Small Rituals for a Successful Flow Artist
As a flow artist, learning skills requires a high level of self-motivation. Our art form is still relatively niche ā itās not something widely accessible through mainstream education, and itās rare to find academies with formal grading systems that focus solely on prop manipulation.
Because of this, much of our training is self-directed. Weāre often self-taught, self-guided, and self-accountable. While this freedom is one of the most beautiful things about flow arts, it also means we need to be intentional about how we stay committed to our practice if we want to truly excel.
In this article, I want to share some practical ways that support your training long-term ā not through force or discipline alone, but through systems that actually work with your nervous system, lifestyle, and creativity. Many of the techniques mentioned here are inspired by the book āAtomic Habbitsā by James Clear, as well as my own personal experience as a student and teacher over the last 6 years.
Start With Purpose: Feel into your emotional body
Before anything else, itās important to establish why your goals are your goals.
You might have aspirations of becoming a professional poi, staff, silk fan, buugeng or fire spinner. But that goal becomes far more powerful when you attach it to how you imagine you will feel once itās realised, and the person you will become as a result.
Maybe itās the exhilaration of performing on stage and being seen, the satisfaction of mastering complex body mechanics and feeling respected, the personal joy and freedom that comes with creative expression, or simply the fun of pulling out party tricks for friends and family. The more vividly you connect your goal to an emotional state of who you will become, the more likely you are to stay engaged with the process of pursuing it.
Visualise the version of yourself you want to become as if you already ARE that person and observe the sensations that arise in your body. My mantra is - If you can dream it, you can become it.
The Action: Keep It Small and Sustainable
Ask yourself:
What action do I need to take, and when?
Whatever that action is, it needs to be achievable. If it isnāt sustainable long-term, reduce the time or frequency. Even if what youāre doing feels insignificant, consistency is what matters. Small actions repeated over time compound in ways we often underestimate.
One of my own biggest hurdles was the āall or nothingā mindset - if I wasn't going to do at least an hour of meditation I wouldn't bother at all, and guess what, months went past and I never sat down once, until I accepted that starting with 10 mins is better than nothing.
A powerful shift is allowing micro practice to count. Even if it's just for five minutes, one song or one pathway.
The aim is to create a habit ā something that becomes almost unconscious, like brushing your teeth.
It needs to be non-negotiable, and for that to happen it needs to be simple at first.
If the action is too big, we might manage it for a short burst while motivation is high. But eventually it becomes overwhelming, and thatās where we risk giving up entirely ā often accompanied by guilt, self-judgment, and the feeling that weāve āfailed.ā
Start small. Be kind to yourself. Unrealistic expectations are one of the fastest ways to burn out of something you genuinely love.
Time and Place: Give Your Practice a Home
Psychology shows us that habits are far more likely to form when we assign them a specific time and place. Saying āIāll train moreā and leaving it to chance rarely works.
Choose when and where your practice will happen.
Creating a dedicated space for your training ā whether thatās a dance studio, a patch of grass, your yoga mat, or even a specific corner of your home ā helps reinforce routine. Over time, your subconscious begins to associate that space with a particular action, making it easier to drop into practice without resistance.
Try to keep that action contained within its assigned space. If the space overlaps with distractions, the cue becomes diluted. For example, if your Xbox is in the living room and you plan to train there, you may find yourself negotiating with temptation before you even begin.
A classic example of this is sleep: people who use their bedroom only for rest and without devices tend to fall asleep faster, because the subconscious strongly associates that space with sleep. You can apply this same conditioning to movement, training, or meditation.
Some might actually feel more inspired by novel locations, especially if home has been associated with stagnation, in this case take your props to a local park or a community meet up event - Viral Happiness run regular flow jams and workshops in Melbourne - definitely go check them out!
Habit Stacking: Link It to What You Already Do
Choosing when your action happens is just as important as where.
James Clear shares in his book āAtomic Habitsā that one of the most effective ways to build a new habit is to attach it to an existing one. For example, committing to ten minutes of stretching immediately after brushing your teeth in the morning. The existing habit becomes the trigger for the new one, and repetition makes the link effortless over time.
Some habits can even support each other. A personal example ā I wanted to implement cold showers and daily squats, so I decided to do enough squats to raise my body temperature until a cold shower actually sounded appealing. If thatās not a bio-hack, I donāt know what is!
Visual Cues: Let Your Environment Do the Work
Sight is one of our strongest motivators. We walk past a shop display we donāt need, yet feel compelled to look inside. Similarly, when the toilet is in sight all of a sudden the urge to pee is multiplied. That same instinct can be used to support your practice.
Leave your props visible. Place your fans, poi, staff, or meditation cushion somewhere youāll naturally see them throughout the day. This visual cue can gently prompt action without relying on willpower.
You can even keep props with you to encourage micro-practice ā spinning while waiting for a train, or while on hold during a phone call. The easier it is to access your tools, the more often youāll use them.
Affirmation: Make It Tangible
Writing down your goals and actions is another powerful visual cue, and it doubles as affirmation.
This might look like:
A whiteboard with your weekly intentions
Scheduling training sessions into a calendar and colour-coding them
Hand-writing plans in a journal
Adding inspo videos to a folder you can come back to
Speaking your intentions aloud in the mirror
Turning thoughts and dreams into written or spoken words brings them closer to reality. It reinforces not just what youāre doing, but who you are becoming through the process.
Reinforcement: Reward good behaviour
For me a big motivator to get into the studio was knowing I would capture it on video to create content for my IG, and once I got in the space it was easy to stick around for multiple hours. I just needed that initial driver, in this case -the acquisition of potential content.
If making content isnāt your guilty pleasure, the reward can be replaced for whatever gives you a dopamine hit, perhaps its indulging in a sweet dessert or watching your favorite series on Netflix.
The idea is to pair something that feels like a chore with something that offers a more instantly gratifying reward, this makes the action more attractive.
Inspiration: Reignite the Spark
Emotional experiences have a profound impact on motivation.
One of the main reasons I wanted to become a professional entertainer was witnessing an LED group performance at Ozora Festival in Hungary that left me completely awestruck. In that moment, I knew I wanted to evoke that same feeling in others, and I was willing to do what it took to get there.
Watching others do what you love can reignite your own drive. If youāre feeling unmotivated, go see a show. Watch a theatre production. Attend a dance class or festival. Inspiration can be transmuted into drive.
Make Practice Enjoyable
If your facing resistance to practice - create a music playlist of your favorite songs and let it move you. Break up your drills with a playful freestyle thatās centered around releasing emotion rather than constant upskilling.
Record your improv sessions on your phone and watch them back, not only does this allow you to review your technique, it offers the opportunity to feel proud of who you are becoming.
If you catch yourself judging your progress, try shifting the intention from āI need to improveā to āIām here to exploreā.
Remember that you don't need to train for perfection, you're building a relationship with movement, and relationships need pleasure to last.
Progress in flow arts is often invisible while itās happening. Instead of tracking new tricks learned, followers gained or gigs booked. Track the days you showed up, the sessions completed (no matter how short) and the weeks you stayed in rhythm.
Consistency compounds in ways you canāt see right away. What feels like frustration or a roadblock is often the groundwork for a future breakthrough - it's when the most progress is happening internally.
I like to view it as if Iām hiking - the steeper the incline the more challenging the climb, but simultaneously the more distance is covered to reach the peak.
When I was a beginner, I would find myself getting SO frustrated to the point I would YEET my poi across the lawn, when I train now Iām able to stay calm no matter how many attempts it takes.
This is because I came to realise that the only path to mastery is to live through every failed attempt, until the body learns what NOT to do. Itās a process of trial and error - by accepting failure as part of the process I began to enjoy it more fully with far less resistance to showing up.
Accountability: You Donāt Have to Do It Alone
If self-motivation feels challenging, external accountability can help.
This might mean working with a mentor, booking studio time, or investing financially in your training ā the commitment itself often strengthens follow-through. If money is a barrier, organise flow dates with a friend who shares similar goals and hold each other accountable.
Revisit your vision board or journal regularly to check in with where youāre headed. And if something starts to feel unachievable, adjust it. Progress doesnāt need to be fast ā it just needs to be moving in the right direction.
Most importantly, enjoy the journey. When the process itself becomes the goal, motivation no longer needs to be forced. It becomes a natural by-product of showing up, again and again.
If you would like support staying consistent or deepening your flow practice, I offer online workshops and 1ā1 sessions for flow artists at all stages to refine technique, explore creative expression and reconnect with the joy of movement.
You can find upcoming workshops or enquire about private sessions here. Iād love to train with you!
