Flow Arts Warmup and Cool Down

Building A Professional Flow Arts Team – Part Five

The team is set. You have props, and people with enthusiasm in their eyes for learning, growing, and performing together. Now you’d think the next step is to set up regular sessions and jump right in, right?

Yes! Though, take it in stride, and take it back to the foundation first.

Incorporate flow arts warmup and cool-down

Once you’ve got your team group established and a vision in mind for moving forward, it’s easy to get ahead of yourself. Trust us on this one, guiding group warmups and cool-downs brings an immense amount of value to your team.

First of all, before gathering for practice, each team member is likely coming from a unique and different environment. One person in your team could be coming from a long day at work, or waking up from a nap, excited about a new trick they’ve mastered and can’t wait to show it off. It can be a lot of random energies being pulled into the group, simply be where everyone came from just ten minutes before. The point here is that doing a group warmup will harmonize everyone and hone in together to bring about an equilibrium; a balanced, grounded, and yet heightened and focused vibration shared amongst the group rather equally.

Secondly, doing a flow arts warmup and cool down assists our muscle memory to further activate and integrate new tricks. When we take the time to breathe consciously and move through all the muscles, joints, and ligaments used in flow arts, we allow ourselves the perfect amount of time to get back into the zone mentally before jumping right in with your prop in hand. Take these moments to visualize yourself doing tricks perfectly, flowing smoothly, and performing as a professional.

Lastly, doing warmups and cool-downs increases your overall health, awareness, and decreases your injury potential. Flow arts can be intense on the body, particularly arms, wrists, hands, and shoulders. Though all motions comes from the core, so take this opportunity, even if it’s just for ten minutes, to breathe and move consciously, activate yourself internally before channeling that flow outwardly.

What kind of warmups and cool-downs can we do? 

We prefer to incorporate QiGong and standing yoga. The QiGong brings about a greater sense of awareness of the energy flowing within and around us. We start with proper standing posture, or “ready position”, then cultivating “qi” or life force energy, and using it to smooth out the energy fields of the being.

The yoga brings about a greater sense of dexterity with the body. We typically work our way up, or down the body, rotating and lubricating every joint in preparation for full body flow, new tricks, or wherever the practice takes us. For assistance in guiding warmups and cool downs, check out our tutorials, reach out, and begin designing your own!

Hula Hooping Warm-up video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhfG1IXnhv8

Poi Warm-up video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNTXINHh6Q0

Keep growing, flowing, and glowing,

with effervescent ease,

–Liora of Infinite Comings
A Sacred Flow Art Community Blogger

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