Amazing Brains – 015 – John Peralta
In this episode, Micah sits down with Massage Therapist and Personal Trainer, John Peralta. In the show they cover concepts of flow, biohacking, prehab, and using play as a form of fitness.
Show Notes
About John
John met Micah at The Space, a venue in Colorado where a person can come and receive different health services like movement, music and more.
They talked a lot about ‘prehab’ a concept that combines the ideas of preventative medicine and rehabilitation
“If you’re looking to get out of pain, the best things to do are mobilize and stabilize” – John
John uses slacklining to build strength, stability and balance
Not everyone begins on the slackline, there is a progression that can lead up to being able to practice on and use a slackline
Standing on one leg, walking in a straight line, hop on a straight line, and lunging are all ways to build stability for slacklining without actually doing in
“It should feel fun, if it doesn’t feel like fun, you probably aren’t going to stick with it” – John
Flow
Prehab is the prevention of future injury
This all started from a desire to play as hard as he could without dying
He was learning to seek play in his workout, and stumbled upon flow states
If you are so engaged in an activity that you lose sense of self, time, etc, then that is play, that is flow
“There is no distinction between play and flow, they are the same” – John
Flow is what he was experiencing in his ‘play’, so he wanted to find a way to bring that into his workout
Play
Bringing in the experimental process has been huge to adding more flow into his workouts
He believes that doing it that way, provides the most range of movement to apply to his ‘play’
John encourages listeners to get creative, you don’t need any expensive tools to get active
“The key word that makes play, productive, is adaptability” – John
Movement is such a key component
Play allows you to not take it so seriously, it gives you that sense of childlike wonder
If you’re struggling because your skill doesn’t meet the challenge, then begin with play
The moment you get out of your head, is the moment you drop into flow state
Movement as Medicine
“We create a level of unworthiness when we experience trauma” – John
Movement is finding the connection between healing trauma and hacking flow
Medicine can be anything that you put in your mouth
Medicine can look like sustenance, supplements or substances
Final Thoughts
This crazy life that we are living right now, is supposed to be fun
“If you can find a way t