Dance Concept: Flow

Flow is all about muscle tension: Free and Bound.  

BOUND is like when you’re frozen into an ice cube where your muscles are tight and hugging the bones. It activates the proprioceptive system that centers us in our bodies and orients us in space; leading to feeling calm, grounded and receptive to learning.

FREE flow is the release of muscle tension - imagine you start melting from ice into water, flowing free where your muscles are relaxed and loose. It allows for recuperation and contrast in how we feel. 

Contrasting in muscle tension is like a massage to the children’s bodies and nervous system and puts them in a quiet alert state – the optimal state for learning. Babies’ brains develop longer attention spans whey they are exposed to contrasting muscle tensions early on. The contrast alerts the brain and keeps it engaged, and that is the gateway to learning.

As your child grows older and learns how to hold their muscles tight and then loosen them, they are working not only on their motor control, but also their self-regulation. You child will be able to better control their behavior at this young age. And eventually, it helps them understand that they have choices and can use their body to change how they feel emotionally as well as physically.

Giving your little ones the gift of these different muscle sensations early on in life, expands their capacity for movement, sensing and feeling. Whole body and whole brain development!