Anatomy in Motion™ (AiM) is a way of assessing and working with the human body based on how our 360 joints and 206 bones move through the gait cycle, created and taught by Gary Ward, author of What the Foot.
In a 1:1 online AiM movement session I will help you troubleshoot why your body feels pain or limitation, and provide specific movement homework for you to practice and restore what’s missing. This service is bespoke, and compeltely customized to you.
Does your body do what it ought to be able to do with every step you take? Or have old injuries, sports specific patterning, and habitual postitions robbed you of the ease of movement you once had?
The intention of an AiM movement session is to identify and understand your unique postural distortions, what movements are missing from your system currently, and explore movements to give back your body a more complete experience of itself.
We are interested in looking at your entire body, and the interdependent relationships between all joints, from your toes to your skull, not just at the areas that are symptomatic. For example, we may end up focusing on how your feet are moving, even if the area of your complaint is the neck.
HERE’S HOW TO GET STARTED
STEP 1: Participate in Gary Ward’s online program Wake Your Body Up
If you are new to Anatomy in Motion, this will orient you to the process. In the program you will be introduced to many of the self-assessments I will walk you through in our session together. You may also notice that through participation in this program you gain new clarity on your body’s issues and find relief. This helps us get cloer to the root cause of your symptoms before we even begin our work together.
Sign up for the WYBU program here (£14.49)
To go an extra mile, participate in Wake Your Feet Up to discover more about how your feet move, and you will have the option to purchase a pair of AiM foot wedges. Not necessary, but a useful tool to have.
STEP 2: CREATE YOUR INJURY HISTORY TIMELINE
From birth to present, what insults, accidents, injuries, and chronic symptoms has your body been through? Everything is significant. Start brainstorming now, many people havey forgotten, ignored, or undervalued significant events that are relevant to why your body is having it’s current experience.
I will be sending you a detailed health-history intake form to complete once you book in a session, but begin now to jog your memory and start the process.
STEP 3: Postural photos and gait videos
Before our first session I start a process of assessing your posture/movement, so that we can get even more out of the live time together. For me to begin, I will ask that you prepare the following:
- Photos of your entire body standing from front, back, left side, and right side views.
- Close up photos of your lower leg, ankles, and feet, from the knee down.
- A video of you walking “normally” for at least 10 steps (more is better) from a front/back view (walking away from camera, walking towards camera).
Please wear minimal clothing if you are comfotable to do so (shirtless for the men, bra/shorts for women), and make sure the lighting allows me to see you clearly.
Just be you, stand and walk like nobody’s watching 😉
STEP 4: Book in a time
Once you’ve completed the first 3 steps, send me an email to request a session. We will book in a time and take it from there.
Before you email me to book in, please read the following “5 Understandings”…
THE 5 UNDERSTANDINGS
#1 I am not here to fix you, or offer palliative, “band-aid” solutions for your pain.
I am not here to do the work for you, but to help you become a more empowered, self-sovereign body owner who is capable of caring for your body’s needs. I am here to help you build a trusting connection with your body so you can become your own best practitioner.
#2 Your body is already hardwired to heal itself provided the correct input.
Your body is always in a state of healing. Our mission together is to find what’s blocking your body’s natural healing proceses. Where is there restriction in movement that could be blocking your healing response by limiting bloodflow, nerve suply, fluid drainage, and sensory input?
#3 You will need to practice the movements on your own to get a lasting result
This is not a one time quick fix. This is more like a study of you. And you will need to be committed to this study by practicing your “homework”. I invite you to keep a line of communication open between us to continoulsy re-evaluate what’s working, and what’s not, and make sense of your experience. We will work together to help you create the small daily habits around movement that lead to long term results.
#4 You will need to re-evaluate the utility of what you’re currently doing, and indentify what is keeping you stuck as you are.
To allow healing and change to occur, you will have to stop doing the things that are keeping you stuck. This may mean you temporarily suspend your jogging practice. Or reduce the number of hours you are sitting. Or consider removing your orthotics for a period. We will work together to identify what is holding you back that needs to be put to rest to allow a change to occur.
#5 Trust in the process.
Let me guide you, and together we will walk through the confusion and uncertainty that brought you here in the first place. Leave everything you think you know about your body and how it should move at the door. Suspend prior educaition, trained movement patterning, and what you thought was “right” and “wrong” to do. This will allow you to fully participate fully in the process I lead you through and allow something new to occur.
