Arts Writing

Anandam Dancetheatre: Evolving Audience and Expectation // Lion or Fox LLC

Wrapped in the Interstitial: Janine Antoni, Anna Halprin, and Stephen Petronio at the Fabric Workshop and Museum // Title Magazine

Where Fairy Tale Meets New Circus: Eat Sweet Feet by Le Radiant // Circus Talk

CCAFT V4: Anchored in the past, I commit fully to the present, Maintaining a vision of the future we will imagine
​
Relay Rewind: A Look at the Process of the CCAFT Creation Relay // Anandam Dancetheatre

Contemporary Circus Arts Festival of Toronto : Creating Context // Anandam Dancetheatre

Peñasco Theatre Residency: Cultivating Creative Space for Circus Artists in the States // Circus Now

Krin Haglund: One Woman, Many Talents // Circus Now

Material Concept in Circus Arts // En Piste (membership required) re-post by Lion or Fox LLC

Performance Updates

May 2017: Circus Bomb The Southwest

March 2017: "Things That Survived The Winter" receives 501(c)(3) status with Fractured Atlas
​
Summer 2016: Circus Costume, Choreography, and Creation

Summer 2014: A House for Birds at Peñasco Theatre

Creative Writing

Artist Book: Spring FREEZE  // Waterhorse Press

​Artist Book: Wish for Spirit // Self-Published

Essay: Into the Wild Ocean // Rebelle Society (no longer available)

Changing Body, Changing Mind
A storytelling saga about what it's like to explore alternate treatment options for chronic illness (specifically Crohn's) in the States. From a first person point of view. 

Chapter One: Alternative Care for Crohn's

Chapter Two: One Week into Xiaolan Treatment Plan: Reflections on a lifestyle change

Chapter Three: Toronto Updates: Phoenix Path

Chapter Four: Things I am Learning about Crohn's, culture, food and healing

Chapter Five: Building Core Strength Through Chronic Inflammation and Scars

Chapter Six: Changing Body, Changing Mind: "Healing crisis", sleep, and dreams

Chapter Seven: The Floor is Ice

Chapter Eight: US-Canada Border Issues: Finding humor in unnecessary obstacles to care

Full Story Continuous (in reverse chronology) >>

​It’s not often that one gets to step outside “normal life” and view the earth from a different perspective. This is why I am eternally grateful to share this vantage, hoping to inspire fellow earth-dwellers to follow trails. May enduring grace be bestowed upon my loving friend Jess Flying Yogi, and her family Terence, Tessa, and Geevee for their openness, generosity, and companionship on this journey.
--
We left early, stuck in traffic on our way out of town. We spent our extra moments in the car going over lists of things we may have forgotten… prescription drugs, food items, pillows and warm layers. A full day of driving landed us in a hotel room just into Colorado; the next day had us driving through a snowstorm in Denver. It seemed our first picturesque views were to be obscured in thick blankets of white dust.
 
Determined not to miss destinations due to weather, we persevere toward our first stop, Garden of the Gods. This land was bestowed on the city of Colorado Springs in 1909 through an incredible act of philanthropy. The children of Charles Elliot Perkins gifted it in his memory, with the agreement that it forever be free -- reminding us that freedom is land’s natural state.  

​The weather clears just as we arrive, and the view from the visitor center parking lot is stunning. We take a quick check-in at the nature center for Junior Ranger books for Tessa and Geevee [this parks program is a genius way to build curiosity and future stewardship of the land]. From here we find our hikes, and proceed happily into the land of the Gods. ​Greeting us is a happy melty snowman -- a message that even in the cold, there is beauty in playing outdoors. 

Later that day, we head to Great Sand Dunes National Park, one of my favorites to photograph. Sinuous peaks of sand rival nearby snow capped mountains in their grandiosity. To reach them, we must pass through an ice cold mountain stream. After mounting the first big dune, I lie in a basin to warm up and view the world upside down while considering the perpetual hill of sand.
 
I climb farther. The views are worth it. Even now, the surreal environment speaks of epic escapes and the test of human will to transcend barriers. Melting into nothing with each step, efforts dispersed in tiny grains of sand, the Dunes dare you to take in their true scale, to feel your insignificance. 

​As we travel toward Monument Valley on our third day, we pass Bears Ears National Monument, one of our country’s newest national parks. You may have heard of it due to speculation about its protective designation being revoked with the current administration. We have too many miles to go to our campsite, so we continue on hoping that someday we will travel back to see that it has remained protected. 

​As I mentioned, we are on our way to Monument Valley, the most majestic place I’ve been. We choose to stay at The View Campground on Navajo Nation land, and here we ask permission to set up our aerial rig to train. Permission granted. Happy Dance. We are told to rig in the day lot, since it is already close to sunset. The light and the Monuments’ still beauty make these shots, and our experience, one of the highest highs of the trip. I find myself at a loss for words for this place; all pales in comparison to simply beholding. Our images are a reminder that culture and nature can coexist in harmony, if only we work for it. I wake at sunrise to see the dawning of a new day, soft light, nascent forms. ​​

We stop briefly on our way to see dino tracks on Navajo land, evolution’s footprint, triggering limbic reminders of nature’s creation and destruction. ​

Then on to the Grand Canyon, an iconic view of US wild west grandeur, co-maintained by the Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Tribal Nation, the Havasupai people, and the Navajo Nation. As far as the eye can see there are canyons [Approximately 277 miles long, 4 to 18 miles wide, and over a mile deep, carved by the Colorado River]. The view flattens at a distance so the landscape looks painted. I contemplate the heyday of panorama paintings, mid-19th century, and wonder if the awe they inspired is similar to how people perceive these sights. ​

​We choose dispersed camping just outside the park, and are happy with the serenity of our site. The next day we descend a few miles into the canyon at Hermit’s Rest, the far side of the red loop, away from attractions. Our afternoon and evening take us to Lake Powell and another low-maintenance, but highly beautiful open campground. We enjoy the sunset, the warm winds, and the morning light that follows. Once again, aerial commences with ease, surrounded by water, draped in silks. 

​Side stop at Horseshoe Bend. Handstands on the ledge. [This is nothing new… pretty much every site we visited, we took the time to shift our perspective and challenge our comfort with heights.] 

Forward to Zion National Park. Taking in the sights from the back seat of the Santa Fe, I see a group of big horn sheep on a ledge above us. Just as I mention them, we five scream “AHHHHHH!” in unison, bursting into nervous laughter as a big horn sheep (mistaken for a goat) jumps in front of our moving vehicle.
​
Feeling thankful to have averted disaster, we are enthusiastically on our way toward Angel’s Landing through Refrigerator Canyon, a trail that takes you up 21 of Walter’s Wiggles (i.e. switchbacks) toward an exciting climb that involves scaling and rock-hopping using chains bolted to the mountain’s path. The whole crew endures quite well, and Jess and I leave the girls with Terrance at a landing where the climb becomes quite challenging. We are happy to continue on to the top, and have both chosen to wear dresses for the occasion. We make it, in style, and Jess proceeds to handstand at the top. 

​The next morning we arrive at Bryce Canyon National Park, and commence our third day of major canyon hikes in a row. My calves are feeling it, but the hoodoos of Bryce are captivating!! We make it from top, to bottom, back to top again, feeling tough and challenged, and filled with light. 

​Utah. So many rocks, so little time. We spend two days in the vicinity of Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, first camping in Moab and then Dead Horse State Park. Arches is nature’s cathedral, the world’s largest accumulation of natural arches. Epic vaults, literal tons of rock suspended so delicately that it’s hard to believe they were formed over 300 million years from a salt bed. Arches, spires, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths call to the human body, as if the earth is reaching its dirt hands out to grasp us, to point to the sky and say “BEHOLD, focus your attention on THIS, or risk losing out on details trying to grasp the vastness of space.”  ​We gaze. We juggle. We handstand. We venerate. We come back a second day.

​DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK and CANYONLANDS. The story behind Dead Horse Point’s name taps my tiny human desire for narrative. According to the story, wild horses occupied the North American landscape more than 50 million years ago. Wiped out by the last Ice Age, modern horses returned by way of the Spanish in the 1500’s. Fast forward 300 years, when wild mustangs ran free along the mesa tops... at a time when cowboys sought to profit off them. They used Dead Horse Point to trap horses and sort the healthy, marketable ones from the “broomtails”, those deemed less desirable. You can probably guess at what happens next. Legend has it that a band of broomtails was left corralled at the point, dying of thirst within sight of the Colorado River. The gravity of this tale stirs up deep sadness and anger, both past and present, at humanity’s casual lack of respect for natural life.  

I believe that the horses left some part of their unbreakable spirits here. ​Our campsite is magic. A kit fox greets us there. We rig aerials near the canyon ledge at sunset, and this is one of my favorite moments from the trip. 

We visit Canyonlands and see where a meteorite created a giant gorge of green silt. It seems one of the overarching themes of our trip is to be humbled by the power and strength of natural forces, as big as the cosmos, as small as a grain of sand. We traverse vast sheets of slick rock to more canyon views. We have many miles to go, and not nearly enough time to take in what this setting has to offer. 

By the next day we are in the Rockies, stretching our legs with a short mountain hike, much different than what we’ve grown accustomed to. The air is cool and crisp, the earth moist and covered with evergreens and snow. Bathed in forest light, we see our last views from high on the mountain. We are humbled. Leaving newly revealed parts of ourselves in mountains and canyons, we head east -- hoping to return soon.​

 Sarah Muehlbauer
www.lionorfox.com

What are the boundaries of “circus”? Is it defined by its apparatus, its history, a set of forms? Do we accept and demand a certain type of virtuosity or overarching structure? Can circus appreciate small moments on par with spectacle? Could it be framed as an outlook… a mission to transcend human limits?

Anandam Dancetheatre, Toronto’s cutting-edge collective entity under the direction of choreographer Brandy Leary puts the term “circus” to task, creating work that occupies disciplinary grey spaces. Rightfully so, with grace and force the company draws from a deep well of eastern philosophy and movement, earned through Leary’s significant intercontinental immersion in Indian culture. The company’s aerial rope-infused theater resists traditional classification, often assembling large ensembles and a minimalist aesthetic that connects ground and air, while experimenting with technology, light, and sound; site-specificity; and alternative audience engagement.

To understand the heart of this work one has only to look to its linguistic roots. “Anandam” is Sanskrit for “liminal bliss,” but more accurately this is a space prior to awareness, as Leary describes, “Before the brain makes any kind of rational or concrete judgment.” Operating out of Collective Space, an intimate rehearsal space and venue, the company recently co-hosted Toronto’s third Contemporary Circus Arts Festival withA Girl in the Sky Productions, manifesting a consciously broad-minded view of what circus is and can be. Polish is not always the goal, setting Toronto aesthetics apart from nearby circus magnate Montreal. While the latter puts youth and acrobatic athleticism atop its formal pyramid, it is clear from the scene in Toronto that virtuosity is an entirely different animal—deconstructed, layered, valued as heavily as concept and artistry, and evaluated by the communicability of its embodied form.

All involved, one would hardly argue that Anandam’s work is not spectacular. Recent project Cascade overtook the former site of the Toronto Circus School, The Globe and Mail Press Hall, installing 60+ independent rope artists in a duration based exploration of the slow act of falling, held for the length of festivalNuit Blanche Toronto. Featuring a unique disco-ball projection scheme by collaborator Eamon MacMahon and meditative score by composer James Bunton, the work cultivates a peaceful immersive space where one could get lost in the micro- and macrocosm of human form as it generates and harnesses mysterious internal force.

Just a month later, in collaboration with Ricochet’s Laura Stokes, Anandam debuted new work Seismology exploring the body and landscape through glacial imagery, creating seismic relationships that consider “states of density, collaboration, falling, collapsing, overpopulation, environmental disaster, mass graves, icebergs, and melting ice caps in an immersive theater environment.” (From Anandam's Website). One gets the sense that Anandam’s work reaches far beyond movement, using performance to transcribe human drives and universal phenomena. We are invited into the mythic, the spiritual and esoteric, led by shamanic emissaries crossing divides of discipline and culture.

One of the strongest threads in the company’s work is its enhanced, often participatory viewer experience. Beginning with Seismology and continuing through several new projects, Anandam has chosen to engage a unique “Audience in Residence” program supported by the Metcalf Foundation. This allows the company to evaluate audience relationship through continual in-process feedback, which in turn changes and shapes the piece. This should prove vital for the show Weather, to be installed at the Bata Shoe Museum in 2015. In this piece, new-media collaborator Jacob Niedzwiecki developed augmented reality applications, adding images and sound to live performance through the use of mobile devices. It’s a playful artistic hijack, welcoming the pervasiveness of modern hand-held technology and the attention-drift that accompanies it.

The Bata Shoe Museum installation continues Anandam’s expanded dialogue between architecture, the body, and public space. Here Leary speaks of the fluidity of working with site that initiates a change in expectation, an opportunity for intimate moments, and a different audience that ultimately gains access to the work. In relation to theater, she comments on the challenges and opportunities of re-visioning a space, that performance in “museums, streets, and warehouses have a different life or edge to them. There’s not this over-riding context that holds it in one place and time.”

Careful not to “put practices into silos,” Leary emphasizes the importance of cross-genre training and artistic viewpoint. Her education received in India was invested in the “experience of your body in the work”, rather than “viewing the body-as-machine, as a form to be exercised,“ says Leary. "This comes from a place of “ritual, myth, and spectacle, where the cosmology of the body is sacred.” Leary advocates around contemporary circus culture, while ultimately invested in the concept of a “post-disciplinary” environment. This orientation sets Anandam apart, allowing the company to occupy a unique space and presence. Adopting the tools of circus, yet going beyond perceived limits, Anandam creates work that reveres tradition while contributing to its evolution.

--Sarah Muehlbauer

"Things That Survived The Winter" is now a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas. Fractured Atlas is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Contributions for the purposes of Things That Survived The Winter are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. You can check out our sponsorship page here on the Fractured Atlas website:

THINGS THAT SURVIVED THE WINTER

“Things That Survived The Winter” is an interdisciplinary theatre installation exploring resilience in a dynamic and changeful environment. Through the union of circus arts, live soundtrack, and an immersive visual arts setting, audiences are led through a story where characters’ identities become malleable, intertwined and interdependent, breaking apart and combining to express subtle dynamics of life in community. Original music by Rexedog propels structure, resonance and fluidity between concepts and people. Dynamic acrobatics, aerial dance, and balance work by artists from across the US draw metaphors of risk, mastery, and absurdity parallel with those we take in our individual lives. Human-influenced nature shown through video and sculpture reflects the cycles of growth and change that forever construct experience. Together the arc demonstrates that the whole rises to be greater than the sum of its parts.​

Dear Listeners,

This is more of a watch than a listen! ;) Many things are rapidly evolving and changing in our country and around the world, and the uncertainty is enough to make any of us rightfully anxious! These topsy-turvy times make it even more important to invest energy in the things that bring us back to the moment, draw us into our intuitive, creative selves, and calm our bodies and brains. With those goals in focus, I'm teaching another 5-week rope series at Madison Circus Space, and I'm excited for all the determination and progress my students are making!! I'm also moving forward with creation for "Things That Survived The Winter", the collaborative show I've been developing with artists and musicians from Philadelphia, Madison, Toledo, and Oakland. Also, importantly, I'm taking the time to dance it out when life gets rough, and I encourage you to do the same—non-goal oriented expression is both catalyst and catharsis for all the complex feelings and thoughts that are coming to the surface. Here's a piece of the flow, and I wish you all the best feelings in dancing your hearts free. <3 Sarah

I was invited back this year to the Contemporary Circus Arts Festival of Toronto as Festival Dramaturge. Here's a link to a piece I wrote on the festival's intelligent growth, design, and evolution.

CCAFT V4: ANCHORED IN THE PAST, I COMMIT FULLY TO THE PRESENT, MAINTAINING A VISION OF THE FUTURE WE WILL IMAGINE published by Anandam Dancetheatre and the Contemporary Circus Arts Festival of Toronto

"CCAFT has taken an active role in supporting the cultivation of unique voices and the development of practice, which serves a different responsibility than what artists are often called to put forth in the economic spectrum. This choice is not to suggest a hierarchy, but to present a broad continuum of style and function instilled with a sense of awareness, purpose, and dedication to an audience in whatever context we present. It is less to define “what is circus?” but “what are we doing with it?” Here we find the space that allows for work to be “embodied, political, and full of failure”, fundamentals of socially conscious art."

Less blogging, more making lately! This post is just to share a bit of my work life this summer. I've been performing for the "Give and Take Tiny Circus" in Philadelphia and the greater Northeast. Above is a funk trapeze routine I've performed this and last summer, to a song called "Oogum Boogum" by Brenton Wood from 1967. Lots of energy and fun to perform!! 

Hello lovely listeners, and greetings from the midway point of this transition from Western to Eastern treatment, from sick to healthy, from short-term solutions to long-term perspective on the care and maintenance of Crohn’s disease from a holistic perspective.

I am not here to tell you I have all the answers, but I AM here to tell you what I’ve learned and experienced. At this point I’m feeling much more grounded than ever, and I’m starting to discern what bits of practical advice are most useful to pass on to anyone dealing with Crohn’s (and I believe much of this is broadly applicable to IBS/D). So here’s a "cheat-sheet"—less of a “why” and more of a “how” to manage the practical aspects of how I (and possibly you) can facilitate an overall transition for optimizing strength and health through natural methods.

First off, let’s talk…

DIET
Ladies and gentleman, it is not a secret. Crohn’s is a disease of the GI system, and so naturally it is affected by food. Inflammation = malnourishment, and so it’s both important to pay attention to what foods cause the inflammation spiral, as well as those that can boost our health and well-being. Nobody’s a saint, and it's a highly individual and variable disease and set of symptoms. Besides rule #1 on wheat, which is absolute, I aim to suggest that every good food choice adds to the cumulative well-being and dismissal of symptoms, and that this is simply a guideline from my research and experience. I highly recommend talking with a dietician if you have Crohn's. 

​I have had to revise this post recently in light of further reasearch, but essentially it boils down to>>

After having my long-term doctors repeatedly dismiss the topic of nutrition as it relates to Crohn's, I began to study this on my own with the help of a holistic nutritionist in Toronto (who also suffers from Crohn's). Jackie McCaffrey is a good resource on this topic. Things like food timing and organic are really importance, since pesticides just aggravate symptoms and certain foods don't process well together. Dairy and caffeine are commonly problematic for IBD sufferers and totally unnecessary in modern diet (at least in the amounts that they are typically included). Gluten is an obvious "no" as well for its inflammatory response and how it causes backflow from the Ileocecal valve.

There is also a link in many (myself included) between Crohn's and chronic yeast infections which trigger GI symptoms and can act in combination with hormonal fluctuations—so probiotics, natural anti-fungals like garlic and coconut oil, and apple cider vinegar are all helpful in reversing symptoms. I know this all from personal experience, and have chosen to forgo immune suppressants over the last 4 years in order to learn to control symptoms naturally. I will also add that CBD oil, which is now legal in all 50 states, is an additional natural dietary product that soothes chronic pain and inflammation without the same negative side effects as the standard Western drug treatment options.


CHINESE MEDICINE
The herbs I take twice daily in the form of tea from my Chinese medicine doctors at Xiaolan cleanse and reset my GI system. I will not list the full ingredient list since this is measured carefully by perscription and not intended to substitute for supervision from an experienced care practitioner, but the teas combine ingredients like ginger root, licorice root, kudzu, skullcap root, coptis root, pinellia rhizome, and magnolia bark,  I will likely come and go from needing them as part of routine maintenance when symptoms pop up. I am also undergoing acupuncture, which works through the meridian system affecting various immune channels and hormonal balances. 

If you are considering long-term care and maintenance for Crohn’s, I highly recommend Chinese medicine as an alternative to standard drug options, and suggest you do some local research. Each practitioner likely has their own concept of treatment strategy, and you’re going to want to find one to stick with, as they will get to know you and your evolving health.

YOGA & BODYWORK
I’ve been an athlete my whole life, and I pursue efficiency with every movement and in those treatments I seek to help my body feel and move better. The training experience and bodywork I’ve received through more than a decade’s worth of chronic inflammation, scar tissue, and heavy training have given me a lot of hard work to do... and an equal abundance of tools to draw from and compare.

I’ve been practicing yoga ever since my Crohn's surgery 11 years ago, and I believe it's one of the key factors that has kept my health functioning at a higher level than perhaps my “severe” diagnosis would suggest. Yoga mindset helps me manage stress, and its physical forms have kept me continually striving for a more perfect sense of “center”, working from a system that transforms both inside and out.  

For receiving healing work at the hands of skilled practitioners, which is at times quite necessary, I believe Thai bodywork is one of the best systems out there for unraveling the physical and energetic effects of chronic illness, as well as cranio-sacral therapy and myofascial release. I have recently had a significant amount of belly work done by practitioner David Laverdure, focusing on a sort of "infinity" pattern, a wavelike motion to encourage fluidity and the acceptance of pressure directly to the intestines themselves. 

STRENGTH TRAINING

The Caterpillar Response: Combatting General Collapse and Divide of the Midsection:
Over the years my core was divided by intermittent inflammation, which I continually fought by increasing focus and working “harder” than I should’ve had to, to achieve results in practice. All this occurred largely unnoticed until misalignment transferred significantly outward, and unexplained joint problems started to add up. It is funny, and with an appropriate sense of irony, that after all this time and effort, the solution is an act of “letting go” and simplifying—teaching my body to do "less work", to sustain the effects of alternative healing. 

Since my trained neurological signals gave me strength but not coherence, I knew this was a mind challenge as much as a physical one. What follows is a distilled regimen that I follow for time and effect, and it’s my goal to introduce short videos to this list. As a yogi and acrobat, I prefer to use my body as my main tool—but I also favor the use of BOSU because it forces midline grounding and stops my body from trying to re-engineer a sense of balancing using strength over natural alignment.

The series is specifically designed to rehab uneven core and reground the hips, working outward into the grounding of the hands and feet. In addition to “core” focus, the hips are highlighted due to the relationship between the SI joint and its direct connection to the small intestine which, when inflamed, is a significant driver of uneven centering and chronic back pain. A strong and centered core is truly to the benefit of everyone, but in the case of the IBS/D affected, it’s even more crucial to support and house the organs—preventing the midsection twist and collapse, like the reaction of a caterpillar in distress curling in on itself to protect its vital organs.

**Asterisks for advanced levels only

PART ONE: STANDING  BALANCING
This series begins in simple, natural positions, triggering a wake-up of subtle core and pelvic floor muscles, and standing leg stabilizers, to encourage grounding throughout the practice.

Standing leg lifts: Front, back, and side. 15-20 each leg/ each exercise, repeated twice per workout
Beginning on floor if new to this. Leveling up to flat side of BOSU. Resistance bands added as strength increases.
Between leg lift sets:
BOSU sits (squishy side): Pilates 100 variation, bent knee/ parallel to floor. Hold backs of thighs for assistance.
Bug walks (10 x 2-3) on or off BOSU for lower ab isolation

Tree Pose: Level progression: Floor, flat side, squishy side of Bosu
BOSU Pushups: 5-10 x 2 (can be alternated with your Tree Pose)
Butterfly wings and “W” arm extensions on Balance Ball: 15-20 x 2/ exercise
BOSU Squats with weights: 8-10 x 2-3 rounds with 5-15 lb hand weights

Take a few minutes to explore down dog, walk forward to standing forward fold, widen feet for low squat, and roll up. Take simple bicep, tricep, and pec stretches at the wall.

PART TWO: SIMPLE HANDSTANDS AND HANGING
Balancing push with pull, I believe in the importance of grounding the body through both the hands and feet first before hanging exercises, so the order of this is quite intentional and designed to best support the foundations of your frame. If you have not attempted a handstand before, I recommend in-person instruction. Same goes for hanging inversions, which are only to be practiced if you have aerial training or an instructor. As you can see from the description of the “Simple Hang” below—with all the dimensions that aerial movement contains, there are quite a lot of forces to consider.

Handstands at the wall: Belly in toward wall, held for alignment, strength, and time
**Handstands on Bosu: Split leg, with wall assist or spot
Simple hang from hands: I begin any aerial activity with simple hanging for at least a minute or two, focused on opening up the hand, even grip through all the fingers, relaxation/ elongation of the spine and widening of the low back. Hanging from parallel, shoulder-width bars allows for the most neutral alignment and is ideal for this training, but it can be adapted on straps, rings or other aerial apparatus with care. There is always an active hugging inward, a pressure created by pulling the hands towards each other, lengthening the neck, wrapping the shoulders, and pressing shoulder blades down the back. Core and pelvic floor engagement is cued from previous exercises, so you should be good to go for healthy inversion.
Shoulder circles from parallel bars: 5-10 full circles, maximum range each direction x 2. Increase repetitions incrementally
Weight-loading single arm through full range of motion
**Hanging inversions: Split through (croc variation), unthread, controlled straddle descent, increased incrementally.
**Single Locked Knee Hangs: Held for time & hamstring/ calf release
**Single Locked Knee Hang Sit-ups: 5-10 each side
**Skin the Cat
**Meathooks

PART THREE: FLOOR SERIES
This last set is a simple sequence derived from yoga and designed to target hip, belly, and shoulder tension, and to work off of the previous series of exercises. If you are new to yoga, I recommend taking class. There are many good tutorials on these poses available with a quick google search, though this can’t replace a good teacher. It's also extra important if you have had any surgical intervention, as I have, to practice in proper alignment or risk damage to your joints over time. In my case, I've had to be quite careful with splits and backbends due to the scar tissue in my lower core. This is not to deter you from practicing, quite the opposite in fact—but to advise you to work within your body's constraints, and to continue bodywork and scar rehabilitation to achieve your optimal alignment and range of motion. 

Start with a simple vinyasa to balance your body and feel free to return to it between sides, positions, or any time your body seems to be cooling off. There are many forms this could take, but I suggest starting in downward dog, rolling forward into plank, lowering slowly to the floor, moving through cobra (or upward dog), pressing back to child's pose with knees wide, and returning to downward dog.

Bridge 
**Wheel (with block and/or wall grounding)
Half Pigeon
King Arthur at Wall
Half Split
**Full Split
Tortoise
**Middle Split
Plow & Fish
Simple bent-knee twist (lying)
Child’s Pose