Inspirational Flow Spaces from the Global Community
Flow is not just a creation of the internal mind and your physical body – your body exists in space, and your connection to place can transform your experience. Whether you are marking your vacation with a flow in an epic spot, or just finding beauty in any form around your own home, your physical surroundings can influence how you are inspired, how you move, and how you remember the moment. The array of epic settings found in our natural and urban environments offer endless opportunities to level up your experience.
To help you find some inspiration, we’ve gathered some cool photos of our Certified Instructors practicing and moving in amazing places around the globe:
Edita Tarvydaite's plans for a ski day in the Swiss Alps were crushed when the resort closed for the day... so she made the most of it with a little trek up the slopes for barefoot Animal Flow in the snow.
Abbe Ciulla found plenty of time to flow while traveling through Arizona with her husband. With no gyms in sight, Animal Flow was the go-to. As she says, "All you need is an open space, a playful spirit and your body." The desert landscapes and rock formations were big inspirations for their flows, and they found themselves trying to mimic their forms and flows to the nature around them. Animal Flow felt right at home in the untamed southwest!
A walk along the beach in Venao, Panama brought Alex Murphy to this incredible artwork, and he just had to stop and flow. "I started the flow in ape reach, I remember opening up and thinking how this movement embodies this structure and vice versa. My feet dug into the ground, arms expanding to its outer most points, my body rising toward the sky. When you look at the picture, my hands seemingly weave into the pattern of the structure; it’s hard to see where I end and it begins."
The textures of the sand draw Ale Vazquez to flow on the beach. It makes her feel more grounded. Here she digs into a Crab Reach in Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica.
Ivalena Djahova turned her Animal Flow into art, flowing in a rain room art installation in Sharjah, UAE. She was taking advantage of the many great spots around UAE as she prepared for time off after hand surgery: "I knew I was going to be out of flowing for quite some time while recovering and I was actually flowing almost everywhere I went. I was kind of 'binge flowing.' "
Bobby Yang loves to vacation at Mount Maunganui Beach in New Zealand, trying to catch the sunrise whenever he can. This is where he feels most connected to nature, making it the perfect place to practice some flow.
Aneta Lupa took time out during a recent trip to Win Hill in UK to make some great memories with her flow practice: "Flowing on top of the mountain felt like flowing on another level!"
Marina Pestiva Zhukova finds that mountains inspire a feeling of freedom and power, mirroring the sense of freedom and power experienced when she flows. While visiting the Olympic Village in Sochi Russia she had to stop for a flow, allowing her inner state to meld with the surrounding mountains .
Miguel Caratao makes it a priority to flow everyday, even while on vacation. While in Gerês, Portugal he incorporated his Animal Flow practice into his travel plans by seeking out amazing locations to get in his daily practice..
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is no easy feat. Raewyn Ng stopped at Horombo Hut on the way up to celebrate the view with some Scorpion Reaches. Practicing Form Specific Stretches is a great way to be mindful about your body and its surroundings while giving it some much needed mobilization during a hard trek.
Faraz Pallipat says that flowing helps to bring his thoughts and awareness back into his body, connecting with his surroundings. While on the beach in Agenda, South Goa, he performed some Underswitches to facilitate that connection.
Trying something new with a friend will always make for a great Flow experience. While on the Animal Flow retreat in Breckenridge, Colorado, Rachel Thompson and Guillaume Tual had a ton of fun trying some Front Kickthroughs in snow shoes. The mountain views were amazing, the laughter was contagious, and the moment will last forever.
The Katoomba Surf Club in the Blue Mountains of Australia is an iconic tourist destination. Helen Ilich started her flow journey while living in the Blue Mountains, and thought this spot would be the perfect place to mark the last flow she'd perform there before relocating to Newcastle. A physical flow, captured by her partner Chris Thomas, made for great memories!
Clark Cheung is alway on the lookout for epic locations to flow in his home city of Macao. This spot provides a great backdrop of the St. Paul ruins, a historical and signature building.
When Kathy Donatto vacationed in Greece, she was inspired by the history and beauty of her surroundings. "I saw this place and just thought, I have to stop here for a Flow. I allowed myself to take a moment for myself, pausing and take it all in."
For Chiara Bertozzo, Kalymnos, Greece represents peace, nature, passion and energy, "just like Animal Flow is peace for body and mind." She comes to climb the cliffs, where she is inspired to free her body and mind with Animal Flow. The energy of the sun, wind, sea and sky is a natural fit for movement.
Samantha Petz couldn't resist jumping up onto the steps in Vienna, Austria for a round of Rotating Apes: "Give me a playground and I will play!"
Wai Lai Chang loves to flow in the urban settings of Hong Kong. When surrounded by the buzz of the streets and the neon glow of the skyline, concentrating on his movements makes him feel in synch with the area yet isolated from the world. "I feel the time is paused, the space is unlimited, and the moment is gonna last forever." Practicing Animal Flow movements here creates a sense of peace and guides him to see a deeper side of the city and himself.
Each week Andrea Zylinski and her friend Judy Siniscalchi look for a different flow spot in their home of Hamburg, New York. They chose this spot because it's a bit of unexpected urban art along the shores of Lake Erie, over looking the lake and the Buffalo Skyline. They find adventure in seeking cool locations, and love the interest it always generates from passers-by.
The serene landscape and hard sands on the north coast of Egypt were too tempting for Nada Tobgi - she had to get in some Animal Flow. "Theres nothing like flowing on the beach on a warm day with hands and feet in the sand."
A narrow boat dock can be a challenging spot to practice some Flow, but the beautiful setting with soothing lakefront sounds makes it worth the effort. Mike Wisniowski jumped at the chance to get a new view of his vacation spot in Manittoulin Island, Canada with a Flow at the very end of the dock. "I always love Flowing wherever I travel, particularly if I am surrounded by nature or a natural environment. Waterfronts and beaches are personal favorites of mine because the soundscape really gets me in the right mindset."
A stunning piece of artwork can inspire you to connect more with your own mind and body. Valen Sanglade, in Caracas Venezuela, had always wanted to stop to flow in front of the famous spherical artwork by artist Jesus Soto. As a graphic designer, she is drawn to the visual impact of the ball and how its outdoor location makes her feel free and alive. The prominent location of the artwork also makes it a great place to introduce Animal Flow to new people and inspire them to move.
Connection to Place
Individual Flowists may find their inspiration from wildly different environments, ranging from empty beaches, wide open deserts, and isolated mountain tops, to vibrant cities and imposing art installations. But what these all have in common is the linkage between a physical place with the internal mind.
As futurist and philosopher, Jason Silva describes in his State of Awe presentation, “We make a mistake in assuming that the human enterprise ends at the end of our skin tissue. The mind emerges into feedback loops between brains, tools, and environments.”
He continues that landscapes can be therapeutic–you can leverage a place to inspire an interior experience. “There is a circular relationship between the outer world and the inner world, between the landscapes we inhabit and the inner worlds they give rise to. This tells us what our choices— where we choose to go— is an investment in our mental well-being.”
Spending time in nature is one of the quickest ways to reset our well-being and disrupt any stress patterns that we may be experiencing. It moves our focus away from the pressure of individual or collective problems in the world to an elevated sense of connectedness to the larger world and a greater purpose. We are empowered with perspective by spending time in nature. We can move from a state of anxiety to a state of awe.
Of course, you don’t have to be out in the green grass or sandy beaches to find meaning in your flow spot. Some flowists find a connection to their geography because it is attached to a memory. Or the simple act of moving with intention, in an otherwise busy setting, brings its own version of mindfulness.
Getting Started with Your Own Flow Spot
As you set out to find your flow spot, keep these tips in mind:
- If you’re new to AF and could use a Flow to get you started, try this beginner level Flow from Master Instructor Freyja Spence. This free tutorial series teaches you 3 easy movements and then shows you how to put them into a short flow that you’ll be able to practice anywhere!
- Don’t delay your exploration by searching for the absolute perfect place. Just find a place that feels good to you and inspires you to spend time there – flowing or just being.
- Also remember that you don’t need wait for a long vacation to start seeking your flow spot. Take a short break from work and explore your local community for a setting that inspires awe in you and allows you to feel and sense the beauty of nature.
- Of course, do use caution and check that your environment is safe. You don’t want to fall, run into something, or be in danger if you’re lost in a meditative state.
- With more than 12,000 trained instructors in more than 40 countries, you can find fellow flowists and AF classes around the world. When (not if!) you travel once again, please join our community and book a workout and practice with the local members of our global Animal Flow team.
We invite you to move, get up, get out, and flow. We are of this earth, and spending time moving and breathing and simply being reconnects us to the earth’s natural rhythms.