Pillar 4: Strong Movement Patterns
Seeing how using the Feedback Loops of the Pillars allows for strong movement patterns
For the past few weeks, we’ve taken a closer look at each of the first 3 Pillars:
Connection to Self
Strong Energy Balance
Connection to the Natural World
Pillar Strength exists to build strong bodies, with the use of a PHYSICAL modality to enter the space for growth. Many of us come to ‘weight training’ or ‘physical fitness’ with a need/desire to get stronger, correct a movement dysfunction or lose weight. My niche was, for many clients, to target chronic pain by building strength and to help bridge the gap between formal PT into the general strength space. That takes a certain set of skills, though I found that what it really takes is a certain lens, or understanding, of how people get to a place of pain, postural dysfunction, carrying extra weight or just generally in-need of global strength. This understanding has everything to do with a framework of seeing how certain behaviors + functionings work together to build a condition for strength or weaknesses in the system.
Strength doesn’t get built with a formula. It also doesn’t get to a peak functioning point + you stay there forevermore, once you ‘make it’.
Strength is a deepening process. It happens over time, when you pay attention, create some consistent + efficient habits and continue to align your actions to your chosen outcomes.
Once we step onto a path of growth, we begin to notice a shift within us as we move from ‘awaiting outcomes’ to ‘harnessing better choices’.
When we step into a program or a ‘fitness challenge’ or a ‘routine’ that has been designed by someone else, we have a choice: rely on the system or use it to become better informed. The fact that you pay me to help you stay accountable and to design a specific set of movements I know will help you isn’t The Solution to developing strong movement patterns. It’s absolutely a key Pillar that you will have intact and can use to gather better information about yourself (if you come consistently, that is). It’s also preferred to work with someone who has a good handle on best practices related to Movement and stays informed of them + thinks critically about all of it.
Speaking of that, it dawned on me about a year or two ago that, even if my clients stay the course with my movement programs, they always want more change. It is a beautiful, inherent part of the Strength Process: once we begin developing one area of strength, we find we want more in other areas. As a coach, it’s worth mentioning, that I often have to listen as well as assess movement on the mat, and in that process, I can discern some important distinctions: what part of my client’s body needs more strength?:
Is it truly physical (genetic or congenital or acute injury factor present) OR…
Is ‘the physical’ being impacted by another factor like stress or nutrition?
Is there a real need or is it a perceived need being influenced by subconscious/conscious limiting beliefs (I’m not strong, I’m fat, I’m damaged, I’m not worthy or deserving of healthy change, etc)?
Is the lack of progress/strength caused by other factors that you (client) either don’t see or don’t want to see? (this is often nutritional, but can certainly present in other habits like complex trauma patterns, stress states or denial about potentially harmful habits)
My conclusion was three-fold:
Physical + Mental + Emotional states are not separate, but in fact integral pieces of the full body. I call this the BodyMind (Mindbody was annoying me bc we’re so Mind-centric + it separates our understanding…it’s the Body that actually does the full Human-ing)
We can’t train the physical only. It’s sort of like only sharpening a pencil when we need to write a full essay. This is when I came up with the idea of training The Full Spectrum of Movement. In order to do this, we need feedback loops. Those became the Pillars. I refined those so many times based on what I’m always learning about in the fields of Neuroscience, Psychology, Movement, Somatics, Metabolic Function/Nutrition…these pillars exist for us to pay attention to the right feedback and continue to make informed decisions based on what you’ve learned.
Any practitioner, no matter what they do or how good they are, cannot possibly know what you need in order to help you get stronger or healthier. Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not anti-specialists or anti-established, sound science/medical practice. But, I 1000% believe that YOU should be The Master General Practitioner of your own Health Practices. When we are, we can harness the modalities needed to get the help we need — from whatever source you choose.
The first 3 Pillars are the strongest feedback loops for determining Pillar 4. The strength in your movement patterns includes not only the large movements of squat, hinge, push, pull, rotate, gait. The Full Movement spectrum includes the tiny movements of things like your perception, your cognition, your metabolic functioning, your choices, your subconsciousness, your emotions…Whether your tiny movements are strong or need strength, has a lot to do with how Self Aware you are of them, how much you assess your own Energy Balance and how you connect/thrive in the world around you.
When we harness the first 3 and begin to involve ourselves in the process of deepening each one, we see our physical movements improve or become easier. We also begin to harness the importance of having a strong, muscled body and this becomes a non-negotiable for health. We also see that harnessing (not mastering, remember, but endlessly refining) the first 3 Pillars is necessary to create the condition for tissues, whether they be muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, to strengthen. You can’t build muscle or tissue health without them.
