If you haven’t heard of Animal Flow, now’s the time to get it on your radar! Here, Janey Sattentau shares how to build strength and flexibility and keep your brain active with these functional moves
Words: Janey Sattentau | Images: Shutterstock & Sarah Alice Lee
What is Animal Flow?
Animal Flow is a ground-based, bodyweight movement programme, which blends elements from yoga, gymnastics and dance to create beautiful sequences.
The Animal Flow system improves strength, mobility and flexibility through functional movement patterns, training your body for life. It’s performed on the floor without any equipment and each movement flows seamlessly into the next. There are infinite ways of putting the movements together to create different flows, making it a very creative practice.
Can anyone try it?
The practice has something for everyone. Whether you’re a highly trained athlete or a first-time exerciser, you can vary the intensity and modify the moves as you flow.
This kind of bodyweight training is incredibly strengthening – when you are on all-fours your body is constantly loaded by its own weight as it resists gravity. The movements are multi-planar, meaning you are moving the body in all directions, which trains the body to handle everyday life activities.
What are the benefits?
Animal Flow improves balance, coordination, power and endurance. It’s a fantastic core workout, as you lift opposing limbs to move across the floor, which demands constant core stability. And, it improves brain function: quadrupedal movement has been shown to stimulate your mind at the same time as training your body.
Underswitch
- Begin in a crab position: seated with your hands behind you, and hips in-between your hands and feet. Hover your hips off the floor.
- For a right leg underswitch, lift your right foot and left hand off the floor, lift the left heel as you take the right leg under the body until you reach all-fours with your knees hovering off the floor (this is known as beast position).
- You can then come back the way you came, moving from beast to crab.
Front step
- Begin in a loaded beast position: from all-fours, knees down, shift your hips back towards your heels. Curl under your toes and hover the knees off the floor.
- For a left-leg front step, step the left foot to the outside of the left hand as you lift the hand off the floor.
- Bring the left hand into an attack position, your elbow pulling back and palm facing forwards.
- To return to the loaded beast, simultaneously lift your left foot as your hand comes back to the floor, place it back on the floor by your right foot and push your hips back.
Repeat each exercise a few times on each side to practise the movement before putting them together in a flow.
Side kickthrough
- Start from beast position: on all-fours with your knees hovering off the floor.
- For a right-leg side kickthrough, lift the left hand and right foot, rotate on the left toes as you take the right leg under the body. Drop your left heel to brake as you kick the right leg through, pointing toes.
- Pull your left elbow back with the back of the hand close to the cheek.
- Take your right leg back under the body to return to the beast position.
Crab reach
- For a left-arm crab reach, begin in crab position and bring your left hand in front of your face.
- Press into your feet to lift your hips up, then take the left hand over your head following it with your eyes.
- Press into your right hand and rotate the shoulder externally to help push your hips up.
- Come back the way you came to return to the crab position.
Scorpion reach
- For a right-leg scorpion reach, begin in the loaded beast pose, take the right knee to the left wrist, then draw a circle out and around with the right foot to reach peak position with the right shin parallel to the sky.
- Your left heel should be off the floor and your left knee slightly bent.
- Press into your hands to load the shoulders.
- To return to the loaded beast pose, draw the circle back so the right knee touches the left wrist, then push your hips back.
Travelling bear
- From the beast pose, push the hips up high, coming up onto your tiptoes and straightening your legs.
- Lift the right hand and left foot and take a stride forwards, landing them at the same time.
- To take the next stride, straighten the left leg which will allow your right knee to bend and your foot to lift as you move forwards with your right foot and left hand. Continue moving forwards in this way.
Janey’s top tips for mind-body benefits
- Animal Flow gives you a full-body, all-encompassing workout, which will strengthen every muscle in your body, improve your fitness and mobilise your joints. It can also help to prevent osteoporosis and arthritis by moving your joints through all ranges and loading your bones.
- You can vary your flows with style and tempo to create different types of workouts targeting endurance, cardio, strength or flexibility. Flow can be used as a warm-up or cool-down, as a slow strength-building session or more intense cardio session. It can also be combined with kettlebells or dumbbells.
- Unlike most conventional gym workouts, you’ll be learning a new skill and continue to progress as you practise. You’ll be surprised how quickly you improve. This will keep you motivated, and you’ll be more likely to stay consistent with your routine.
- Animal Flow helps to keep your brain active and alert so you’ll be training your brain and body at the same time. A morning flow session can set you up for the day, help you concentrate at work and reduce fatigue.
- Flow can also be used as a mindful practice or movement meditation. During your flow you are fully attentive, connected to your breath and the ground. It allows you to focus on the present moment, to create the ultimate mind-body connection.
- Flow is extremely enjoyable, fun and expressive. You’ll forget you are working out and you can do it anywhere without any equipment.
Janey is an Animal Flow teacher based in London. You can find her at activecalm.com or at instagram.com/active.calm
