Warm Up? Alchemy!

Last week I have given a webinar to my mentorship group with the topic of warm up. It is funny how some themes get trendy and sexy and some themes remain more incognito in the modern movement landscape. Warm up will never be the star of the show but is it justified?

Biologically speaking, the warm up has one very clear goal, one that I call “arriving to the second activity.” You don't need to read 1000 scientific articles to know that the first time you do something will not be the climax of your performance. This relates to communication, effort, range of motion, precision and probably any other physical expression that exists on the face of the earth. In that sense, the warm up is like a “light imitation” of what we want to do later on in the practice session. But here's the catch. Because it doesn't have the same intention, which is to improve or to excel, we can experiment with different ways to do the thing we do every day. And getting creative without losing context is the beautiful art of top level warm upers. And here I'd like to share with you 3 of my all time favorite creative warm ups: Diego Maradone Ronda Rousey (watch until 3:00) Baryshnikov Notice how the level of “creativity” is contextual to the freedom each has in its respective discipline. In soccer there are hardly any rules about how you are allowed to move so Maradona does practically anything with the ball. Ballet on the other hand is more restricted, but Baryshnikov finds a way to “break” the rules in micro moments in order to prepare for his optimal performance and find creativity within the strictness.

The trick is that when the warm up is done with this in mind it starts to shift into another concept - PRIMING. Priming relates to how musicians for example warm up. They are not necessarily concerned only about their range of motion or coordination but more about the state, the internal condition in which they find themselves while playing. Considering the beginning of the session as a moment to work on your internal world is like observing yourself from outside. You begin to understand that some of the decisions you make during an activity cannot be changed in the heat of the moment but can be observed and reflected on. Priming is almost like reflecting on a mistake before it happens, and by doing so, it might be avoidable in the moment it matters. Additionally, priming is where there is an integration to other aspects of life. If I get over emotional when I tense my muscles - what do I learn about how I conduct my relationships? How does the shame I feel when trying to stretch out my spine influence my behaviour in the office? Priming is not only preparing for the activity but also a thorough study of what's going on inside as I move. And most likely it goes also into movements outside of my practice.

Considering the creativity and priming we enter the realm of alchemy. Things begin to change in a systematic and wholesome way and not only locally. Throughout the years many people who studied with me witnessed greater changes in their lives while practicing movement than in any other self improvement activity. Without disregarding any other method of transformation I can understand the possible immediacy that the movement practice provides. The involvement of our whole system is brutally effective in that sense and unfortunately not present enough in modern lifestyle. However, it is important to remember that this doesn't happen in correlation to the achievement of the practice. Success, skill acquisition and learning happen in their own time and we can't always control their frequency. They are the tip of the iceberg and are uncontrolled. The warm up on the other hand is the most valuable tool in our box. We will always have a first activity when we begin a session and by a simple shift of attention we can make it consistently transformative.

Creativity, Priming and Alchemy. Focus on these 3 ideas and experience how this non trendy theme can be much more powerful than you have ever imagined.