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Tension gets a bad rep. But the truth is, it is a vital quality of our muscle fibers and fascia tissue. Muscles are never completely relaxed, there’s always a muscle tone present. “All the fascia and connective tissue, in fact all collagen, have intrinsic tension within them. Even under deepest anaesthesia, when you cut muscle, it retracts and pulls apart.” To quote Dr. Steven Levin, professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at John Hopkins and MAJOR proponent of Bio-Tensegrity. So why are we always trying to get rid of tension? It is actually through harnessing tension, that the postures pictured below are possible. It’s time to reframe the way we think about tension. Instead of eliminating tensile tissue our focus should be to how to balance tension.   The bones in our body float in a sea of supple fabric. They aren’t braced by fixed joints and supports like the compression structure of a house. Instead, they are suspended in place by the fluid tension of our muscles and fascia. Thanks to the harmony of this tension, we are able to breath, stand, move and do truly epic shit. We call this Bio-Tensegrity and understanding this fluid tension system not only helps us stay healthy and uninjured, it also allows us to harness the limitless potential of our movement practices. Go on amazon, order a tensegrity model (image on the right) and play with it. You’ll get an idea of how fascia, tissue and bones respond to stress. Compress one area of the model, notice how it compensates all over. Same is true with our bodies. Compress/tighten/immobilize one area of the body and it will ripple subtle distortions throughout the all participating tension lines. It won’t snap at this point of compression like a house would. Instead, as the force disperses over the body, it will then concentrate and possibly break (youch!) at its weakest point. How do we apply this idea to our practice? Take time to bring a “whole body” approach to your movement routines. Add movers, teachers and methodologies that focus on integrated mobility and sensation, especially if you spend a lot of time on one-size-fits-all “alignment” practice or a limited or linear routine. 
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 movement that empowers, Classes that inspireOptions to attend in-person, livestream or completely pre-recorded. This winter, we have the rare opportunity to fully commit and invest in ourselves. Distractions will be limited; less parties, travel and obligations to derail our forward momentum. If there has ever been a time to dig deep, commit and transform, it is now. You better believe we are going to have a ton of much-needed fun while we're at it. We are so excited to present to you our brand-spanking-new Titan Courses. These 4 to 6-week courses are the culmination of months of dreaming, creating and relentless refining. They are curated with intention to help our students achieve maximum results and lasting transformation- on and off the mat.  When at the gym, studio or backyard- do as the cavemen did and practice "primal movements" . Animal Flow is essentially about reconnecting with how our bodies were actually designed to move. By exploring the different planes of movement, crawling, rolling, jumping and crouching, we unlock the complexity and diversity of how our bodies can move. And the best thing about it is that it is entirely functional. Primal Movement and animal locomotion will improve strength, mobility, posture and fitness – but also your capacity to move with balance and coordination. To move with less effort and tension…it literally develops your central nervous system to 'move better'. Primal Movement returns us to the way our bodies are meant to move — the way we each moved as children, and the ways humans have been moving for all of time. Life begins on the ground. Our first movements involve searching around us to see what is happening to cater to our insatiable infant curiosity. As we are attracted to voices, we start looking for these people as our eyesight begins to develop. Soon we’re rolling over onto our bellies to initiate the process of crawling, which will eventually lead us to grab hold of something and take our first stuttering steps forward. These are our first sacred movement patterns. Generations of evolution passed down through genetic coding to forge incredible human mechanics. Then we go to school and ruin it all. From the moment we enter school to learn, we spend full days sat at desks learning- basically a physical equivalent of watching television. We get stuck in linear patterns, no longer curious and no longer open. Adulthood rolls around are we are so displaced from our bodies we often give up. One of the things we love about Primal Flow, aside from how incredibly strong and agile it makes us, is that it brings us back to our earliest developmental state. Primal Movements connect us to that curious inner child, the child that wants to move, wiggle, explore and play. From there, we can begin again. join us for Animal flowCatch the Animal Flow 101 Course, kicking off in January  Hello movers, shakers and spiritual junkies- it's official, we've moved into phase three of reopening in Massachusetts. What does that mean for Helix?
All outdoor classes, livestream flows and exclusive recorded content- YOUR'S.  A community supported wellness initiative, our Summer School Season Pass includes unlimited outdoor classes, livestream flows and access to ALL of our recorded content. Your season pass purchase will help us at Helix immensely as we work stay operating during the Covid-19 studio closure. It's crazy to think we closed our doors almost 5 months ago. We will also host monthly special events- workshops, movie nights under stars and yoga brew nights- where our season pass members will have priority registration and discounted access! Our outdoor pass season runs from June 21st through the end of October, even later if weather permits. We are in so much gratitude for our community that has kept us standing this long! Get all the info on our Summer School outdoor yoga classes below or sign up for the season pass now! Again, we are so grateful and humbled by your continued support. We really have the best community! While our studio is still closed, we are doing everything we can to bring yoga, movement and wellness to our community. We are hosting outdoor classes and livestream classes for donation. These donations will help Helix stay about water during the shutdown. Helix Season Pass
$300.00
A community supported wellness initiative, our Summer School Season Pass includes unlimited outdoor classes, livestream flows and access to ALL of our recorded content. Your season pass purchase will help us at Helix immensely as we work stay operating during the Covid-19 studio shutdown. We will also host monthly special events- workshops, movie nights under stars and yoga brew nights- where our season pass members will have priority registration and discounted access! Our outdoor pass season runs from June 21st through the end of October, even later if weather permits. We are in so much gratitude for our community that has kept us standing this long! Or, check out our outdoor offerings and other purchase options!
Studio Caliber Classes- Outside.  We are very excited to announce our summer class schedule of outdoor offerings! Summer School is an outdoor, open-air yoga space featuring 20 total spaces; 10 individual shade shalas and 10 sun spaces. Each setup is abundantly spaced, privately occupied (can be shared with a spouse or live-in family member) and is equipped with a mat-sized floor to level the ground and lay your yoga mat on. Crafted from recycled materials, our shade shalas are made from retired greenhouse hoops and our yoga floors from beautiful hardwood folding tables. We thank Ragged Island Farm & Brewery for supporting our vision and generously donating the materials needed to make this happen! We love you guys! Pre-registration is required. No drop-ins as per state regulations. Click the link below to get all of the info!   It's official, Helix Homeschool is in session.
Rolling out next week, we will be offering regularly scheduled virtual classes! Yoga, Guided Meditations, Animal Locomotion, Sculpt, Slow Flow (and more) will be popping up on the schedule starting Monday- and the best part is, all live classes are donation based! We know so many people are out of work and struggling through this global crisis. After much thought, we have decided for the time being to implement the Donation Honor System. If you can afford to donate to a class offering, it will help keep Helix and our staff above water during the shut down. If you are out of work or financially struggling, no questions asked. Class passes can be purchased via MindBody. Individual class donations can be made via our website in $5 increments (link below), or via Venmo to @yogawithabbe in any amount. You can find the complete virtual schedule on MindBody and under our Homeschool page, link below. Classes offerings will be update weekly, so please check in regularly! Remember to register for class so that we can send you the Zoom link! |
@MOVEHELIXMovement & Wellness Studio Archives
January 2021
CategoriesHelix Alternative Movement Studio in Westport. Yoga, Calisthenics, Meditation, Strength Training, Stretching and Traction, Foam Rolling and Animal Locomotion Classes. Yoga Teacher Trainings 200hr & 300hr
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