This workshop exists to support coaches working through the age-old conundrum: “How do I help my students understand how to effectively engage and coordinate their muscles?”  Building on participants’ existing knowledge of anatomy and training progressions, this workshop will give movement instructors- from aerial coaches to personal trainers - insight into supporting students through the neurological processes that enable (and inhibit) muscular articulation and engagement in the aerial learning process. 

The neurological principle “sensory before motor” implies that before we can engage particular muscles intentionally or coordinate the transfer of force through our bodies, we have to build neurological connections that enable us to sense and feel what we are physically experiencing as we move. 

Particularly for those on the hypermobility spectrum and/or recovering from trauma/injury, neurological processing cues and embodied self awareness  practices can offer accessible strategies to building strength and coordination.  Participants of this workshop will leave with a basic understanding of applied neuroscience for movement, resources for further reading/study, and concrete coaching strategies to support the cultivation of embodied anatomy skills in their classes.

Hypermobility is a general term that can refer to the spectrum of experiences associated with how joints move and to how tissue contracts (or doesn’t contract) during movement. This experience might resonate if you are someone who isn’t sure how much you actually feel activity in your muscles when you’re training, or if you have inconsistent experiences of joint stability, or persistent pain/difficulty recovering.

Even though hypermobility sounds like it’s an exclusively physical experience, it’s largely a neurological one. That means that when engaging muscles feels challenging, we need to build connections within our nervous system and relative to our environment in order to experience deeper grounding and stability. This masterclass for all levels meets you where you are and works in dialogue with everyone in the room to both unpack how it feels to be hypermobile, while exploring strategies for experiencing deeper body awareness and a more nuanced relationship with physical sensations to awaken more embodied stability.

(All levels, Max 20 students)

Designed for people who feel estranged from their physicality, this masterclass is an introduction to the principles and values of MML Online’s From the Ground Up program. This masterclass demystifies some of the neurological principles behind caring for muscle inflammation, joint hypermobility, and persistent pain while cultivating compassion and reverence for your unique body. This masterclass is ideal for folks seeking a gentle and supportive environment to cultivate body awareness and self-care strategies for pain management, strength, and mobility training. From the Ground Up meets you where you are and empowers you to reclaim a positive experience of your body in movement training at a pace that feels inspiring to you.

(All levels, Max 20 students)

(All levels, max 15 students)

Designed for people seeking a deeper conscious experience of their movement and associated sensations,  this workshop is an introduction to the principles and values of MML Online’s From the Ground Up program to prepare you for customizing your training to your unique needs. We will demystify some of the neurological principles that occur in times of physical stress. We will practice strategies for assessing coordination in order to care for joint pain, muscle inflammation, and fatigue while cultivating compassion and reverence for your unique body. This workshop is ideal for folks seeking a gentle and supportive environment to cultivate body awareness and self-care strategies for pain management, strength, and mobility training. This practice not only meets you where you are, it honors the experience of your body just as it is AS the exact physical condition from which to begin outlining your training strategy.

(All levels, max 15 students)

Most strength and flexibility training, whether in service of general fitness, circus, and/or dance, requires what is commonly referred to as “an engaged core.” What does that actually mean? How does one feel whether or not their core is engaged? Or how can you tell if your “engaged core” is coordinating (dare I say core-dinating?) with the rest of their movement versus inhibiting the distribution of force and effort through the body?

In this NEW workshop, we will learn about the basic anatomy of the core and how to approach core training as a practice of full body integration rather than isolated effort. We will both study and practice how muscles, bones, and fascia move with breath to connect the body during movement. By the end of this workshop, students will have a deeper understanding of how to understand the MML principle of “The Parallelogram” — the helix between the shoulder girdle and the pelvis — can be applied in fitness, circus, and dance contexts for more coordinated and integrated movement.

Things like recurring injury, training plateaus, and fatigue can be reflective of an over-extended nervous system. We all know it’s good to take “days off” from training, but what does that actually mean? Is there something in particular we can do on those days to stay embodied without over-exerting ourselves? How do we stay embodied in a way that supports the big picture of our physical responsibilities and training goals? How does one down-regulate the nervous system? How does that support physical training? Deeper sleep? Soft tissue health? Mood?

These questions and more will be explored in this Masterclass for movers of all levels seeking more ease and adaptability in their bodies and movement. We’ll unpack how the nervous system that processes sensations that arise through movement training is also the same nervous system that processes sensations that arise through daily life- the feelings to which we ascribe meaning by calling them emotions- and what that means for how we can care for our bodies when certain stressful sensations are present. Participants will leave this workshop with a deeper felt sense of somatic embodiment as well as strategies for grounding, breathing, and mobilizing the body on the level of the nervous system.

(All levels, Max 20 students)

This masterclass unpacks and demystifies the physical and mental actions that facilitate sustainable and pleasurable flexibility in a splits practice. This class is ideal for folks on the hypermobility spectrum, with an injury history, and or are new to flexibility practices. Through embodied research and play, we'll go over some basic anatomy and experience how it can coordinate (or not coordinate), as well as practice the mental and attentional actions that enable deeper body awareness and enhance coordination when we train these skills. This masterclass includes an introduction into the vocabulary included in MML's Hips for Splits programming and offers participants a discount to the online library of classes.

(All levels, Max 20 students)

This masterclass unpacks and demystifies the physical and mental actions that facilitate grounded and stable overhead arm strength and mobility. Believe it or not, shoulder stability is deeply connected to pelvic stability and how breath moves through our body. This class takes this into account to offer a holistic approach to using our arms overhead and coordinating that with the rest of our body. Through embodied research and play, we'll go over some basic anatomy and experience how it can coordinate (or not coordinate), as well as practice the mental and attentional actions that enable deeper body awareness and enhance coordination when we train these skills. This workshop is ideal for folks on the hypermobility spectrum, with an injury history, and or are new to mobility practices.This masterclass includes an introduction into the vocabulary included in MML's Overhead Arms class programming.

(All levels, Max 20 students)

Do you have a movement or wellness studio interested in an MML Workshop but these ones don’t fit the bill? Let’s make something together! What missing links might support your movement community? Contact me to begin the conversation…