Solid question, think about the bottom hand pressing down and out as the footlock is coming off to create tension between the hands before the footlock fully releases. The top arm in the flag is pulling while the bottom arm is pushing. Really think about pressing the hand and spiral into flamenco grip, long and engaged shoulder, abs controlling the path of the legs down.
Also try Zoe’s one arm prep ground workout to get that flag feeling a bit more sassy.
As for alternatives……. whew! Yep, quite a doozy.
You could potentially do a variation of what is sometimes called a J flip, Zoe’s mini rig sequence from Feb did a sideways variation of one a min marker 0:44. Otherwise, you *might* be able to turn back to take both hands up, you would probably need an aerial dance lock/eggbeater style footlock instead so you could get out. You could try taking both hands to the pole by the chest, releasing the footlock, and turning back toward the top leg to straddle out. That option might require an eggbeater style footlock as well.
Keep us posted on what you find works for you, we might try a few alternatives here. Usually the mini rig option can offer a nice prompt, but it’s unclear how accessible getting that knee back on is with such a flexibility heavy pose. Please play low where you can gracefully slide to the floor 🙂
Happy training!
