Online Beginning Contortion Classes
(for adults)
Are YOU contortion-curious?
If you can hold a bridge - you can do contortion! Whether you’re a yogi, aerialist, pole artist, or just interested in increasing your flexibility, contortion is a great way to work on your full body active flexibility.
Plus it’s super fun (obviously)!
These classes are meant to teach you the fundamentals of deeper flexibility training, with an emphasis on active flexibility and strengthening to support a deeper range of motion.
Contortion isn’t something you get good at in just one day, so classes will be grouped into a 3-4 week “series” with an emphasis on a particular skill or theme. This makes it great for students new to contortion-style training, and more advanced students who want to return to focus on the “fundamentals.” (Scroll down for a list of upcoming session themes & dates).
Each 75-minute class will cover active flexibility conditioning to deepen (and strengthen!) the range of motion needed for our focus area, and “skill work” practice to apply our flexibility gains to work on classic contortion shapes.
Class size is limited to 8 students to ensure plenty of personal feedback.
Prerequisites: Students should be able to comfortably hold a bridge with straight arms for 10 seconds. Flat splits not required. Handstands not required. If you can’t quite straighten your arms in a bridge, or holding a bridge for more than a couple of seconds is a challenge, the all-levels Backbending & Back Flexibility class will help you build up the flexibility & strength to get there!
Here’s a sneak peak of some of the active flexibility training we do in class:
Upcoming Session Dates, Times & Themes
Want to join but can’t make the “live” class? You can sign up for a RECORDING ONLY series to receive a copy of the class recording each week (which is sent to all students after class), practice on your own time, and send me any questions or pictures/videos you’d like form feedback on. Just scroll down the schedule below and sign up for the “JUST THE RECORDINGS” option.
Contortion Fundamentals: Chin & Chest Stands
When: Mondays May 13 - May 27, 7pm-8:15pm CT, or via recording
What: In this 3-class series we’ll be taking a deep dive into the bendy world of chin and chest stands! While each class will involve “full body” backbending conditioning, the first class will skew more towards prepping the neck and upper back (where students often are more limited), and the second class we’ll layer in more of a focus on the hips and low back (which can help get our toes closer to our head or the floor!). The final class we’ll be reviewing the shape variations from the previous two weeks, and exploring different entrances, exits, and transitions.
Class 1: Neck & Upper Back Focus
Class 2: Hips & Low Back Focus (spoiler alert: there will still be a lot of neck and upper back work in this class!)
Class 3: Balances, Creative Entrances & Exits
Prerequisites: This will be a mixed-level class, with various drills and skills offered for different levels. At a minimum, all students must be able to get their chin or chest to the floor in a puppy pose. Previous experience working on contortion not required.
Cost: $70 USD (includes forever access to the class recordings)
Previous Contortion Class Sessions (Available for Purchase)
-
NOTE: This class series has already passed - please email me if you’d like to purchase a copy of the 4-class series recordings. $100 USD, unlimited/forever access to all four 75-min recordings.
Series Overview: Join us for a 4-week “deep dive” into the fundamentals of contortion bridge variations. Conditioning will focus on increasing our backbending flexibility across the full backbending chain (hips, low back, upper back, and shoulders), including an emphasis on how to access more of our shoulders and upper back to round out the arch and not just “dump” all our bend into our low back.
Skillwork will cover bridge shape variations (ex. straight legged bridges, narrow bridges, alien bridges, chairsit bridges, elbow bridges, and other leg & arm variations), dynamic entrances and exits into bridges (ex. “swooping” into/out of a bridge, shoulder rotations, dropping back from standing, twisting in and out), as well as challenging students’ endurance with snippets of choreography work to mix-and-match the skills we work on in class.
Prerequisite: Can comfortably hold a bridge with straight arms
-
Note: This class series has already passed. You can email me if you’d like to purchase the thre 75-min class recordings for $80 USD.
Series Overview: This 3-week “deep dive” will introduce the concept of handbalancing with forearm stands (aka “pincha” pose for all you yogis!). Conditioning will continue to focus on deepening our back and shoulder flexibility, both for “open” shoulder positions and “closed” shoulder positions, as well as proper engagement to be able to start to play with balance.
Skillwork will cover various forearm stand shape variations (ex. scorpions, hollow backs, stag legs, etc.) using the wall, both as a support for deeper backbends, as well as a spotting aid for students interested in trying to learn to balance. We’ll also cover various entrances/exits (like learning to kick up with more control, press up from a headstand, or straddle press for more advanced students), as well as build comfort and control with playing with leg and back shape variations while maintaining our upside down shape.
Prerequisite: Can comfortably hold a bridge with straight arms
-
Note: This class series has already passed. You can email me if you’d like to purchase the three 75-min class recordings for $80 USD.
Series Overview: Join us for a 3-week “deep dive” into the fundamentals of one of the most challenging full-body flexibility skills: the needle scale. In this three week series, we’ll break down conditioning and drills to target all 4 main areas of flexibility needed for a needle:
Week 1: Hips & Low Back
Week 2: Upper Back & Shoulders (…. and still hips and low back)
Week 3: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Each class will end with variations of needle scale skill work tailored to emphasize the flexibility areas we focused on earlier in class. There are many possible paths towards a bendy needle scale, so we’ll discuss ways to make the most of flexibility you already have, and how to continue to work on areas for improvement that can help fill in the gaps to being able to grab your foot and straighten your leg.
Prerequisite: Can comfortably hold a bridge with straight arms. Flat splits are not required for joining this class series, but of course they do help!
-
Note: This class series has already passed. You can email me if you’d like to purchase the three 75-min class recordings for $80 USD.
Series Overview: Chest stands are one of the most-often requested skills I get from students to work on - so now we’ll have a whole series on them! Over the course of 3 weeks we’ll work on the active flexibility required for this iconic pose. Conditioning will focus on neck, upper back, and lower back flexibility, with an emphasis on control and safely supporting our bodyweight while in chin and chest stand type positions.
Skillwork will include supported chest stand practice, using a wall, blocks, chairs, etc to help find our chin/chest stand poses, and learn to moderate the amount and location of the bend in our back. Students new to contortion training can expect to work towards getting comfortable upside down in a chin stand, and playing with leg variations and back shapes. Students already comfortable with chest stands seeking to strengthen their fundamentals can expect to work towards dropping their feet to the ground in their chin/chest stand.
Prerequisite: Can hold a puppy pose with your chest flat on the floor
FAQs
Do I need to be crazy flexible to start contortion?
No! This is an introductory-level class aimed at students with some basic (but not crazy) flexibility. Flat front and middle splits are not required. The only prerequisite for this class is the ability to do a bridge (aka wheel for you yogis) - but it doesn’t have to be a super bendy bridge. More advanced students are still welcome to join class if they’d like to re-focus on the fundamentals.
What do I need for class?
Zoom - it’s recommended to use a laptop/PC so you have a bigger screen to watch, but a tablet/smartphone works as well
Strap - anything long you can use to assist some of our stretches: a yoga strap, theraband, or scarf work great
Yoga Blocks - if you don’t have yoga blocks, a foam roller, books, or a chair can substitute (but I do recommend investing in some cheap blocks if you’re going to be practicing regularly)
Wall Space - uncluttered wall space that you can lean your body into
Sturdy Chair or Low Table - a folding chair, dining room chair, or coffee table generally work great
I can’t make a class, can I get a copy of the recording?
Sure can! Every class will be recorded and uploaded to a private YouTube link for all the registrants - so you can re-practice what we learned, or take the class on your own time if you aren’t able to join live.
Begin Your Contortion Journey
Sign up for one of the upcoming Beginning Contortion class series. Registration also includes a copy of the class recording, which never expire - they’re yours to practice with forever :)