I had always loved sports growing up: tennis, rugby, football – pretty standard and popular sports. I felt like something was missing for me. I still love those sports and wish I played them more, but there are several reasons I think ropeflow has “stuck” for me which I will get onto later.
I first heard of it when researching how to “cure” or at least manage my chronic Eczema which had spread all over my body. I was watching a YouTube video about a skin health coach and his morning routine. His name was Rob Stuart and his content helped me massively. Interestingly the best thing he ever did for my skin health was introduce me to the notion of ropeflow.
First things first- get my hands on a rope.
I didn’t want to buy a rope as the ones I saw on most websites were quite expensive. “How much does rope cost?” I thought to myself. I had assumed it would be quite cheap. Turns out good quality rope, the kind you need to flow enjoyably, does not come cheap.
I proceeded to buying the cheapest rope I could find and tying a very suspect knot as a makeshift handle. It was so light (150-200g) and was beginning to fray and wear very quickly. Anyone who has flowed before knows that it is incredibly hard to learn with a rope that light and it isn’t very enjoyable. One of the joys of ropeflow is the feeling of a heavier rope moving in unison with your body, both guiding and being guided by it. This rope would not cut it.
I managed to learn some basics but soon needed a real flow rope, an upgrade. I bought a second hand weck method RMT rope from eBay and swiftly named it Odin as I was and am into Norse mythology and mythology in general. This is where my journey took off, with tutorials from weck method and Tim Shieff from way of the rope I had all the tools I needed to progress. Sometimes it was slow progress, the overhand sneak eluded me and frustrated me daily for weeks.
Something else I tried during lockdown was cutting my own and my Dads hair. This did not stick and judging by the photos I’m sure you would agree it is probably for the best.
I got further guidance and inspiration from the very supportive ropeflow community on facebook and Instagram. Some honourable mentions are Goodflow Goodflow who’s flair and love of tricks quickly settled him in as my rope flow idol, Alpaca flow who is incredibly gifted technically and is so knowledgeable about the subtleties and intricacies of ropeflow. He has been extremely generous with his advice and knowledge. There are way too many to mention that I love to watch flow and get a lot of my inspiration from.
When my eczema flares up, it is uncomfortable to move, it stings when you sweat, it makes you feel low and not want to be somewhere like a gym or a team sport because of the way you look and feel. At least this is the effect it had on me.
Ropeflow gifted me something to practise that I could do in private, that I could do gently and for only a few minutes so I didn’t sweat a lot. I could control the place, intensity and moveset to accommodate the way I was feeling. It is an incredibly versatile, portable and satisfying practise.
So even when I was feeling bad, I would still be able do 5-10 minutes of ropeflow, doing as little as this rather than staying inside and watching TV or playing videogames did wonders for my mood and my sense of accomplishment. There is always another move to unlock or a move to perfect in ropeflow so there is always something to work towards. Having some sort of goal is something that motivates me to keep going on the days where I don’t feel like it.
Ropeflow is just as much a practise in engaging your mind as well as your body. This intersection of both mind and body being fully engaged means it is the perfect sport or practise to enter flow state which has been associated with a host of positive benefits.
Headspace, the popular meditation app describes it as “an intrinsically positive experience. There is no superficiality driving this force, it’s just the pleasure that comes with being in the moment and doing something that you are passionate about. Happiness”
Lots of moves are like brain teasers and just don’t seem to make sense when you start them. But after a while something clicks and it is SO satisfying.
That moment when something CLICKS is something we all know and love, whether it be a concept, a maths problem, a personal problem, a level on a game, the plot in a murder mystery book we are reading – solving or achieving something that previously eluded you feels so good. You can get so many of those moments whilst moving and improving your mood when you practise ropeflow.
Thank you if you made it to the end of this blog! This is just some of what led my ropeflow journey to beginning and continuing. I would love for you to be a part of the journey so do reach out if you want any advice or want a rope to start! I hope you enjoyed the blog and I hope you stick around to see where this journey takes us next.
Much Love,
Sam x
