Movement Detectivery Podcast

Andi Locke is a traditional naturopath, certified whole health educator, and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Maine.

I’ve been wanting to speak with a GHK (sometimes referred to as German New Medicine) practitioner for some time now, as exploring this system has given me a lot of personal insights into the workings of my unconscious (the psyche-brain-organ connection, which Andi explains in this episode).

GHK is a map of the body that helps us to correlate the biological conflicts we all experience in life with different organs and tissues of the body. This helps us make sense of how a particular type of stress our psyche undergoes can have an effect on specific body parts.

Understanding a just a few basic pieces of this map has helped me to not panic when something feels wrong in my body, and instead get curious about what’s really happening in my life as a whole.

Thanks for reading Movement Detectivery! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

If you follow me here, you too may have some mysterious muscle, joint, nerve, or other connective tissues symptoms. Maybe movement, stretching, and exercise has helped. But what if it hasn’t? Could there be a missing piece of the puzzle that isn’t resolvable by optimizing joint mechanics or stretching tight stuff?

You probably know that I’m very movement oriented and mechanically-minded. Yet I always felt I had a big gap with my understanding of how emotional stress and unconscious beliefs can actually be a root cause of pain.

Well nothing’s random, and in this interview Andi helps unpack the GHK map as it relates in particular to the two most common biological conflict shocks that impact on the joints, muscles, and other connective tissues.

In this interview Andi and I discuss:

* What is Germanische Healing Knowledge (GHK) and its origin story?

* What is a biological conflict shock, and how is it different from stress or emotional trauma?

* How do biological conflict shocks create adaptation in specific parts of the body?

* What happens in both the conflict active and healing phases of a biological conflict, and which one has pain as a symptom?

* Why are feelings of not being good enough (loss of self-esteem) linked to musculoskeletal symptoms?

* Do conflict shocks differ between men and women?

* How does GHK maps each part of the body to a different conflict which leads to symptoms in that area?

* If our pain is a manifestation of the psyche and our unconscious interpretation of life, why does stretching, strengthening and movement sometimes help our symptoms feel better, and other times make things worse?

* What’s the differences between a motor conflict (functional loss) and self-devaluation conflict (tissue loss)?

* Why might athletes and movers experience pain and injuries at such high rates, beyond the mechanical trauma and over-use discussion?

* What is the GHK perspective on our posture, including scoliosis, sloped shoulders, kyphosis, and even flat feet?

* Andi talks through a few specific cases, including frozen shoulder and hip pain.

And so much more.

Understanding the GHK map has helped me to make more sense of why my back was such a source of trouble for me in my dance career, and has provided me with a tool to become curious and learn more about myself, instead of feeling scared and spiralling into depression when I have a new problem come up (I know you can relate to the pain-doom-spiral…).

If you’d like to learn more about GHK for your own personal insight or to help in your professional practice, Andi’s course Beyond Holistic Medicine is a great place to start. But her Youtube channel and other podcast interviews are free and incredible insightful as well.

I hope you’ll find this interview insightful. When used alongside other movement-based maps of the body (like Anatomy in Motion and others), I think GHK provides the other, less material half of the picture to help us understand the patterns of our own pain and movement problems. As practitioners, this is invaluable for having compassion for our clients, being able to see more of a complete picture of what they might be dealing with in their lives.

If you’d like to learn more about GHK for your own personal insight or to help in your professional practice, Andi’s course Beyond Holistic Medicine is a great place to start. But her Youtube channel and other podcast interviews are free and incredible insightful as well.

Where to Find Andi Online:

Website: www.andilockemears.com/

Andi’s GHK online course: Beyond Holistic Medicine

Instagram: @alockebhwi

Youtube: Andi Locke

Here’s a little more about Andi:

Andi Locke is a leading educator in Germanic New Medicine/Germanische Healing Knowledge (GHK), helping individuals and professionals understand the biological meaning behind symptoms, behaviors, and “diseases.”

With over 30 years in the holistic field and more than a decade teaching GHK globally, Andi is known for translating complex biological principles into clear, practical understanding that people can immediately apply to their lives. Her work bridges the gap between biology, behavior, and lived experience—offering a grounded, empowering perspective on health, relationships, and personal transformation.

Andi Locke is a Traditional Naturopath, Certified Whole Health Educator, and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Maine.

After running a successful wellness center in Maine, she shifted her focus to teaching GNM/GHK full-time—dedicating her work to helping others understand the biological laws that govern health and behavior.

Her teaching is known for its clarity, depth, and real-world application—guiding people out of fear and into a deeper understanding of how the body and mind function as a unified, meaningful system.

* Teaching GNM/GHK since 2009

* 30+ years in holistic health and education

* Former member of an international GHK teaching team (3 years)

* Founder, Bio HealthWorks Institute

* Co-Founder of GHK Global

* Has taught thousands of students worldwide since 2017

Movement Detectivery is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Have you ever experienced lower back soreness when you walk slowly, but not when you walk fast? What’s the deal with that?

If you’ve ever wondered WHY walking slowly feels so different to walking quickly you’re in luck, because that’s the topic of today’s episode.

I got a great question from a listener who wrote this:

“Hello Monika, I have a quick question if you have time to answer. Something i can’t figure out. When i do my normal brisk walk (eg. walking to work) everything feels good, but when i do a slow saunter (eg. strolling in the park with my girlfriend) my lower lumber starts to ache. I appreciate it might be difficult to know without a visual, but do you have any insight on how the mechanics of a slow stroll might be impacting my lower back?”

I have my own thoughts and opinions, but I immediately thought, “this is a perfect question for Margy”.

So I coerced my good friend and Anatomy in Motion colleague, Margy Verba, to come on the show to help me answer this question.

Known to always be down for a gait geek sesh, Margy is a fellow Anatomy in Motion instructor. She also teaches her own movement workshops for non-movement professionals.

Whenever I have a biomechanics question, Margy’s the first person I think of to ask because she’s constantly learning about and exploring movement and anatomy in her own body, reading papers, and has decades of experience helping her clients change the way they move.

So if you’ve ever wondered why walking at different speeds can have such a different impact on your lower back, and other joints, I think you’ll really love this discussion :)

PS Margy and I will be doing a regular Q&A segment and if you’d like to submit your own question for us to answer on Movement Detectivery, please shoot me an email: [email protected]

Topics in this episode include:

* The “reverse pendulum” (an movement experience you can try)

* The often overlooked role of momentum in gait

* What to check if walking slower feels less comfortable for your back

* What your body needs to do within a single footstep for efficient gait

* The value of walking slowly

* Possible psychological considerations for slow vs fast walking

And if you’d like to learn more about what we mean by “what your body needs to do within a single footstep”, please check out my online program Liberated Body. I guide you through an exploration of AiM self-assessments and movements that help you reclaim the joint motions your body needs to complete a footstep effortlessly.

Where to find Margy online:

Instagram: @flowmotioneducation

Youtube: FlowMotion Education - YouTube

Website: www.flowmotioneducation.com

Here’s a little more about Margy Verba:

I am fascinated by movement and the body’s capacity to heal. Always a mover, I grew up studying dance, playing sports, and backpacking as much as possible. While in college, in the mid-1970s, I started teaching dance and fitness classes (remember leg warmers and shiny leotards?). In the early 1990s, I discovered Pilates, and went on to complete internationally acclaimed Madeline Black’s teacher training. Madeline first introduced me to therapeutically oriented Pilates, and I have never looked back. Continuing my education in a therapeutic orientation, I have a diverse range of training with world renowned instructors/researchers (see education below).

In 2005 I was hired by the U.S. Men’s and Women’s U.S. Ski Teams to develop a custom Pilates program. Today my clients are primarily people in chronic pain and athletes who are stymied by injuries. I offer both private appointments, as well as a series of self-care courses for pain alleviation and prevention. The focus of my practice is knowledge and awareness, achieved through biomechanics education and movement exploration. This focus empowers my clients to practice self-care and be informed consumers of healthcare. In short, I enable my clients to take ownership of and actively participate in, their own healing process.

The primary influence on my practice is Anatomy in Motion (read more about AiM here). I have studied extensively with AiM founder Gary Ward, author of “What the Foot”, and as of 2021 I am an official AiM Instructor. AiM is based on the premise that gait (AKA walking) uses every joint in the body in all three dimensions. By analyzing gait and its component motions, we can address non-optimal movement at both a global (full body) and focal (individual joints) level. I have also been focusing my studies on pelvic floor and breathing dysfunctions (hint: they are not unrelated!). My clients get individualized corrective exercise programs, which provide lasting results, rather than simply providing symptomatic relief.

Movement Detectivery is a reader/listener-supported publication. To support my work, and get access to exclusive content and a special discount for working with me online, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Marlo Fisken is a dancer and movement educator that I admire. Marlo is the dance teacher I wished I had as a kid. I am amazed at the crazy moves she can do on the pole, and inspired by the healthy, loving relationship she has with her body, which shows up in her teaching philosophy.

I first encountered Marlo online in 2015 through my book and training program, Dance Stronger. I wanted to speak with her because what she stands for is so refreshing. Her style of movement education is so refreshing because it gives permission for people n all types and sizes of bodies to discover (or rediscover) that movement can and should be fun, playful, weird, and expressive, and that even going to the gym can be an expressive, creative act that does not need to look like what anyone’s expectation of a workout should be.

In our conversation, Marlo and I discuss:

* Her journey getting into dance

* The main injuries and challenges she faced in her dance career and what helped her heal and move forward

* The value of distraction, having fun, and finding something you love while recovering from injuries

* Why play is an important concept in movement education for adults

* How to “design an environment” to foster better connection with your body when you can’t feel your body in motion

* How she manages her relationship with social media

* Her thoughts on conventional gym culture and fitness routines (and why its important to give permission to ourselves to do weird things in the gym)

And much more.

Our conversation gave me a lot to think about. I can see a lot in the way Marlo relates with movement, her body, and with her teaching that I can apply to myself and with my clients. I’m inspired to try to make my sessions more playful, and infuse more fun into my own movement practice.

I hope you enjoy this interview with Marlo Fisken.

Where to find Marlo online:

Marlo’s Website: www.flowmovement.net

Instagram: @marlofisken

Here’s a little more about Marlo Fisken

I've always been immersed in movement. I've studied dance for 30 years and taught for 18 (not counting the many full-cast dance productions crafted in my childhood living room). I'm a graduate of the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts (as a modern dance major), and I have a degree in Anthropology and Public Relations from the University of Miami. Throughout my twenties, I lived in NYC and accumulated professional dance credits in movies, commercials, and TV. Simultaneously, I worked the fitness scene and seized every opportunity I could to learn about the human body. I'm probably most known as a pole dance innovator. I started experimenting with the pole 13 years ago--before there were mainstream competitions. Pole confirmed that I have a knack for circular movement and that I love bringing lightheartedness and spark to activities people tend to take (very) seriously. Flow Movement was born out of my desire to share the benefits of fluid, creative, dance-based movement with the world. Dance doesn't have to be complicated or intimidating, though it too often is. The Flow Movement approach invites all people to move with imagination, sensuality, and sensitivity and to become more comfortable being on and playing with the floor.

Thanks for reading Movement Detectivery! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Marlo Fisken is a dancer and movement educator that I admire. Marlo is the dance teacher I wished I had as a kid. I am amazed at the crazy moves she can do on the pole, and inspired by the healthy, loving relationship she has with her body, which shows up in her teaching philosophy.

I first encountered Marlo online in 2015 through my book and training program, Dance Stronger. I wanted to speak with her because what she stands for is so refreshing. Her style of movement education is so refreshing because it gives permission for people n all types and sizes of bodies to discover (or rediscover) that movement can and should be fun, playful, weird, and expressive, and that even going to the gym can be an expressive, creative act that does not need to look like what anyone’s expectation of a workout should be.

In our conversation, Marlo and I discuss:

* Her journey getting into dance

* The main injuries and challenges she faced in her dance career and what helped her heal and move forward

* The value of distraction, having fun, and finding something you love while recovering from injuries

* Why play is an important concept in movement education for adults

* How to “design an environment” to foster better connection with your body when you can’t feel your body in motion

* How she manages her relationship with social media

* Her thoughts on conventional gym culture and fitness routines (and why its important to give permission to ourselves to do weird things in the gym)

And much more.

Our conversation gave me a lot to think about. I can see a lot in the way Marlo relates with movement, her body, and with her teaching that I can apply to myself and with my clients. I’m inspired to try to make my sessions more playful, and infuse more fun into my own movement practice.

I hope you enjoy this interview with Marlo Fisken.

Where to find Marlo online:

Marlo’s Website: www.flowmovement.net

Instagram: @marlofisken

Here’s a little more about Marlo Fisken

I've always been immersed in movement. I've studied dance for 30 years and taught for 18 (not counting the many full-cast dance productions crafted in my childhood living room). I'm a graduate of the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts (as a modern dance major), and I have a degree in Anthropology and Public Relations from the University of Miami. Throughout my twenties, I lived in NYC and accumulated professional dance credits in movies, commercials, and TV. Simultaneously, I worked the fitness scene and seized every opportunity I could to learn about the human body. I'm probably most known as a pole dance innovator. I started experimenting with the pole 13 years ago--before there were mainstream competitions. Pole confirmed that I have a knack for circular movement and that I love bringing lightheartedness and spark to activities people tend to take (very) seriously. Flow Movement was born out of my desire to share the benefits of fluid, creative, dance-based movement with the world. Dance doesn't have to be complicated or intimidating, though it too often is. The Flow Movement approach invites all people to move with imagination, sensuality, and sensitivity and to become more comfortable being on and playing with the floor.

Thanks for reading Movement Detectivery! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Movement Detectivery is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

So, what do I see as the #1 misconception that keeps people stuck in their patterns and pain?

You’ll just have to listen on to hear what I mean ;) hehe.

Whether you’re a professional in the movement and manual therapy space, or you’re simply hoping to get some helpful tips, strategies, and inspiration for your own journey to moving better, I believe the information I share in this episode will be super valuable for you/

You’ll learn just what is this BIG misconception so you can identify if you’re falling for it, and I’ll also provide some practical strategies and things to play with in your approach to working with your body that may help to serve you better in the long term.

So go ahead and have a listen! Because I can guarantee that you will relate with this discussion either as a person who has been-there-done-that, or finding yourself making this mistake right now.

And while you’re at it, in this episode I ask a question, and I’d love to hear your answer to it. Ready?

Who was the last person you took advice from about something you should do to improve how your body feels, what was the advice, and how did it work out for you?

I’d really like to hear your answer! Please shoot me an email or Instagram message back. (find me @monvolkmar on IG). In particular, I’m interested in the how did it work out for you part.

Trust me, this ties into todays topic. You’ll see what I mean when you listen to the episode. I also answer the question for myself in the episode for your informational and entertainment purposes.

Here’s some of the key points what I want you to remember from this episode:

* Beware of the dynamic at play when both giving and receiving advice. What kind of advice giver are you?

* Start to get curious about what YOUR inner wisdom feels like and how it communicates with you, and play with how you can bring that knowing into your movement and manual therapy practices.

* Beware of advice on social media and remember that you are unique and what works for one person is just an N=1 experiment, and might not be the thing for YOU.

* Remember that you can also get locked into a rigid belief system when you work with your own body, and sometimes its good to let someone else be a guide

* Remember that self-realization through honest inquiry is a key component of healing the body, and this needs to be done without someone else interpreting your story for you, that wisdom comes from you

* 5 different people might have pain in the same spot for 5 completely different reasons, requiring 5 completely different solutions.

* I hope that you’ll play with some forms of connecting with you inner wisdom both with movement and in more meditative, imagery based practices.

Things mentioned in this episode:

* Os trigonum

* Book: Your Inner Physician and You

* Book: Health at Every Size

* Somatoemotional Release courses with Upledger International

* Liberated Body Program

Other Movement Detectivery Podcasts referenced:

Interview with Gary Ward

Interview with Nina Chernick

Interview with Jenn Pilotti

Interview with Jennifer Price

What are the Best Shoes? The System I Use to Find Shoes That Work for My Body

Thanks for listening :) Let me know your thoughts, abuse, suggestions, and questions, and I may respond to them in an upcoming episode of Movement Detectivery.

Movement Detectivery is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Nina Chernick is one of my all time favourite craniosacral therapy instructors and I was pumped she agreed to chat with me on the podcast. I first met Nina in 2018. She was my teacher for craniosacral therapy 2 and somatoemotional release 1, and she’s been teaching with the Upledger Institute since before I could write the alphabet.

In the chance that you so happen to be studying for your Upledger CST techniques certification exam, I think this interview will be super useful (hint hint some of the content covers answers to some exam questions…)

Craniosacral therapy is a huuuge part of my practice, my sessions with clients being 50/50 craniosacral and movement. I strongly believe that receiving craniosacral therapy can help transform how you move, and I asked Nina to explain her thoughts about this in our conversation, which felt incredibly validating.

In our conversation, Nina and I discuss:

* How Nina got into craniosacral therapy in the 1990s

* The concept Dr. Upledger defined as an “energy cyst”, how we assess them in CST, and the impact they can have on how our bodies move

* What is Somatoemotional release? And are we really “releasing” emotions from the body?

* What is “inner wisdom”? And how do we work with it in the context of a craniosacral therapy session.

* How is craniosacral therapy working with the body with a different kind of connection than other manual therapies like massage or chiropractic?

* How craniosacral therapy can help musculoskeletal healing and lead to better movement and range of motion.

* The alarming trend of “bonesmashing” in the looks maxing community, and why it might not be a great idea.

And much more.

I really loved getting to speak with Nina and I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Where to find Nina:

Nina’s Website: Nina Chernick Manual Therapy

Instagram: @ninachernickmanualtherapy

In London Ontario and want help with your body? Book in a session with Nina

Upcoming Upledger CST courses: International Alliance of Healthcare Educators - Seminar Locator (search for Nina Chernick as the instructor for her courses)

Things we mentioned in this episode:

* Strolling Under The Skin video, by Dr. Jean-Claude Guimberteau

* “Bonesmashing” trend: What is bone smashing?

Here’s a little more about Nina Chernick:

Yonina Chernick, BA Kinesiology '87 from the University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia, trained at Sutherland-Chan School of Massage Therapy and opened private practices in both London and Guelph in 1991. Since then, she has studied CranioSacral Therapy(CST), latterly training as an instructor and a Techniques Level Examiner for the Upledger Institute. With Diplomate Certification achieved in 2000, she teaches CS1, CS2 and SER1(the first, second and third levels in the core curriculum) in both North America and abroad to professionals from all areas of Health Care. Since completing McMaster University's Contemporary Acupuncture Program, and advanced training as a Neurofunctional Sports Performance Practitioner, she has become a Senior Instructor. With a return to her sports roots, Nina has worked with several teams at the University of Western Ontario as well as been part of the medical team for numerous national and international sporting events. Presently in London, she uses CranioSacral Therapy in treating infants, children and adults. She uniquely blends the Neurofunctional approach of Contemporary Acupuncture with the whole body focus of CST to help with acute or chronic pain, concussions and sports injuries, trauma, neurological problems, learning, developmental and feeding issues, facial and oral dysfunction.

I personally use this system whenever I need to buy a new pair of shoes, and I’m stoked to share it with you in this podcast.

Yes, I am the weirdo in the shoe shop doing movement assessments to test how each shoe is actually impacting on my biomechanics. You can be, too.

Have you ever wondered if a pair of shoes is contributing to your problems?

How do you know what's the best shoe for walking? Running? Standing around? Sore feet? Sore back? How can you know for sure if you're wearing the best shoes to support your body's needs?

Its not about listening to an external source about their favourite shoe. The power lies into your ability to let your body speak and interpret the information.

I created a system I call "Does Your Body Like Your Shoes” that is informed by the Anatomy in Motion model of closed chain biomechanics.

In a nutshell, if while you’re wearing the shoes they have a neutral or positive affect on your biomechanics, they are good for you! If they make them worse, make your choice to wear them with awareness.

In this episode I discuss:

* 5 things to look for in a good shoe

* How to use the DYBLYS system to pick the best shoe for you

* Why its not helpful to choose shoes based on someone elses’ arbitrary opinions

* How to make your body resilient to any shoe

* What to do when you have to wear shoes that you know aren’t kind to your body

The only things holding you back from being an informed, empowered, consumer and wearer of shoes are:

* Feeling too self-conscious to use this system in public

* Not believing that your body can be trusted to give you the information you need, and outsourcing your decisions about yoru body to an external authority

* Not having a mechanical understanding of how your feet and body should ideally be able to move

* Not having ever measured your personal barefoot baseline movement assessment to know how each pair of shoes is impacting your body

In this episode I also mention I will be holding a free online workshop to help walk your through the Does Your Body Like Your Shoes system. To register GO HERE

I’d love to hear what you think! Did you find this episode helpful? What do YOU look for in a good shoe? Leave a comment below or shoot me a message. I always love hearing from listeners and having thoughtful conversations :)

Movement Detectivery is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Have you ever struggled to find the talus bone? Either your own, or on one of your clients?

On today’s episode of Movement Detectivery I’ll be answering a recent question I received from a listener and Anatomy in Motion student who’s got a case of talus bone palpation frustration. Can you relate? I can.

And OH how important it is to be able to understand the position someone’s talus is in because of how much information this one bone gives us about the whole body’s movement potential!

I’ve also personally struggled with finding the talus bone, so I wanted to share some stories about how I overcame my palpation ineptitudes, why knowing where the talus bone is is so dang important (so don’t give up on it!), and some practical tips to help you with your boney landmarking.

And to my fellow movement detectives who aren’t movement/manual therapy professionals, this episode will be insightful for you to learn about how your feet might be impacting the movement of the rest of your body. It might inspire you to go speak with your body-detectivery team to get your own talus landmarked and see what new information that gives you on your journey.

Hopefully this helps! Or at least reminds you that its OK to not know stuff, and be in the process of improving. Sometimes you just have to suck at stuff for a while until you get enough reps to feel competent.

Naturally in this episode my AIM bias will shine through as this episode is dedicated to answering and AIM studet question. A big component of learning AiM is to experience it in your own body. If you are interested in exploring AiM in your own body, you might like in checking out my program, Liberated Body, which takes you through four, 90 minute movement exploration sessions covering the spine, feet, hips, and upper body.

I’m opening up the program for a new cohort, which includes pre-recorded content and 1:1 guidance and support.

Go to https://www.monikavolkmar.com/liberated-body-workshop if you’d like to join in and express your interest in the next cohort coming up SOON.

You can also study AiM professional courses for movement and manual therapy practitioners online and in person. Go HERE for more info and the most up to date course schedule.

I hope you enjoy this episode and find it useful. And if you’d like to ask a question that I can address here on the podcast, please shoot me an email ([email protected]), comment below, or message me on Instagram (@monvolkmar). I’d love to feature your question, next :)

Movement Detectivery is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Oh boy, this interview was a long time coming- I am thrilled to have finally interviewed one of the most influential movement educators I’ve had the privilege to learn from on my own personal and professional journey, Gary Ward.

Gary is a movement educator and creator of Anatomy in Motion. Gary dedicated the past few decades of his life to understanding the truth of human movement- A boss level Movement Detective. Gary now teaches his model of closed chain joint mechanics online, in-person, and works with folks ranging from high level professional athletes to the average person recovering from a hip replacement.

Gary’s brain child, the Flow Motion Model of gait (FMM), has helped myself and countless other movement and therapy professionals understand how to more clearly observe and work with the human body in motion. The FMM started as a realization that when you change how the foot moves on the ground, it affects everything else in the body, and he would not stop until he’d mapped the movement of every bone, joint, and muscle in the body through the 0.6-0.8 seconds it takes to complete a footstep.

Now I have to state my personal bias- In 2021 I became an instructor for Anatomy in Motion. It is a huge part of the work that I do in my own private bodywork and movement coaching practice. Keep that in mind as you listen to our conversation.

In our conversation, Gary and I discuss:

* Gary’s journey from ski boot fitting to developing the Flow Motion Model

* How Gary set about developing the Flow Motion Model as a personal journey of movement exploration, and his belief that he could heal himself with movement.

* Why it is so important to make sense of someone’s injury history timeline to understand how to help them most efficiently with their chronic pain

* The paradigm shift in Gary’s thinking- Its not about strengthening and stretching, its about helping the body to unconsciously find its own best sense of centre by helping it access the movements it is missing.

* Why knees are so misunderstood in the evidence-based models of movement because it doesn’t account for the movement of the foot in the closed chain.

* How head positioning can be at the root of toe pain (and just mobilizing toes isn’t the solution)

* Debunking common misconceptions about navigating your own journey from chronic pain to well-being

* How using a force plate helped Gary develop his model of closed chain biomechanics

* Why foot pronation is one of the most high-value movement in the human body because of how it wakes up so much potential for the rest of the body.

And much more.

I really loved getting to speak with Gary. I hope you took away something useful for your own journey with your body!

Where to find Gary online:

The Finding Center Website: www.findingcentre.co.uk

Instagram: @garyward_aim

Substack: Gary Ward Gary’s What the Foot? book: What The Foot?

Where to learn more and take courses online: AiM Online Courses

Here’s a little more about Gary Ward:

Gary Ward has no qualifications and yet fancies his chances at taking down an established industry known for maintaining chronic pain and pushing people down the line towards surgical doom. Not standing for such a travesty he created weird jazz hand style moves that convince the brain anything is possible and moves away from pain and towards peak performance.

(Ok that bio was a piss-take… Because Gary doesn’t actually have a formal bio anywhere online and he gave me permission to copy/paste the above two paragraphs from a message he sent me when I asked him for a bio. Personally, I think it’s perfect. And actually, Gary has plenty of qualifications, but his best one is his Diploma of Real-Life Experience, decades of time in the trenches working with bodies and figuring things out through experimentation and consulting with many mentors along the way).

Jenn Pilotti just wrote a new book called Spinal Intelligence! It’s her 4th book, to be precise, and, like a crazy person, she edited it all by herself.

We recorded this podcast the day after her book was released, and I' am really looking forward to learning some of her insights about the spine (some common misconceptions), posture, and how the body is supposed to move based on her decades of experience and research.

I wanted to speak with Jenn because she is a like-minded movement detective that I think has a lovely, wholesome, intelligent approach to movement education.

Jenn takes a client-centered approach to movement coaching and personal training, meaning that she values having a tool-kit of movement approaches that helps her to meet her clients where they are at, whether they need a movement practice to help them get out of their busy minds and connect with their bodies to feel more at peace, or they want to improve their fitness while also managing frustrating niggles.

Her academic credentials in exercise science, kinesiology, and movement theory, combined with her love of movement exploration and real-life experience working with bodies of all types and abilities make her an excellent person to interview. I wanted to learn about her approach to working with bodies, her journey with her own body and what worked for her, and get an insight into what people will learn form her latest book.

In our conversation, Jenn and I discuss:

* Her new book, Spinal Intelligence (which you can buy HERE)

* Her position lecturing on mindfulness for the US Navy

* What Jenn’s learned about the intersections between mental health and movement

* Her journey overcoming chronic pain, and what helped her the most

* Myths about the spine

* Why you don’t need to worry about “Tech Neck”

* A better way to think about improving your posture than just trying to stand up straighter

* Jenn’s opinion about toe spacers, should you use them?

* Our experience studying with the Postural Restoration Institute

* The origins of Vladimir Janda’s upper and lower cross syndromes

* The importance of “neutral spine”

* A common myth about strength training

And much more.

I learned a lot in our conversation and felt like I was speaking with a kindred spirit.

I hope you enjoy this interview with Jenn Pilotti, and if you want to learn more, I hope you’ll check out her new book (and any of her three previous ones).

Where to find Jenn online:

Jenn’s Website: www.jennpilotti.com/

Instagram: @jenn_pilotti

Substack: Jenn Pilotti Spinal Intelligence book: www.jennpilotti.com/books

Here’s a little more about Jenn Pilotti

Jenn Pilotti, M.S., takes a comprehensive, client-focused approach to fitness that emphasizes movement quality, holistic well-being, and the integration of mind and body. She integrates principles from various disciplines such as strength training, flexibility, dance, parkour, yoga, and mindfulness to create fitness programs that facilitate a mind-body connection.

Jenn has a strong educational foundation in exercise science, kinesiology, and movement theory, which informs her practice. She stays updated with the latest research and trends in the fitness industry to provide evidence-based training methods.

She takes a client-centered approach in her work, taking into account each person’s goals and needs. Her diverse experience coaching and teaching allow her to take a creative lens when designing classes and programs.

In addition to her work with private clients, Jenn teaches workshops internationally, leads corporate wellness programs, and hosts two fitness and movement podcasts. She also teaches mindfulness for the US Navy Leadership Seminar.

Jenn is an avid learner and mover. She regularly participates in movement workshops and has a daily movement practice.

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