Anya & Alex – Announcing presenters
Aniya started her rope journey five years ago as a model and has lately been exploring the other side as a rigger. As a physiotherapist, she sees rope through anatomy, biomechanics and load management, teaching topics like nerve injury prevention. She lives the line of doing demanding things without sacrificing the body in the process, and believes rope doesn’t have to be reckless to be powerful. Her approach centers on safety, small yet meaningful adjustments, active modeling, shared responsibility, treating everyone as informed active participants. Aniya enjoys challenging misleading beliefs and stereotypes in health, tying approaches, roles, and the common patterns we fall into during sessions. Her workshops are for those who want to keep doing crazy stuff sustainably.
Alex has been dedicated to shibari since 2021. She identifies as a rope switch, and sometimes as a performer as well, mostly focused on connection and trust it brings. She enjoys breaking patterns and analysing patterns.
Find out more about Anna Lysee at her Instagram.
Workshops
Nerves – Upper Body
(Workshop level: L1-3)
In this workshop on nerve injury prevention in shibari, Aniya takes a hands-on, highly practical approach from both the model’s and the rigger’s perspective. All major upper-body nerves will be painted directly onto her model, creating a clear visual map. Using this living anatomy guide, she will break down TK, strappado, tenshi, and improvised ties, focusing on principles that transfer to any pattern rather than memorizing “safe” or “unsafe” positions.
Beyond nerves, we will dive into blood restriction and concrete safety checks for both models and riggers. Participants will learn how to assess individual anatomy, adjust placement accordingly, and respond effectively if something goes wrong, including practical strategies to support nerve recovery. Covered nerves include the radial, median, and ulnar nerves, the brachial plexus, suprascapular, supraclavicular, and long thoracic – all made visible, tangible, and easier to understand in the context of real rope.
Nerves – Lower Body
(Workshop level: L1-3)
In this lower-body edition of nerve injury prevention in shibari, Aniya again takes a hands-on, highly practical approach from both the model’s and the rigger’s perspective. All major lower-body nerves will be painted directly onto her model, creating a clear visual map of where risk actually lives under the skin. Using this living anatomy guide, she will break down hip harnesses, half basket, futomomo, ashi shibari, and improvised ties, focusing on principles that are transferable to any pattern rather than memorizing “safe” or “unsafe” positions.
Beyond nerves, we will dive into blood restriction and concrete safety checks for both models and riggers. Participants will learn how to assess individual anatomy, adjust placement accordingly, and respond effectively if something goes wrong, including practical strategies to support nerve recovery. Covered nerves include the ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, lateral femoral cutaneous, anterior femoral cutaneous, sciatic, tibial, common fibular, and saphenous – all made visible, tangible, and easier to understand in the context of real rope.
Shoulders in TK
(Workshop level: L1-3)
In this shoulder-focused workshop, Aniya blends anatomy, biomechanics and comfort into a practical deep dive of a gote.
She’ll guide you through assessing readiness, choosing sustainable positioning, and adapting for different bodies – with special focus on hypermobile shoulders. Drawing from her perspective as a model, rigger, and physiotherapist, she’ll explore what both partners can actively do to create a gote that is not just tolerable, but strong and stable. You’ll experiment with different approaches to shoulder locking – with the chance to try them directly on Aniya and receive immediate feedback – and then put it all into motion with active holds in a TK. Learn how muscular engagement, and small adjustments during transitions can dramatically improve comfort and longevity. Expect practical tools and a few “aha” moments about how to make shoulders much happier in rope.
Rigger Fingers
(Workshop level: L1-3)
If your fingers are tired, cranky, or quietly plotting revenge after a tying marathon, this workshop is for you. In this rigger-focused deep dive, Aniya brings practical ways to sustainably “unfuck” your fingers without giving up intensity or speed. You’ll start with simple warm-ups and mobility exercises, then explore how to hook and handle rope without twisting your fingers into positions they were never designed for. From there, it’s all about efficiency: how to use all ten fingers so your overworked right index finger can finally chill or how to distribute force and transfer load from small joints into larger upper-body muscles. You’ll practice these principles through overtying drills and session-based exercises that integrate healthier mechanics without overthinking every move. We’ll also cover skin care, taping strategies for long tying days, which tape works best for what – with materials supplied on hand so you can experiment.
