In this Episode of The Movement Fluidity Podcast, I interview Richard Finn. Richard is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist, and author of Trigger Point Therapy Made Simple: Serious Pain Relief in 4 Easy Steps. He is an experienced Pain Relief Specialist with a history of working in the health wellness and fitness industry.

Richard starts by explaining his story of how chronic headaches got him interested in the world of myofascial pain. Then, he explains the 4 step process for decreasing trigger point pain which includes treating the spine, flossing the nerve, treating the trigger points, and gently moving.

It was a drastic career shift for Richard to begin work with the severely impaired Cerebral Palsy population (mostly non-verbal), but myself and others are glad he is bringing his expertise to this population! Frequency Specific Microcurrents (FSM) and Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) are 2 related modalities which he has found great success with. Make sure to stay until the end of the episode to find out the tool he uses for quick relief in localized spasticity!

Find Richard:

Facebook: Richard Finn

Linkedin: Richard Finn

Christainpainmanagement.com

Trigger Point Book: https://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Made-Simple/dp/1646115627

Find Charlie:

Instagram: charlie.graffius

O2 derm relief gel: dermcreations.com

Here is the first episode of "Recent Thoughts" on the Movement Fluidity Podcast! These are short 5-10 minute episodes where I will be sharing what has been of interest to me in the field of Kinesiology, Motor Control, Health/Wellness, etc.

This episode covers Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) which is an exercise methodology which originates from The Prague School in Czechoslovaki. Vladamir Janda was among the group of neurologists who were the founding fathers.

The purpose of DNS was initially to teach kids with Cerebral Palsy (CP) to regain movement capabilities that were missed in early years. Certain positions such as laying supine or prone, and movement patterns such as crawling or walking are often impaired when the developing Central Nervous System is impaired. The need for synergy between agonist and antagonists muscles and the stability of deep musculature for subconscious movement are vital for a healthy neuromuscular system. I have noticed that when attempting to learn movement skills without these necessary neural connections, it is very difficult to see true progress in terms of motor control and skill accusation.

Link to one of my favorite DNS workouts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCUrO9ZKCUw

Link to full podcast on DNS with Dr. Michael Rintala: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6OALVlNgqI

Today’s guest is Lesley Hoey who is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) where she works with the geriatric population, and is specifically interested in pelvic floor health. Lesley’s history includes skilled work in prevention, manual therapy, injury prevention, chronic pain, and fitness. This episode covers Lesley’s background and her holistic approach to training. The main focus for this episode is about fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle factors that impact the fascial system. As a Fascial Fitness Master Trainer, Lesley shares a ton of practical knowledge that is backed by research to improve the health of your fascia, body, and mind.

I first met Lesley when she taught a course on Fascial Fitness. This methodology was created by the German fascial researcher Robert Schleip and his wife Divo Müller. This system combines the latest research on fascia with exercise to get various desired responses. The four principles used are stretch, bounce, refine, and release. I have placed an emphasis on refinement for improving interoception/awareness, and bounce for increasing the strength of my connective tissue (specifically tendons).

Links:

Fascial Fitness

Movement Fluidity Episode 3- Fascia

Contact Lesley:

Instagram: drlesleyhoey

Email: [email protected]

Contact Charlie:

Instagram: charlie.graffius

Email: [email protected]

If you enjoyed this episode, leave a 5 star review on the platform of your choice! You can also support the podcast by visiting the link below.

In today’s episode, I interview Michael Leary who is a Human Development Coach here in Portland, Maine. Michael has been a role model for me in the last few months and I am super excited to bring him on the show. Enjoy this episode which is a Q&A style where we go back and forth about our experiences and perspectives on things. Some of the topics we talk about include our purpose in life, how we deal with setbacks, and our best adventure.

Michael takes a holistic approach to improving the “whole human” experience with exercise, nutrition, breath work, goal setting, and more. He is always posting useful content on social media that will improve your day. Check out the links below to find out more from him! He is also the host of the Whole Human Podcast and co-host of the Curiosity Game Podcast.

Since the last episode, I was lucky enough to switch roles as a guest on BodyTalk with David Lesondak. Here I answered questions about my experience living with Cerebral Palsy and the training methods/lifestyle factors which I have found to be beneficial!

To find Michael:

Website: https://www.michaelpleary.com/  https://www.thewholehuman.net/

Social Media: @michaelpleary

The Curiosity Game Podcast

The Whole Human Podcast

To find Charlie:

Social Media: @charlie.graffius

The Movement Fluidity Podcast

If you are interested in supporting the podcast, click the link below!

Today my guest is Olivia McAnirlin, who I met during my undergraduate research work through INBRE at Colby-Sawyer College. Olivia is now a Ph.D. candidate and lab manager at the Virtual Reality and Nature Lab at Clemson University in South Carolina. There, they simulate the effects of being in nature for people who cannot safely spend time outdoors, such as the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) population.

The topics in this episode revolve around the physical and mental benefits of being outside. This includes a decrease in cortisol/stress, blood pressure, muscle tension, and more. Combining exercise in nature is a win-win, but even “Forest Bathing” where you spend quiet time outside focusing on sights, smells, sounds, etc. will result in these benefits.

Another suggestion that Olivia gave is to start a journal where you log the amount of time spent outside per week. Especially in the winter months, it is easy to go days without much time outside. I have begun using this idea to hold myself accountable for getting some natural vitamin D and all of the benefits that she mentioned above. I have been aiming for a minimum of 60 minutes outside per day, even in the winter.

To find out more about Olivia’s lab:

https://www.clemson.edu/cbshs/departments/prtm/research/virtual-reality-nature-lab/index.html

To find Charlie:

Instagram- charlie.graffius

If you are interested in supporting the podcast, click the link below. Thanks for listening everyone!

Welcome back to the Movement Fluidity Podcast. Today’s guest is David Lesondak, who is one of the very brightest and most influential individuals in the world of Fascia. David is a manual therapist and an Allied Health Member at The Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is also an author, and the host of the Body Talk Podcast, which was a major inspiration to the creation of my podcast. David has been generous enough to give my listeners a discount code for his most recent book, the second edition of “Fascia- What it is and why it matters”. This book is geared towards fitness and medical professionals. I’ve absolutely loved reading this book, and often go back to check on different parts. It lays out the foundational elements of fascia, and merges into how you can apply what we have learned from science so far.

In today’s episode, we touch on a wide variety of topics. We start by talking about the Fascia Congress in Montreal earlier this year, going deep into the research and new additions such as FR:EIA (see link at bottom of page). We also talk about the science of fascia, misconceptions with foam rolling/massage work, and fascia in the client with Cerebral Palsy. I took what I learned in his book to ask David how these concepts would impact the CP population. The main topics that we go into for this are cold therapy, and vibrational stimulation.

Link to the Body Talk Podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-lesondak

Link and discount code to David’s New  Book: Fascia- What it is and why it matters (Second Edition) 30% OFF FOR THE REST OF 2022!!!

In the US: https://us.singingdragon.com/discount/FASCIA30?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Ffascia-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters-second-edition

In the UK:  https://uk.singingdragon.com/discount/FASCIA30?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Ffascia-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters-second-edition

Use Discount Code FASCIA30 at the checkout.

Link to FR:EIA on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Huv3_QwdbWQ&t=161s

Otocast https://apps.apple.com/us/app/otocast/id880987065

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otocast.app&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=Search for Fascia, Berlin

In this episode I interview Mariana Barreto, the Founder and Director of We Flow Therapy. Mariana is a Manual Osteopath, Craniosacral Practitioner, and Physical Therapist originally from Venezuela, and now runs her practice in Canada. She uses an alternative therapeutic approach to Cerebral Palsy (CP) which focuses on the remodeling of the connective tissue or fascia. We talk about the impact on fascia caused by brain injuries, the role of biotensegrity, and other related topics.

In the past, physical therapy for patients with CP has revolved around targeting the specific spastic muscles with stability (casts & braces) and end range stretching. This approach can manage symptoms in the short term, but in my experience does not cause lasting effects. It is great to see the research and understanding of this mechanism coming out. Mariana’s approach is different from the traditional approach, as she goes deeper to treat the underlying issue for what causes spasticity.  Her work with building up the fascial system through stimulating fibroblasts has shown incredible, long lasting results with children ranging from mild to severely impaired.

Mariana mentions how another way to signal fibroblasts to remodel the fascia is through strength training. This is what has done wonders for my body to decrease spasticity. I will expand on the topic of strength training for CP and other neurological conditions in future episodes!

Follow Charlie:

Instagram: @charlie.graffius

Find Mariana:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weflowtherapy/

Website: https://www.weflowtherapy.com/

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weflowtherapy

You can now donate to help fund future episodes of the podcast by clicking the link below:

In this episode, I interview Dr. Blair Voyvodic where he explains his invention, The Body Braid. This set of spiraling straps wraps around your entire body to act as an “extra set” of connective tissue, specifically working with the Spiral Line of fascia from Anatomy Trains. The Body Braid is especially useful for conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy where the connective tissue may not be supporting the body with enough tension. It is also incredible for anyone who sits for a majority of the day, especially for those with lower back pain. The straps are easily adjustable with many different possible variations for any sort of activity. I highly recommend the Body Braid, as it has helped making sitting more comfortable, as well as increasing proprioception when moving around.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on the platform of your choice! Now available on Anchor.fm, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Music.

Follow Charlie:

Instagram: @movementfluidity @charlie.graffius

Find Blair Voyvodic:

Instagram: @bodybraid 

Bodybraid.com

In this episode, I explain what movement fluidity means to me. Fluid movement is the key to athleticism and pain free living. I dive into the science of energy efficiency, biomechanics, muscular firing sequence, and more. Then, I share what has worked for me to turn my herky jerky movements into smooth and fluid movements. In Episode 1, I talk about my story of being born with Cerebral Palsy to competing in collegiate tennis. Figuring out ways to move more efficiently has been a big part of my success, and I am still experimenting on myself as well as applying these concepts to clients. This episode goes deeper into how I was able to improve my movement mechanics to play sports at a higher level than was thought to be possible by medical professionals.

Takeaways:

Water as resistance https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4327375/

Medrythms- Rhythmic auditory stimulation with music https://medrhythms.com/

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:04:07) Necessities for Fluid Movement

(00:10:52) Best athletes in the world

(00:15:56) Benefits of playing multiple sports

(00:18:06) Talk from Dr. Stuart Mcgill- contraction/relaxation cycles

(00:21:30) How to train these concepts- water and sand training, musical inputs

(00:32:06) Summary/takeaways

If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on the platform of your choice! Now available on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Podcasts, and Anchor.fm. You can now donate to help fund future episodes of the podcast by clicking the link below:

In this episode, I interview Charles Barnard, creator of the Growth Mindset Training Academy. Charles goes over a variety of topics involving having a mindset for success. He explains what the best in any field have in common, and how to get there. If you have ever wondered about how to use visualization and manifestation to reach your goals, this is the episode for you!

If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on the platform of your choice! Now available on Anchor.fm, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Music. You can now donate to help fund future episodes of the podcast by clicking the link below: https://anchor.fm/charlie-graffius/support

Takeaways:

Follow Charlie:

Instagram: @movementfluidity @charlie.graffius

Follow Charles Barnard:

Instagram: barnard.chuck

https://www.growthmimindsettrainingacademy.com/

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:00:53) Charles Barnard background

(00:03:58) Advanced behavioral modeling

(00:07:10) Visualization for success

(00:18:00) Two wolves fable

(00:22:20) Growth mindset

(00:37:40) Box Breathing

(00:46:21) What does movement fluidity mean to Charles?

(00:48:46) Final thoughts