Restore Lost Movement Patterns

Restore lost movement patterns – In this article, we introduce the third of the Four Pillars Of Health, The Movement Pillar. 

 

What if there was a way to move that guaranteed quick results, is fun to do, and deeply self-empowering. This is exactly what we will present to you today! It is a way of combining awareness cultivation and movement practice into one program. 

 

Every person has a particular way of moving depending on their lifestyle. In that lifestyle, there are more often than not many fundamental movement patterns that aren’t used anymore. This has a direct negative effect on the body, but as soon as we start resting them, we gain an immediate boost to our overall well-being.

 

We will take an in-depth look at the specific benefits of restoring lost movement patterns and how you can use them as a practical path forward towards physical, mental, and spiritual prosperity. 

 

It is not as complicated as it sounds. And we have had amazing results for our clients, all the way from beginners to professional athletes, by reintroducing these lost movement patterns. 

 

Once you see the connection between movement patterns, holistic health, and your overall lifestyle, you will know, without a doubt, how to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit connection.

 

Let’s dive into the deep end and go back to when we were young! Shall we? Let’s go!

 

Most everyone can remember when they were somewhere in the range of 6-10 years old. At that time, we had an extraordinary ability to move, run, and play for fun. Our bodies were full of energy, natural mindfulness, and a soaring spirit. We could move through all ranges of motion, we were naturally flexible and strong enough to move our bodies around.

 

Even if you for some reason haven’t been able to move and feel as described just now. You can still see this to be true for so many young people. What we are trying to describe here is that we at one point naturally were capable of moving and expressing ourselves through a vast amount of movement patterns.

 

As we grow older, we tend to lose this natural state of being able to move. 

 

We call it growing old or perhaps even growing up. But these terms are somewhat misleading. It is as if we attribute old age with an inability to stay full of vitality, ability to move, while also staying mentally clear and focused. 

 

Today we want to show you that we don’t need to look at aging as a predetermined state of bodily, mental, and spiritual decline. When we put all the Four Pillars of Health together, it is as if we can reverse our aging by returning to this youthful state! 

 

Movement is a big part of this process. Reclaiming lost movement patterns is like a brilliant key you can focus on to unlock your body and begin this process yourself.

 

Let’s break down how this all fits together to make it more tangible for you.

 

What are lost movement patterns?

 

Let’s look at the most fundamental movement patterns that many of us have lost the ability to perform. These are the main ones we focus on:

 

• Squat – Squat, Bending at the knees movements
• Bend & Hinge – Deadlift, Hip Extensions, Glutes, and Hamstrings
• Press & Push -Push-Ups, Military Press, Dips, Pushing.
• Pull & Drag – Pullups, Rowing Exercises, Back Extensions
• Lunge – Walking Lunges, Static Lunges, Lateral Lunges
• Twist – Core Rotation, Throwing, Catching, Kicking, Punching
• Gait – Walking, Running Jogging, Crawling
• Head or Handstand – Balance, Strength, flexibility

 

These are all familiar movement patterns that many of us have lost or are not able to perform. Perhaps you have never been able to perform some of them. Like the pull-up or handstand. For now, these are only for you to have a general idea of what type of movement patterns we are talking about as we move forward in the article. 

 

Whether we have lost the ability to, or have never been able to, do any of these movement patterns doesn’t matter. What we want to point out is that it means that we are struggling foundationally with one or more main factors.  

 

The main factors are:

• Mobility
• Flexibility
• Strength

 

The issue can be mobility, which means your ability to move your joint through a full range of motion. If you lack the mobility to move through a full range of motion, you have lost a movement pattern. This is a simple way to look at this.

 

It has mainly to do with two causes. You are either not flexible enough anymore or not strong enough to support the weight. 

 

Perhaps you can’t squat well, because your ankles and lower back are too tight or you have lost the strength to go up and down. Many of us can’t sit squatted down like is common in many Asian countries for example. Kids can so easily do this. 

 

The squat is a great example of a common lost movement pattern. 

 

If you reclaim a movement pattern like the squat, your overall feel goodwill increase tremendously. So much stiffness, aches, and even pains will just disappear. Exactly what benefits you will have is hard to say without knowing your exact current body composition and possible issues.

 

But one thing is for sure. The overall benefits will be huge.

 

Another common example is not being able to put your arm above your head because of flexibility issues. To lift things overhead or not being able to do a headstand in yoga because your shoulders and neck are too weak. And perhaps because you aren’t used to seeing the world upside down. 🙃

 

Either way, becoming strong and flexible enough in your shoulder joints and neck will make you feel great! We carry so much useless stress and tension in these areas. But we can’t rest or avoid these types of bodily issues, we need to actively face them.

 

Let’s look at one more example of a movement pattern where we can easily see the imbalance between flexibility and strength. That is the lunge movement. We use this regularly with clients to see how their overall physical progress is going.

 

When we lunge we need stability, through sufficient strength and lots of flexibility, which allows for the mobility to take long lunge steps. Here we also see one additional factor and that is balance.

 

This particular movement shows us how well the right and left sides of the body work in harmony, the balance between them. What we often see here is a combination of very strong and tight hip flexors combined with weak and tight hamstrings. 

 

This makes the lunge position a difficult, unstable, and sometimes even painful movement pattern. This happens to many of us because of our modern sedentary lifestyle that causes many complications. For example a loss of hip extensions or a tight psoas muscle.

 

Now you should have a good idea of what we mean by lost movement patterns. So now the question is: 

 

What is the practical solution to restoring these lost movement patterns? 

 

Well, first of all, what we want to highlight is that you have to start to actively begin looking for them. Because once you find one… Bingo! 

 

You have now found an area of potential extra feel-good in your life. It’s like a small win. The important thing is to find it. So how do we find them?

 

We will guide you through this process by showing you how to evaluate the above-mentioned movement patterns. You can do that by watching our Movement Pattern Assessment video. You can do this from home in front of the computer, no need for equipment or a gym.

 

Once you have done the assessment, you can move on to the next video. 

 

The next video is a 20 Min Movement Pattern Practice – Follow Along that covers how to restore all these movement patterns. This will be a combination of mobility, flexibility, and strength exercises in varying difficulty. 

 

You can find the link to these videos further down…

 

But don’t jump into the videos just yet. First, we want to give you some important pointers about movement patterns so you can get the most out of the videos.

 

What we mentioned above are only a few examples where our ability for moving the joint through an entire range of motion functionally, meaning mobility, is hindered by a lack of strength or flexibility. This is the outlook we want you to remember when you look at each movement pattern.

 

This is the fastest and most efficient way to go from being “out of shape” to having a strong and flexible foundation.

 

Here are some quick questions you can ask yourself right now before we start the assessment.  

 

• What movement patterns that I used to be able to do and enjoy have I now lost? Are there any obvious ones?
• Why have I lost these movement patterns? Has it been gradual or perhaps because of an injury?
• Does the loss mainly have to do with mobility due to a lack of flexibility or strength? 
• And when did I lose them?

 

Very interesting questions aren’t they? Let’s continue and we will see how this all connects to our lifestyle

 

Movement Patterns and Lifestyle

 

Together with this simple outlook on movement patterns we also want to include an overall lifestyle perspective. As a general rule, lifestyle dictates how we move. When we examine this further we want you to look at your lifestyle as if it was composed only of movement patterns. 

 

When you do, you can make many interesting observations.

 

If you live a modern city lifestyle then your movement patterns will differ greatly from someone living, on a farm, on top of a mountain, or a deserted island.

 

When living a modern lifestyle you might not be crawling, jumping, running, climbing, squatting, or standing on your head hardly at all. Modern city life doesn’t require you to move much. Over the years this can reduce our ability to move to almost nothing, especially when we get older.

 

When do you need to be able to be strong, flexible, and mobile to move around in the city when you think about it? Of course, it can happen occasionally.

 

For example when you are late for an important meeting at work and you have to do whatever you have to do to make it to the bus. Taking a shortcut through the woods, climbing over rocks and moss. Just barely making it before the bus doors close. Scaring the bus driver out of his wits as you are now covered in mud, with twigs sticking out of your hair, panting, wide-eyed, looking like an owl.

 

Yes. we are sure you can relate to the example above but unfortunately, this doesn’t happen often enough to bring our lost movement patterns back to life.

 

On the other hand, however, if you had more mobility, flexibility, and strength that run through the woods would have been like a breeze and you would have arrived minutes before the bus even arrived.

 

Can you see now how great it is to reclaim these lost movement patterns? They make you fit for life!

 

But for many of us, this path towards increasing mobility, through more flexibility and strength, can be a real challenge. We often live busy and sometimes stressful lives with a limited time at our disposal. This can leave us without much energy and motivation to follow an exercise program through.

 

Because of this, it is essential to have a strategic approach that is programmed to restore the specific movement patterns you need in a safe, efficient, and fun manner. By focusing on the right movement pattern you will get the most out of your time and effort spent on exercise with the minimum amount of effort.

 

Because you are addressing un-utilized movement patterns you improve remarkably fast. 

 

We are fully aware of this and that is why we create overall holistic health solutions that build you up from where you are right now. We provide our clients with complete programs either in person at our Retreat Center, through Personal Coaching, or virtually in our Online Health Club. 

 

We do this for all the Four Pillar of Health which are.

 

• Nutrition
• Rejuvenation
• Movement (This one!)
• Emotional Balance

 

This is what we specialize in here at Living with The Spirit.

 

In our tailor-made programs, we promote three specific areas of practical movement practice for overall health improvement and well-being. We call these areas Work-In, Work-Out, and Pain-Free Through Self Care.

 

Here is how Simba Stenqvist, Co-founder and Head Coach describes these first two terms:

 

Work-In – “This means to leave your session with more energy than you came in with.”

“This is a philosophy based around the cultivation of energy & moving the Chi (the energy flow in the body). You let your inherent energy levels decide the level of activity during your exercise or practice session. Instead of having a cup of coffee or pre-workout, because you are tired, This will build upon and boost your inherent energy levels (your Chi).

 

You adjust your performance levels during your workout session to perhaps 40-50% of your usual physical training capacity. This way you get the benefits from moving your body and moving the chi, but you do not strain the body or push it to fatigue. This does not mean that you can never push yourself to the max.

 

It means that you learn to listen to your body and adjust your workouts accordingly with the aim being to increase your energy levels long-term This will then provide you with enough energy for work, family, friends, and exercise.”

 

Work-Out – “Physical exercise is not meant to be a chore!”

“Physical Exercise has the purpose to put conscious stress on our tissues and cells. When we stress our cells and tissues either exercise and physical activity the cells and tissues break down. With enough rest, nutrition, and self-care they will build themselves up to become stronger and more resilient. 

 

The work-out sessions you perform when you feel strong, well-rested, and balanced are easy and feel good! You can then execute the proper technique, without the risk of getting injured due to low energy. This means you can get the most out of your workouts that day. 

 

When we combine the work-in and work-out approach with reclaiming lost movement patterns your overall performance will naturally increase. By programming and recalibrating your workouts to adjust mobility, flexibility, and strength, your body’s overall capacity is utilized more efficiently. This makes working out fun, simply because the feedback from your body will be one of harmony.”

 

Pain-free with Self-Care 

For those of us struggling or working with injuries, pain, or particularly difficult lost movement patterns we also add in an area we like to call Self-Care. This is a delicate and nurturing approach that looks at the finer details of any physical adjustments we need to make. Especially when it comes to painful, stiff, or tender parts of the body.

 

We all have certain weak spots in our physique. This is true even if you are a pro athlete or a busy out of shape parent. The Self-Care part of your practice is designed for you to dedicate time and conscious effort to make your perceived weakness a real strength.

 

Self-care is also the area where we can interconnect all the holistic aspects of stress management, emotional balance, rejuvenation, and recovery into one personal practice. 

 

When we can mend this “weakness” in our physical “armor” it affects the whole body with staggering positivity. 

 

Good examples of the kind of weaknesses we are talking about can are for example:

• Lower Back Pain
• Anterior/Posterior Pelvic Tilt 
• A Tight Psoas Muscle
• Rounded Shoulders
• Knee Instability

 

A holistic perspective on weaknesses such as these is that this is not just a physical issue. Addressing these issues is highly spiritual work on a practical plane.

 

Here is how Co-Founder, Yin Yoga & Breathwork Teacher Sara Stenqvist has to say about Self-Care and how to become pain-free.

 

“Our bodies are designed to move.”

Without movement, the energy, the Chi, in our bodies become stagnant. When this energy becomes stagnant, the tissues in the areas become acidic and dry, which leads to stiffness and eventually pain. When we move our body regularly through its intended movement patterns, making sure to keep the tissues well circulated and hydrated, it is easier for us to stay pain-free. 

 

I say this because I want you to see that if you are struggling with pain, movement is one of the main solutions. Painkillers and inactivity will only compound the problem. A holistic approach to pain is a real long-term solution. Combine your movement regime with meditation, proper nutrition, and breathwork and you have got yourself a very powerful natural remedy. ” 

 

Free Movement Pattern Program

We recommend everyone to try our free movement pattern program, or contact us to help you either through our Online health Club or Personal Coaching. This way you know you are caring for all aspects of your being. 

 

If you like this program you will love the rest of the things we do here at living with The Spirit. We want to get you started with reclaiming your lost movement patterns right now! 

 

We have put together an effective and fun program for you that you can do any time anywhere. The program contains three parts. Two YouTube videos and one action step.

 

Here is how it works:

First, you watch and use the Movement Pattern Assessment video to find out your overall baseline and how you can move in and out of the main 7 movement patterns above. This video is equally important for beginners and professionals. We will also have a look at if any mobility issues are flexibility/tightness or if it has to do with strength.

 

What you are looking for as a beginner are movement patterns that you simply can’t do. That’s like finding a potential gold mine of health and future feel-good. Seriously! 

 

We are not joking. That’s how self-empowering it will be for you to reclaim these movement patterns.

 

For someone who is already athletic might have to work harder to find small imbalances or perhaps one movement pattern that isn’t as good as the other ones. As a professional athlete for example, even if you are highly specialized, when you reclaim and relearn old movement patterns your overall performance will increase.

 

But first of all, you have to find the “chink in your physical armor”. 

 

After you have done the Movement Pattern Assessment video you can then move on to the free Movement Pattern Flexibility Practice video. Here we will show you how to work on improving your flexibility

 

This workout alone is enough for you to balance out your body by addressing tightness and tension throughout the body. We suggest you do this workout between 3-5 times and see how you feel. You can do this as a standalone practice or after your current exercise routine.

 

After you have assessed your strengths and weaknesses and you have tried the Movement Pattern Flexibility Practice. We invite you to take the next action step.

 

You are welcome to book a free consultation with us and we will help you create a holistic path forward towards your goals. We will guide you with a practical approach to bring your health up to the next level. 

 

During this free 25min consultation we provide you with tailor-made solutions to your specific issues surrounding movement or any of the other four pillars of health. This is a chance for you to get more precise help from us.

 

When you know that you are working on exactly the right areas of focus for you, the workouts go from being a chore to a self-empowering practice. You will be surprised how much improvement you can make in a short period.

 

Get started right now!

 

Link to Movement Pattern Assessment YouTube Video: Click Here

 

Link to Movement Pattern Flexibility Practice: Click Here 

 

Book Your Free Consultation: Click Here 

 

If you have any questions or inquiries about movement patterns or any of the other Four Pillars of Health please send us an email to [email protected]

Much love!
//Sara & Simba