2/25/15 2/25/15

Is Your Environment Giving You a Shitty Body?

No practice, and your body is left up to chance, shaped by the molds of your environment.Unconsciously choosing our vocations, not knowing how they'll shape our bodies, we are at the mercy of fate. Whether you're a cubicle worker, a plumber, or a teacher, your form is grooved the the patterns of your days, mainly dictating by the majority of your time: work.By far the biggest factor in how stiff, kinked, coiled, open or aligned our bodies become is our environment. Our work, environment is most dominant, usually with our home being the second.We attempt to make up for this with some sort of exercise, usually inherited from fitness culture. Because most of us aren't required to move to survive very much, we have to find a way to get some form of movement in in order to stay relatively healthy. Hence, movement becomes compartmentalized in a fitness box."Get your 30 minutes of vigorous exercise in each day" we're told.There are two problems with this:

Most of us randomly choose a physical practice. A yoga class, hiking, Crossfit, or whatever. We're not considering all the variety of movements our bodies crave to thrive, so we inevitably end up missing some big pieces.
Movement is not meant to be a small, isolated part of your day. Our bodies have evolved to be on the move all day long, with way more complexity and spontaneity than we get, even if we regularly exercise.

If you sit at a desk all day, it's not enough to do yoga for 60 minutes and think that you've undone the damage. This is the same mindset that plagues yo-yo dieters, thinking they'll just "burn it off" later, or that they've "earned" eating horrible foods because of the workout they just did.A garbage movement diet all day is not made up for in a "green smoothie" of a yoga session. Is it a great start? Yes, absolutely, but we also need to address our environment.Our environment and habits will make up the bulk of our movement nutritional profile. The better our environment is suited for movement and encourages it, the more automatic getting a good movement diet becomes.However, if all you have in the pantry is cookies and junk food, it's likely that you'll eat it by default rather than going out and making a salad.So, how do we alter our environment and habits to make it more supportive of nutritious movement?Well, we should start with looking at our biggest deficiencies. Squatting, hanging, walking, and twisting are a few of the biggest ones. We simply don't do these things nearly to the level we have evolved to, and because of that, our bodies suffer.You can watch this video to learn more about them:When you have a phone call, can you spend it standing, or even better, walking outside?When you're brushing your teeth, or eating lunch, can you do it in a squat?Can you put a pull up bar in your doorway to hang and swing more frequently?Can you add more multi-planar, twisting, rotating and moving at odd angles to your training?These are simply starting points. Your starting point might be taking a micro break every 30 minutes for three minutes of movement. Some might say that is way too little, but it is where you need to start.Similarly, you need to transition from a 1 inch heel to maybe a half inch heel before you go completely minimalist with your footwear. Even then, the next progression is micro sessions of being barefoot, with a continuum of challenging the texture of terrain.The point is to get the ball rolling. If you can start it now with something small like a little hanging and squatting, then you can build from there. Maybe you commit to 10 minutes every morning for 30 days, then the next 30 it's 15 minutes every morning.Start from where you are. No excuses, just do what you can and make it a habit.Changing one thing and making it stick is better than being paralyzed by the perfect, ultimate plan.Over to you:What's one thing you'll change about your environment or habits to make you a better mover?

Sources:

1. Move Your DNA by Katy Bowman

2/17/15 2/17/15

Why Movement is My Passion (a love letter)

single-leg-squat-small It took a long time for me to call myself a movement artist.To fully accept that title, I felt like I needed to be really committed. All in, you know?It was similar to calling myself a writer or a martial artist. I didn't claim those badges until at least a year into working daily on the craft. Even then I felt butterflies in my stomach.Movement has been different for me though, a more serious love. I feel more drawn to taking my time with the relationship, and not rushing all in. I know this is a lifelong affair, not simply a weekend fling at a random workshop.No. This is a slow kind of burn.Don't misunderstand me, it has feverish uproars -- fits of obsession with reaching a milestone in a handstand or excitement over a new flavor of movement. There are lulls as well: patterns and routine set in, or frustration builds, and I question what the hell I'm doing this for.But beneath these waves is an ocean of depth. The exploration of it will not end before I die.This is why I choose movement as my art.

I love movement because...

It brings me closer to other human beings.
Nothing compares to the feeling I get when I reach a breakthrough or unlock a new skill.
Every day is a new journey with new lessons to teach, and many old ones to relearn again.
My relationship to movement and my practice is an incredible vehicle for personal development and constant growth.
There is always room for new exploration, new ranges of motion, new patterns and new ways to express yourself.
Movement allows you to try on different emotions, textures and qualities -- how does courage move? or radiance? or wildness?
Movement is medicine -- the right kind of movement can mobilize trapped energy or heal old wounds. It also gets you out of your head and into your body.
It forces me to interact with the world and my environment. The more I move with nature, the more I learn about myself and my history as a human.
It just feels fucking good to move.

Movement, I confess: You had me at hello. Thank you for finding me.—JonathanPS: To my beautiful wife, I hope you understand.

2/3/15 2/3/15

Movement Progress Report - January 2015

One of the experiments I'm going to start doing with Move Heroically is sharing with your my progress on key markers each months. Some months will vary in their goals.In January, for instance, one of my main goals was the Dragon Squat (behind the leg pistol squat), which I accomplished. Since I checked that off the list, I won't be measuring that for February.My major goals in January were:

Handstand pushup (to yoga block with wall)
One arm chinup (w/ assistance)
Front Lever (adv tuck)
Back Lever (adv tuck)
Side splits
Front splits
Dragon Squat

Initial testing January 5th, 2015:

A1. HSPU to 3.5 inch block – 5 repsA2. One arm chin-up progression– R = 4 reps– L = 4 repsB1. Front lever (adv. tuck) = 13.63sB2. Back lever(adv. Tuck) = 13.89sC1. Middle split = 14.5 inchesC2 Front split– L forward = 80.75 inches– R forward = 81.50 inchesD1. Dragon Squat - supporting leg at 90 degrees

Retesting February 2nd, 2015 (28 days later)

JM Side Split January A1. HSPU to 3.5 inch block – 11 reps (120% improvement)A2. One arm chin-up progression– R = 7 reps (75% improvement)– L = 6 reps (50% improvement)B1. Front lever (adv. tuck) = 23.51s (72.5% improvement)B2. Back lever(adv. tuck) = 26.96s (94.1% improvement)C1. Middle split = 10.5 inches (38% improvement)C2 Front split– L forward = 82.50 inches– R forward = 83.00 inchesD1. Dragon Squat - full range of motion on left leg, right leg 90% there!Here's a video of some experimentation I did with single leg squatting patterns:

Playing with single leg squatting patterns.

A video posted by Jonathan Mead (@jonathanmead) on Jan 14, 2015 at 9:32pm PST

In the future I hope to do more before and after pictures, as well as more videos of movements the new range of motion and strength allowed me to explore.Credit goes to my coach Justin Goodhart for his awesome programming and guidance helping me along my journey.For February I'll be focusing on much of the same strength and mobility goals, but adding more movement flow work into my practice. I'm focusing on these five moves:

Croc (single arm lever)
Lizard crawl
Handstand pushup
Butterfly kick
Rotation into low bridge

What movement goals are you working on? What are you doing to track your progress?Leave a comment below.

12/11/14 12/11/14

The Power of Embodiment in a World Full of Walking Heads

Look around you.Better yet, look in the mirror.Nearly every one you see, and probably yourself included, is a walking head.Almost no one these days is in touch with their bodies. We live in a sky culture. In other words, we value the mind, but not the heart or the body.We want more money, success, and happiness. But we're never there to enjoy it. We're always looking to the future, time traveling in our heads.We want to make an impact on the world, but we come at it only from the mind. We don't address the body, the actual vehicle for being alive.In this video, I talk about the importance of embodiment and one thing you can do now to be more embodied.

Why Do We Lose Touch With Our Bodies?

We get hurt by those we care about, so we close our bodies off and shut down to the world
Movement is outsourced so we're not longer required to move and use our bodies -- it perpetuates the disconnection
School and knowledge work trains and conditions us to sit still and become head dwellers
Because we don't move, our bodies hurt so we'd rather check out and escape to the sky where we don't have to deal with it

You don't have to keep living this way.I'm starting my beta movement coaching program. And now is your chance to get a free session with me.

Breaking Free From Human Captivity: The Foundations of Purposeful Movement

Humans are not meant to live in cages.While we can move relatively freely if we choose, life has built boxes around our movement.Consider the range of motion of your shoulder for a moment. You have the ability to reach all the way overhead and behind you, but modern life puts everything in a small box of the total range your shoulder can move.Typing at a computer, cutting vegetables on a counter, washing dishes -- generally all of these movements are in a vary narrow box.Because our shoulders are meant to be more mobile and we don't use them fully, immobility and pain sets in.The shoulder is just one example, the same applies to our hips with the amount most of us sit (10+ hours of sitting a day is not natural!).We're not just confined in the way we move our bodies though. We are confined in the way we move through the world.We're told to play it safe, follow a template to predictable success. The corporate ladder and the American Dream restrict our movement into very narrow expressions of ourselves.The only way we can break free is by exploring our true movement capability, in body, mind and spirit.How would you move your body if not confined to human domestication?You'd do a lot more squatting, hanging, sprinting, and playing. You would not be just exposed to lots of ranges of motion, but also to many textures and shapes. Each rock you step on with you bare foot creates a new challenge and shape for your foot. Every branch is at a slightly different angle than the last.How would you move with purpose if not confined to a societal template of success?You'd probably be more connected with your deep heart, and your service to people you care about. You might find your own unique tribe that fuels and supports your great work. You would create a livelihood around your calling, not simply chasing success that never seems to arrive.The reality is that confinement is all around you and not all of it is necessarily bad. It's good to have structure and security. We need some amount of confinement to thrive.Your influences shape your limits. The right amount of structure creates freedom. Too little is pure chaos. Too much is crippling.Life is limitation. To be embodied is to live with limits.Are you consciously choosing and creating yours?