What Teaching My Colleagues Taught Me

When I certified in Nutritious Movement over two years ago, I was one of two or three people in my cohort of 25 or 30 who was not already a movement teacher. Most people were coming to the training with pilates, yoga or fitness backgrounds. Some with decades of experience.

I came as a former life coach who had been unemployed for at least a year while I dealt with a whole host of personal and family crises.

I felt like a fish out of water. I was a fish out of water.

I didn't know what supine meant (it means lying flat on your back).

I didn't know where the lateral malleolus was (outside bone on your ankle).

I didn't know that there was an adductor that connected the pelvis to the lower leg (it's the gracilus, and see, I still don't know the correct names for the shin bones!).

I didn't know what everyone else seemed to already know.

I did know a few things about myself, however:

I am a quick study.
I love the body.
I love people.
I thrive on problem-solving.
I suffer from an excess in self-esteem (I can do ANYthing!).
I like learning as I go.

I also knew this:

My heart was in it. And I am connected to my heart.

This last week I was invited to begin my journey toward becoming staff at the Nutritious Movement Institute. I spent the week immersed in more learning and I also had the opportunity to teach my colleagues and the new set of certifying students.

It was a powerful experience for me.

The people who already teach at the Institute are brilliant movement teachers. They've got mad skills. Most of them cross disciplines and have movement tool kits that make them excellent at deciphering dysfunctional movement patterns in the blink of an eye and some of them have been teaching Nutritious Movement-based restorative exercise for nearly a decade. I was humbled to be considered for the position and I was a little intimidated to stand before them and offer my own skills.

But stand I did.

And after my one hour class (three "exercises": psoas release, iliacus release and bolstered twist), I received the following feedback:

"life changing"

"I will never forget this class"

"my core has never been so open"

"I've been trying to get release through my hips and this is the first time it happened"

"this is what restorative exercise needs"

"my body was so different at the end of class"

It was incredibly humbling. I cried at least once while talking with a colleague who was reflecting my gifts back to me.

This experience changed my life.

I am skilled at teaching corrective exercise and supporting people to change lifestyle habits. I wouldn't do it if I believed otherwise and if I didn't see my skills translate into healthier bodies for my clients and students.

But I realized this week that there are some things that I take for granted, that I tend to assume every other movement teacher already has or does or is. It turns out a few things combine into a unique alchemy in me.

I am deeply interested in how movement informs the WHOLE self.
I am passionate, deeply passionate, about creating inner safety in order to allow for more movement.
I am totally into seeing the connections and the disconnections between the heart and the body.
I spend A LOT of time noticing and reflecting on how my inner state is expressed in my body and how my physical state is expressed in my heart and mind
I know how to rest.
I know the value of going slowly.
I know have the experience of continuing to move when I'm scared to move.

And I know how to teach these things.

This work isn't for everyone. Not everyone wants to be on speaking terms with their body. And not everyone feels disconnected.

But if you struggle with your own HeartBody connection (and don't we all in some way or another?!), I invite you to stick around. Especially if you've been in your head about solving your physical problems. And even if you're already a movement teacher. Because I'm learning that this ability to be connected to ourselves deeply informs our ability to support that connection in our students. It's why I keep noticing that with every deeper step I take my clients are able to go more deeply, too.

I am committed to this journey of wholeness. I am committed to supporting you to move more so you can feel better. I'm committed to learning about the body, learning about the heart, learning about the movements that bring you to life. I'm committed to you having more of what your heart longs for as you live this physical existence.

My whole life has blossomed as I've taken on my own HeartBody journey. I can't wait to share my methods with you!