Welcome to Animal Flow Switzerland!
Animal Flow is ground based movement, made fun, challenging and effective. This system is designed to improve strength, power, flexibility, mobility, and coordination for all levels of fitness enthusiasts. Whether you want to workout on your own, train with a professional, or take part in group classes, Animal Flow has something for every body!
Our Animal Flow workshops are targeted toward fitness professionals who want to learn how to incorporate Animal Flow into their own teaching, training, and coaching practices. This includes personal trainers, group fitness instructors, physical education teachers, coaches, yoga instructors, MMA trainers, and even physical therapists.
Below you can see an overview of the two different Workshop levels.
ANIMAL FLOW
Level 1
L1 is an intensive two-day workshop (12 hours total) where you’ll learn all 29 Level 1 moves, including regressions, progressions, and variations for all skill levels. You’ll explore how and when to use each movement individually, as well as how to link them together into flows of your own design.
The L1 workshop is the first step toward becoming a Certified Animal Flow Instructor.
ANIMAL FLOW
Level 2
L2 is a two-day (10 hrs) workshop where you’ll take your AF practice to a higher level of understanding. You will learn 10 new moves, as well as progressions for tuck balance training. Delve into more advanced concepts like energy transfers, tempo changes and using animal locomotion in flows. This is a challenging, fun workshop that will improve your ability to coach clients and integrate the new moves. L2 is open to anyone who has completed L1.
Level 1 Curriculum
Level 1 emphasizes building the foundations to make you a more efficient and connected mover. Over the course of the two days, you’ll learn 30 different movements, categorized into the Six Components as listed below.
The workshop starts with base positions, which systematically build in difficulty and complexity over the two days. The overall goal is to ease each participant into becoming more comfortable on their hands and feet, as they learn to navigate their bodies across the floor. By the end of the second day, the entire class will be performing a sequence known as the Beast flow which integrates a large majority of the movements from the workshop. This becomes a structure from which they may begin their own creative practice.
Level 1 Concepts
Movements are taught within the context of numerous concepts reinforced throughout the course. The goal is not merely to learn the movements, but understand how they fit within broader concepts relevant to the fitness industry.
Including:
- Using AF Activations as assessments
- Improving neuromuscular communication through quadrupedal contact
- Loading muscular subsystems and facial lines
- Using AF movements as corrective exercises
- Choosing the right movement for each client; knowing when to use regressions and progressions
- Practicing animal locomotion to improve the function of your “human animal”
- Finding strength through motion and using full body mobilizations
Level 1 Participants - Who should attend?
Level 1 is open to anyone, including fitness professionals and fitness enthusiasts. Fitness professional can go on to become Certified AF Instructors, while non-professionals can become Certified AF Specialists.
Level 1 Prerequisities
• Workshops are open to fitness professionals and fitness enthusiasts.
• You should be free of injuries that would impact your ability to participate in ground-based movement. If you aren’t sure about performing rotational movements, or putting your weight on your hands, knees, and feet, or other elements of the program, check with your medical professional.
• There is no specific fitness level requirement, but you should be able to maintain holding your own bodyweight while in a quadrupedal position.
• You do NOT need to be a gymnast or have any prior experience with Animal Flow or quadrupedal movement. You may have seen videos online with people performing very advanced flows, but those individuals have been practicing AF for a long time. This workshop is designed to make all attendees feel successful, no matter what their current experience or abilities.
• You should have a good understanding of the language the workshop is taught in. Each individual workshop listing includes information about the language the Master Instructor will teach in, and whether there will be translation into the local language. Because of the technical nature of the program and the emphasis on the language and cueing of the movements, it is necessary that you understand the verbal instructions from the instructor.
• We welcome participants with disabilities and will make every effort to facilitate participation for persons with special accommodation needs.
Level 1 Certification
Fitness professionals (or other professionals in a related field) who intend to use AF in their training programs and/or offer classes may apply to become Certified Animal Flow Instructors. This requires meeting specific criteria and completing steps after the workshop. Simply completing the 2-day workshop is not enough – in order to maintain the quality of our instructors and program offerings around the world, everyone must demonstrate that they meet the program standards before becoming certified. This also means that you can be proud of your achievement, as you’ve put in the work to obtain your certification.
There is no additional charge to complete the certification process.
If you are not a fitness professional (or certified in a related field such as yoga or martial arts), you are still welcome to attend the workshop to learn for your own benefit. However, you would need to attain the appropriate fitness credentials before we can make you a Certified Animal Flow Instructor.
See the certification page for more information about eligibility requirements, process, and benefits.
Workshop Cancellation Policy
If you need to cancel your workshop registration, you may be eligible for a partial refund, dependent upon length of time to the event, according to the following terms. Note that we schedule travel and instructor time based on the number of registrations several months in advance, so we cannot offer full refunds if you must cancel.
For registrations that have “paid in full” (early registration or regular registration), refunds are made minus a $15 processing fee, according to the following schedule: 60 days or more until event: 100%; 45-60 days 75%; 30-45 days: 50%; 15-29 days: 25%; two weeks or less until event: $0.
It is allowable for you to transfer your registration to somebody else, although it is your responsibility to identify the individual and make any financial arrangements directly with them.
If space permits, we may be able to transfer you to a future workshop in the same region.
If an event is cancelled by GBT for any reason, a full refund (with no processing fee) shall be provided.
There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this refund policy.
Level 2 Curriculum
Level 2 builds upon the strong foundations learned in Level 1.
Participants will learn how to successfully perform the Level 2 exercises, as well as how to correctly integrate the movements with Level 1 to create extended Flows with an increased degree of complexity and intensity. Participants also learn how to instruct the movements and incorporate them into a training program. Emphasis is placed on understanding how the Level 2 movements train the fascial slings of the body; understanding the role of dissipating force, fluidity, and leverage in the advanced movements; and understanding how to instruct a range of progressive drills and conditioning exercises that form the introduction to hand balancing practice.
Level 2 Agenda
The Full-Day Agenda Includes:
- Review of key Level 1 moves
- Intro to Hand Balancing: Tuck Balance Progressions
- New Transitions: Reaching Underswitch; Reaching Underswitch to Deep Ape; Scorpion Sweeps; Roll Throughs; and Crocodile Rolls, Pop Switches and Pop Outs;
- New Traveling forms: Bear, Leopard, Crocodile;
- Using traveling forms as a “link” for switches and transitions
- How and why to introduce tempo change and energy redirects into a flow
- Intermediate flow design
Level 2 Prerequisities
To enroll in Level 2, you must have already taken the Level 1 workshop at least 30 days prior to the date of the L2 workshop. We strongly recommend you complete your Level 1 certification before enrolling, as that will ensure you are ready to undertake the new movements. You may still be able to enroll even if you have not completed the L1 test process if you contact us first. We will make arrangements with you to ensure you can complete the Level 1 test out after the Level 2 workshop.
Level 2 Certification
You can become a Certified L2 Animal Flow Instructor by completing the live assessment after the workshop. This is usually submitted on video 30-90 days after the workshop. You may request an extension if you need more time, as some of the moves may require longer for you to learn.
The assessment video includes two parts:
1. Demonstrate that you can teach 3 of the Level 2 moves to someone else.
2. Demonstrate that you can design and perform a 3-minute flow incorporating specific required elements.
Workshop Cancellation Policy
If you need to cancel your workshop registration, you may be eligible for a partial refund, dependent upon length of time to the event, according to the following terms. Note that we schedule travel and instructor time based on the number of registrations several months in advance, so we cannot offer full refunds if you must cancel.
For registrations that have “paid in full” (early registration or regular registration), refunds are made minus a $15 processing fee, according to the following schedule: 60 days or more until event: 100%; 45-60 days 75%; 30-45 days: 50%; 15-29 days: 25%; two weeks or less until event: $0.
It is allowable for you to transfer your registration to somebody else, although it is your responsibility to identify the individual and make any financial arrangements directly with them.
If space permits, we may be able to transfer you to a future workshop in the same region.
If an event is cancelled by GBT for any reason, a full refund (with no processing fee) shall be provided.
There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this refund policy.
