Contact with Nika Jankovic
What is the relationship between physical movement practices like floor work, yoga, and breath, and how do these practices influence personal growth and teaching methods?
Discover how confronting the hardness of the floor can transform both physical practice and personal resilience.
“You want to be friends with the floor. You wanna caress the floor, you wanna melt into the floor. There’s always you in relation to this thing.” ~ Nika Jankovic (2:42)
The conversation discusses the interplay between movement practices such as floor work, yoga, and dance. Floor work, described as forming a “relationship” with the ground, is explored as a practice that transforms how one interacts with space and movement. The connection between breath and movement in yoga is also highlighted, emphasizing how breath awareness influences other practices like dance.
Teaching and learning are recurring themes, as challenges in balancing simplicity with complexity for beginners are examined. The discussion touches on the teacher-student dynamic, emphasizing the necessity of full-circle growth to effectively communicate foundational skills. Personal reflections on the evolution of movement practices during times of isolation, reveal the adaptability required in both practice and teaching.
Takeaways
Building a relationship with the floor — The practice of floor work invites practitioners to engage deeply with their physical surroundings.
Breath as a foundation — Yoga emphasizes starting with breath, which can then inform and transform physical movement practices.
Adaptability in teaching — Teaching movement requires a balance between simplifying for beginners and maintaining respect for the complexity of foundational skills.
The teacher-student connection — Effective teaching involves understanding the readiness of students and the teacher’s own readiness to guide.
Resilience through movement — The physical challenges of practicing on hard surfaces build resilience and deeper connections to the practice.
Evolution of practice — External circumstances, like the COVID-19 pandemic, reshape how and where movement practices are performed.
Personal growth in teaching — Revisiting foundational skills allows both teacher and student to grow and understand movement more fully.
Resources
Yoga — A discipline focusing on breath and movement, often used as a foundation for meditation and physical practice.
Floor work — A style of movement rooted in ground-based interaction, as discussed in contemporary dance and movement contexts.
Shavasana (Corpse Pose) — A yoga pose emphasizing stillness and melting into the floor.
Online group sessions — Movement and dance practice sessions held virtually to foster community and learning.
Tai Chi — Mentioned as a transformative movement practice offering new perspectives on body and breath.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
— Hello👋 I’m Craig Constantine.
In the Movers Mindset podcast, I talk with movement enthusiasts to learn who they are, what they do, and why they do it. I’m interested in the nature and philosophy of movement and in exploring themes like independence, self-direction, and human excellence. My interests color each conversation and provide some structure to Movers Mindset. But since I like to take the scenic route, every conversation ends up going somewhere unique.
The purpose of Movers Mindset is to create and share great conversations with movement enthusiasts. Each conversation feeds my insatiable curiosity, but I share them to turn on a light for someone else, to inspire them, or to give them their next question.
I appreciate your time and attention, and I don’t take it for granted.
— Thank you!
My personal mission is creating better conversations to spread understanding and compassion. And Movers Mindset is one of the things I do in service of my mission. Drop by https://craigconstantine.com/ for my weekly email, my other podcasts, writing and more.
The Movers Mindset project grew from conversations I started having as part of my personal journey rediscovering movement. The project started late in 2015, and it was initially simply a web site that shared others’ writing. The project grew, and in 2017 I started the podcast. I’ve worked extremely hard, but none of this would have been possible without so much help from so many people.
Thanks for listening!
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