I can help with that. But first, in what ways do you let opportunities for movement improvement pass you by?
Take a minute to think it over.
Movement improvement can happen at any time -- not just during designated training times.
Here are a few tiny things you can do NOW
(and over and over again/always) to improve your movement quality:
**Place one hand on your belly and one on the center of your chest. Check in with your breath. If you do not feel your abdomen move for the first 2/3 of your inhalation, and the chest for the last third, try to relax your airways and allow natural, three dimensional breath movement to happen. Go for belly expansion with a soft chest and throat.
**Check in with the alignment of your head. You are reading this, but how are you holding yourself while reading this? Chronic forward head posture is a major stressor to your musical-skeletal system with repercussions ranging from chronic pain to lack of flexibility/strength and even negative emotions. It’s worthwhile for you to become conscious of the relationship between your head and shoulders.
**Immediately after reading this go to the closest wall or floor and have two minutes of you time. Breathe, stretch, and explore. Scan your body for muscles that could use some blood flow and pump them up. Focus on what you feel. Stay with what needs more attention.
Short on ideas? I don’t believe that -- you have made it this far....Start with anything: move your head, your pelvis; squeeze your glutes; make yourself long. If you still need help, check out some videos HERE.
Zombie handstands are all the rage so I flipped it over and became a zombie crab....The reclined heel sit position is one of my favorite quad stretches and the crab position is one of my favorite shoulder stabilizing/ front line lengthening moves. Together they are challenging and perfect for a morning in the Philippines : ).
Start lying flat on your back and slide your heels in. Then, slide your shoulders towards your heels by reaching your knees forward towards the ground (to get to the start position shown here) for full zombie status.
I'll be posting more videos like this on the Flow Movement Facebook page.
Cradle Mountain, Tasmania.
Tasmania is a heart-shaped Australian island-state. Most of the people are centered in the two main cities, which leaves the rest of the country pretty wild. Cradle Mountain (the upper west side), sees a good number of tourists who come for the animals and hiking.
When choosing a trail, we chose the one that said “unpredictable, steep, dangerous and not recommended”…perfect! That particular path allowed us to get to the top in well under an hour while others took 2-3. On the way down, this eucalyptus tree caught our attention. Naturally, things that catch our attention get mounted in some way. It took some acrobatics to get me up there. Passing tourists said “look at that koala!” (me). On the way down, I was thankful for the wise instructions of my companion. Sliding down trees is always a bad idea, especially in your favorite burgundy Flow Movement pants.
Photo by Pole Ninja Photography.
“I don’t do balls,” I used to say.
Like many other dancers I knew growing up, I formed an identity around being a dancer with no interest in activities involving balls, pucks, paddles, etc. (unless I was dancing with it).
In high school, I almost failed P.E. class because I flat-out refused to participate in any sports activity. As a result, in later years, whenever someone would throw me a ball I’d duck away rather than catch it, or if I did attempt a catch, it would be in a stiff and panicky state. It was embarrassing.
Ki’ilani (seen in the video) changed my relationship with catching. She loves balls more than anyone I’ve ever met. Every trip to a large store includes a visit to the sports aisle to feel balls. She even keeps a ball in her pocket for comfort tossing. One of our quarantine activities has been ‘dance catch.’