Handstand & Contortion Workshop

Class Description

Hosted by Samantha Halas All Levels Handstands 5:45-6:45 pm This workshop is about BALANCE, learning how to find the center of your balance and increasing your strength, alignment and range of motion on top of that center point. The focus on shoulder flexibility, toe point and middle splits will help with alignment in handstands and handstand presses. You will learn drills that increase body awareness and teach you how to engage your muscles. This work will make you feel lighter and facilitate lifting your body weight with ease. For more advanced hand-balancers we will train for fluid movements, presses and foundations for shifting on to your one arm balances. Together, we will analyze common mistakes as well as key insights for self-training that will help you avoid generating counter-productive habits. In this class you will use balancing as a magnificent way to become in tune with your body and evolve your relationship with the floor. With partners you will learn how to spot and help your friends in their progress while using this opportunity as an outside eye to improve your own understanding. All Levels Contortion 7:00-8:00pm Ever feel stuck making progress on your flexibility? In this workshop you will learn a series of exercises that isolate and target tight muscles. You will learn techniques and ways to push your range of motion safely with good alignment and attention to making aesthetic lines and shapes. Using a mixture of active and passive flexibility, strengthening while we stretch you will get a good workout at the same time as fine tuning your command over your movements. In this class you will learn techniques for strengthening your backbend and splits as well as ways to understand how to optimize your flexibility in all parts of your spine and hips. Most people bend naturally in their lower back and neck and don't have the strength to support this flexibility. Many people have a harder time with the upper back, shoulders, hips. We will examine ways to encourage your body to work as a system and even out the workload throughout . We will use proper warm up and cool down techniques to keep your joints and muscles healthy for bending. You will create interesting shapes and movements with your body, pushing the limits of where you have been able to go before.