Movement Fundamentals

This workshop series consists of three Saturday intensives that will change your understanding of how to move. Through in-person instruction and guided exploration, the series covers legs, arms, and spine, and how they integrate into coordinated, whole-body movement. Sign up for single sessions, or book them as a package to receive additional weekly practice sessions via video call for the 8-9 weeks between.

Registration coming soon!

Part i: Walking

Do you have pain while walking? Discomfort in the hips or knees? A sense of being off-balance or just plain outta wack? Walking is fundamental, the basis of how many of us move through our daily lives. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it felt good? Can you imagine this mundane movement becoming juicy, dynamic, pleasurable, and generating more energy than it takes? Welcome to what is possible!

Here in the modern world, most of us walk with a hard heel strike that disrupts joints and requires muscular effort to propel us forward. It’s not that comfortable if you start paying attention to it. In this workshop, you’ll be guided through a sequential process of relearning the dynamics of walking. This includes swinging the leg from a relaxed core, allowing the foot to land on the softer pads, using gravity and rebound to produce momentum, and being drawn forward by an open, curious heart.

Put this all together, and walking becomes a daily delight that brings you sensations of presence and pleasure. You’ll come away with plenty to practice and explore — for the rest of your life if you like!

Part II: How To Raise Your Arms

In this session you’ll learn how to differentiate the arms from the core, allowing you to maintain neutral spinal position while moving the upper body. This skill is essential for reducing shoulder and neck tension. You’ll be introduced to principles and practices that help you activate the proper muscles for reaching and bearing weight, and learn what movement patterns in your body are currently causing you trouble.

We will also return to practices from the previous session for refinement. This intensive will rely heavily on the principles of dynamic stretching, learning to strengthen and lengthen muscle groups that support the upper and lower body.

Part III: Fluid Spine

There’s a difference between being rigid and feeling stable. Most of us have lost the natural mobility in our spines, and may not even realize how much movement a spine needs in order to be healthy.

A rigid spine reduces nervous system function, creating pain, chronic tension, and numbness. Our systems become brittle and less resilient. When spines don’t get enough movement, we also lose core muscle tone. This loss of activation has cascading effects on the system, including reduced vitality of our internal organs.

The good news is all this can be regained with practice. Our deep torso muscles began developing their strength in infancy, and it is these developmental movements that help us restore our core. And come prepared for surprises! You’ll learn movements like the fish flip, how to imitate an inchworm, and the lost art of walking without legs. Along the way, this session aims to restore your childlike wonder at the inventive potential of a freely moving body. As mobility returns, you will begin to rediscover the feel-good fluidity of a truly healthy spine and abdominal core. And again, it just takes practice!