Animal Flow

What is Animal Flow?

If you were to watch someone practice Animal Flow it may look like yoga meets break dancing meets some form of dance.

Animal Flow is quadrupedal movement training (QMT). This system will build your strength, power, flexibility, mobility, & coordination all at the same time.

Animal Flow includes a range of movements & combinations that are grouped into the ‘Six Components’, each designed to elicit specific results. The Six Components can be mixed & matched in many ways, allowing you to incorporate one, some, or all of them in your own workouts.

Animal Flow is not:

• You may think it’s all about animals but that’s not the intention of the system.
• The intention is how to utilize the human animal and increase the overall communication within one’s body.

Most of us spend the majority of our time moving in one plane of movement. Typically, the sagittal plane. In our everyday movements, as well as in our physical activity, we move forward, and perhaps, we occasionally move backward.

This linear movement habituation is a huge piece of what leads to rigidity, pain, & lack of mobility.

The fascia is not linear. It is a spider web-like matrix that weaves through your body enveloping the superficial, outer layers as well as supporting you from your deepest most internal layers.

The fascia has both elastic & fibrous properties.

We need both.

What happens with continuous fixed movement in one plane, injuries, postural patterning, etc, is that your fascia becomes overly fibrous & rigid in areas, causing you to lose range-of-motion, space, & ease of movement.

I am a firm believer in the power of movement. It has the potential to help elevate all spectrums of ourselves: the physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual.

What becomes possible in your life when you move each day in all directions? Taking the time to connect deeply with your body & nervous system & expressing yourself by creating different shapes?

We need to twirl more. We need to spiral more. These movements make the fascia delightfully happy. They lubricate our systems. They invite in more potential.

Animal Flow is an incredibly smart system that enables you to move in this way. It is a versatile practice of multi-planar movement with the intention of improving the functionality of the ‘human animal.’

I am currently teaching a weekly in-person class at a local gym in Boulder for their members. I also will be starting to host some in-person park Animal Flow jams as well as teach small group classes and online classes. If you would like to stay in the loop for upcoming class schedule, email me at emily@wishallwellness.com.

How is it different from yoga?

Yoga is more passive stretching

Animal Flow is more active; tension points designed to increase strength & mobility

Some movements look like yoga but when you try it, you will feel it is quite different

 Can I do animal flow if I don’t have awesome mobility *yet*?

Yes!! Animal Flow will support you in increasing your mobility, so it is a great place to start.

Each movement in Animal Flow requires movement in multiple planes, which results in joints moving in multiple angles, which with time and repetition leads to an increase in mobility.

If I have limitations, can I still do animal flow?

Yes, Animal Flow is designed to meet your body where it’s at, meaning there are a myriad of both regressions and progressions to make movements easier or harder.

You will simply want to let the instructor know at the start of class any limitations you may have so they can best support you with any necessary regressions of movements.

Do I need any equipment to do animal flow?

Nope, you just need your body and the ground 🙂

I want more animal flow- how can I add it to my routine more?

Animal Flow can be a great thing to incorporate into your warm-up routine or between strength sets. Once you learn a few of the movements and how to loop them together, you can intentionally add into your exercise routine.

Animal flow is really hard for me, how do I get better?

Keep coming back! Animal Flow is a practice, and like and practice, if you want to get better you have to keep practicing.

 What about my wrists? I’m worried about how much load and pressure is put on my wrists in Animal Flow.

This is a really valid concern as Animal Flow is exclusively on the ground, on your hands and feet. Because of this, we begin and end each and every class with wrist mobility, helping to warm up and lubricate the wrist joint. You will be taught a movement that you can do throughout the class as well that we call the ‘wrist relief position’ to continue to help your wrists adapt.

Similar to the question of how do you get better with Animal Flow, in regards to increasing the strength and mobility of your wrists, you need to keep using them, they will adapt and grow stronger. And in the process, it is important to begin to incorporate a wrist mobility routine.