Free "aboriginal" movement flow in the Australian wilderness. What is freedom of movement?
In the last movement flow video and article we talked about how in the free flow there is no right or wrong way to move: as long as you are moving and expressing yourself, you are doing it right.
However, there are parts that can make you better at moving and as a result make the experience more enjoyable.
The first part of freedom of movement is having freedom in your own head.
Freedom in your head is about giving up the external criteria for movement, it's about being present in the moment and just seeing where your body will take you without knowing everything beforehand.
This freedom is also called courage. Many of us are so concerned about what other people think and doing things the "right way" that we restrain and inhibit ourselves not just in training but also in our daily life.
To reach the next level in anything you do, you have to do things outside the norm. Looking weird and silly is part of the game sometimes - if you never stand out, you are never trying out something new.
This is not just related to flow but training in general. Many times when you visit the gym, you see plenty of women doing all sorts of exercises for their legs and these women are brave because they don't only stick to conventional exercises.
There is fundamentally no "woman movement" or "man movement" - we are all humans. One big barrier for men is to start doing "girly" training for their legs - this means leg raises and training all parts of the legs.
We have tried almost anything and don't really care what other people think. If we only did what other men expected of us, we would be doing nothing but bench press and bicep curls - with weights way too heavy of course.
To make real progress in training, you have to take the risk to look weak (small weights) and unconventional (new exercises).
To have the ability to move freely without restrictions, you have to give up even more: all standards, all criteria and all rules. You just have to move.
The best dancer on the dance floor is rarely the one with the fanciest skills, but the one who is the most in tune with the music and who is dancing with the most spirit and passion.
Dance at the highest level is flow. Lifting weights at the highest level is flow. Everything at the highest level is flow!
The second part for freedom of movement is having a body that is supple and open. This is not a strict requirement, but will make flowing and moving more enjoyable to do.
Children move amazingly well and they don't necessarily know anything. They are free in their head and free in their body.
Strengthening and loosening up the body will make moving a more comfortable experience and give you more options. However, if you have restrictions in the body - just move within the restrictions.
One of the best feelings in life is to see progress in your body and ability to move. You will learn this immediately once you just start moving. After training some time, you notice big and subtle improvements everywhere in the body.
Progress is addictive and will make everything more fun. Once you start moving, you also notice how fun it is and realize the hardest part was just the start.
Your technique and coordination will make a difference too. The more movements you can do, the more options and possibilities you have.
When you move, you bring your entire life with you and all the movements you have accumulated over the years, months or weeks.
This is why stepping outside of your sport or art is beneficial to do - another form of art can have a cool movement you can incorporate into your repertoire. Beginners especially should try out everything to expand their view of movement.
This movement flow video may look complicated but it actually consists of dozens of different movements which have been learned beforehand although there is also lots of improvisation present.
There are different movements from martial arts, dance, movement training and a lot more. It may look one big flow, but if you knew the individual movements you would be able to see that it's actually a long sequence of different movements.
Many of these movements are part of Movement 20XX online course which has tutorial videos for all movements (40+) and plenty of flow routines (11) where the movements are combined together.
Everything can be deconstructed into pieces and then it's easy to realize that the thing isn't as complicated as it first appeared to be.
What is actually hard is improvisation which requires a free mind (a supple body is only a plus here) but it often comes after the individual has learned the basic movements.
Train hard, stay safe.
