Phase 1: Destabilization
Step 1: Figuring Out The Problem
The clarity with which we identify a problem dictates our effectiveness at solving it.
So, it begins, as things often do, with a conversation. You’re telling me about what’s bothering you and why you’re here (“my back hurts when I try to get up”, “my neck hurts when I turn”, and “I have trouble breathing”), and I’m listening. Not merely for symptoms, but for clues, clues that point to important questions. Why is this happening to you? How is it being sustained? What purpose do these problems solve for your body? How does your brain process this problem? What non-movement brain systems does this problem interact with? How has this problem been ignored by other clinicians? These are the questions that’ll lead us out.
Then, we move the conversation beyond words and explore these issues in variety of movement functions. Undoubtedly some will be familiar to you, but some may seem strange. They may inspire more recollections from you that have been otherwise buried. The objective of this step is to get a deeper understanding of the problem - how you experience them, how you communicate them, and how they look to my eyes.
Step 2: Transforming the problem
Now, we’re going to figure out what movements you need to practice to transform these problematic patterns into patterns that contribute to healthy function. While this sounds great, it’s also the bumpiest part of the ride.
What we think of as the human body is vastly complex network of intersecting systems: hundreds of bones and muscles, supported by a tensegrity network of connective tissues, all controlled by a brain with hundreds of trillions of connections. Trying to get this system to learn new ways of operating rarely happens without fine-tuning.
For you and I, we’ll start by try out a few exercises and/or corrective movements that is most likely to get things going. From there, we’ll adjust these movements accordingly. This fine-tuning is a collaborative work between you and I. While I have a set of skills and the appropriate scientific knowledge, you’re the only one in the world that have access to information about your body. During this collaboration, I’m certainly closely tracking how your body is organizing itself, but I’m much more concerned with how these movements are controlled. Particularly, the aspects of movements that are taking place outside of our conscious awareness and controlled by non-conscious systems of our brains. In my experience, it is often the non-conscious control mechanisms that lies at the heart of why folks like you work with me.
With this as the overall framework for this step of the process, we’ll make adaptations to the exercises as your body transforms into increasingly healthier ways of functioning.
Phase 2: Stabilization
Step 1: Cementing the new normal
At this point, whatever problems we started with would be well understood by you and under your control. Either it simply has not resurfaced or any flare ups are easy resolved by you without the need of my assistance. The task now is to challenge this newly learned pattern by applying it to whatever activities you regularly engage in. This could include things like going downstairs, yearly marathons, hiking, military special operations, wind surfing, tennis…you get the picture.
Step 2: Graduation!
Like more common graduations, this marks the end of a journey and the start of another. By now, you’ll have the necessary skills to management all the physical activities you regularly find yourself doing. You’re free to take care of your body’s needs, which empowers it to take care of your while pursue what makes you happy. What has been a prison is now a reliable asset.