Feel It, Then Skate It

This is for you if

Your coach tells you what to change, you understand her completely, and your body still does the old thing.
You’ve been stuck on the same element for months and more repetitions aren’t moving it.
Your skating works, and you know it could be smoother and cost you less effort than it does.

Free

Sunday, October 4th at 4:00 PM CET
A live 90-minute class with Maja
The four somatic principles, taught and practised
Your questions answered live

Already inside DSS? You are in, nothing further needed

Here’s what makes this different

Here’s what I see over and over as a coach. The skater knows the shape. What she can’t do is feel where she is inside it, so every repetition is a guess and the correction never quite lands. That isn’t a knowledge problem, and it isn’t a question of more ice time. Nobody ever taught her to feel where her body actually is while it’s moving. Most skating instruction works from the outside in: look at it, correct it, push through it. This works the other way round. You’ll learn to feel the position before you try to produce it, which is the order your body actually needs.

Here’s who you’re learning from

I’m Maja Luther. I’ve skated since I was three and competed to German national junior level, then performed as a principal soloist in around 40 countries. I choreograph for Swiss national and Olympic skaters, including Alexia Paganini, and I’ve coached since 2006.

At 28 I went back to school at Trinity Laban in London and finished an MA in Creative Practice with Distinction. My research on somatics in figure skating is published in the Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices, and this class is that research, taught live.

“It changed my own skating more than any drill ever did.”

Maja Luther

The four principles, and where each one lands on the ice

Each one gets paired with something you already do: your spinal rotation, your leaning, your knee bend.

1BreathWhere yours travels tells you where you’re holding. One exhale into a weight shift changes your balance before you change anything else.

2SensingWhere your weight actually sits, how far your shoulder really turns, and the exact point where you stop trusting your standing leg.

3InitiationWhere a movement starts. Same element, different starting point, and it comes out completely different.

4ConnectivityHow the rest of you answers once something has started, spine and pelvis and head included.

Here’s what’s inside

We start with a testBefore I’ve taught you anything. You keep what you notice, and we come back to it at the end of the breath section so you can feel the difference yourself.

Then it’s teach, practise, skateEvery principle gets explained, then done on your floor, then taken into a real skating movement. Three turns and choctaws in socks on the carpet, and they translate.

Then jumps and spinsSmall and on the spot: your jump with the breath, then the same jump with a clear initiation, so you can feel which one leaves you steadier. Camel spin and illusion sensing, walked through off the ice.

Then your questionsBring the element you’ve been chewing on. This is the part where you get my eyes on your specific problem.

All you need is a bit of floor space, a chair without arms, and something to stand on in socks or bare feet. A mirror helps for one exercise, and your camera does the same job if you don’t have one.

Here’s what changes for you

You stop guessing. The next time your coach gives you a correction, you’ll have somewhere in your body to put it.

Coaching starts landing faster, because the instruction has somewhere to go.

Your skating gets more efficient, because efficiency is mostly about where movement starts and how much you’re gripping in places that should be quiet.

It follows you off the ice too.

Coming with you afterwards

Where Your Feeling Drops OutA one-page self-check across the four principles, so you arrive knowing which one to bring me.

Four Principles, Four CuesOne page for the rink, each principle with a single cue you can actually use mid-session.

The Ninety-Second Warm-ThroughBreath, scan and weight shift in order, to run before you step on the ice.

How to join

Join the DSS community, which is free right now, and you will find the class on the community calendar for Sunday, October 4th at 4:00 PM CET. Come a couple of minutes early so you are settled when we start.

What you need

You should already be comfortable withNothing. The four principles land on things you already do on the ice.

You’ll wantA bit of floor space, a chair without arms, and socks or bare feet. Every principle gets practised on your own floor before it goes onto the ice.

Around 90 minutesThe class runs 90 minutes with the Q&A. Bring one element you have been stuck on.

Here’s the offer

Free

A seat in the live room, free. Sunday, October 4th at 4:00 PM CET.

The live 90 minutes, the three rink resources and your questions answered, all of it free. The recording goes on sale afterwards, from CHF 29.

The class happens once, and the room is where the Q&A actually helps you.

Being in the room is the whole point. I can see what you’re doing, so I can answer the thing you’re actually stuck on while you’re still feeling it. That is what the live 90 minutes gives you.

Reserve my seat

Already inside DSS? You are in. Add Sunday, October 4th to your calendar and I will see you there.

A quick note

This class shares general movement guidance for adult skaters. If you have an injury or a health concern, check with a qualified professional before joining in.