Welcome – My Movement philosphy

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Movement Health in
Two clients doing Pilates leg springs in class on the tower

Here goes, first Blog post, so thought I would talk about my professional influences and how they drive my movement philosophy. This philosophy is a product of the movement disciplines, Remedial Massage, Pilates and Exercise Physiology.

REMEDIAL MASSAGE: My introduction to the world of movement, where I first looked at an Anatomy and Physiology text, one of the teachers was a ‘Rolfer’ and was always talking about Fascia. These days the go-to Fascia text is Myers Anatomy Trains and the idea there’s a continuous web throughout the whole body and that nothing happens in isolation is very exciting.

PILATES: I learned to teach Pilates through the Polestar school and am a big fan of anything to do with their head Brent Anderson; I really like the mix of the Pilates Method and movement science. To have an interest in Pilates and movement science, it would be impossible not to have been exposed to researchers Hodges and McGill’s ideas around core stability and spinal health (I have very strong opinions here, might save for another Blog).

Some of the most enjoyable Pilates workshops I have attended have been taught by Classical teachers, the depth of knowledge and  reverence presenters such as Brooke Siler, Blossom Crawford and Brett Howard have for Ramona, Kathy Grant and the Jo Pilates legacy is absolutely infectious. Lastly, Jo Pilates, where it all started, the man who believed that movement could heal, that the right exercises executed effectively could positively affect not just the physical body but other body systems. Some might say he was ahead of his time and I truly think he was; I am always amazed when Jo’s ideas appear in modern science and this is one of the reasons I decided to start this blog.

EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY: A University Honours thesis about physical activity and falls prevention has reinforced the importance of exercise across the entire lifespan. As a health professional I really like the Explain Pain philosophy taught be Moseley and Butler of clinician as educator empowering/challenging clients to engage in their own health experience.

Movement-wise the screens created by Gray Cook I find useful in identifying any ‘weak links’ in a person’s movement experience and that to create ‘balance’ some joints need to be trained for stability and other joints need to be mobilised. Then when training balance and working towards improved movement the Janda approach of learning from the ground up (the same way children do).

So what does all this mean? In summary:

Movement is an experience that incorporates the whole body, including all its systems.

Pilates is a whole body movement system that is so much more than the core.

Movement can heal and improving movement requires an intelligent approach.

Regular movement is one of the best things an individual can do to positively affect their health at any age.

Thanks for reading and welcome, Warwick..