For those of you unfamiliar with the MovNat method (short for Move Naturally) let me tell you how it has changed my life and what it has given me.

MovNat in its shortened form is an educational system that teaches us to move the way nature intended. As a friend and instructor once told me, it is movement for our bodies in the same way organic is for food.

Biologically we are meant to be capable of such a vast spectrum of movement. Not only to survive but for enjoyment, to be helpful in our community and adapt to our environment. Unfortunately today’s environment is much of the same; furniture, work activities in front of a screen emitting artificial light, indoor surfaces and repetitive behaviors all causing impacts to our posture, function and wellbeing. What we have gained with our technological advances and ease of life has cost us in variety, exploration and connection with nature.

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When I was younger, I stayed active mostly through sport whether that was soccer, basketball, or track. However once the days of school based training were over the void was never filled with something that left me inspired for more. In stead like most, I sought different exercise routines typically in gyms with predictable weights, machines and body weight activities. I did have some success trying different combination of movements to get a “whole body workout” but nothing really seemed to stick. I found myself running out of ideas since traditional programs only focus on body parts in a quantitative fashion based around reps, sets and weight used.

What was missing that my body craved was learning. Through MovNat a process unfolded which gave me new ways to “work out” while gaining a sense of play and exploration. This gave me immense inspiration for what “fitness” meant. 

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After taking my first MovNat workshop in 2015, I knew the missing piece for finding something I could stick with was to have an entirely new approach for considering how I stress my body through activity. Even as a Physical Therapist, I knew the importance of exercise, but as I learned, like most of my patients who also fell off their exercise routine, if the heart is not in it then it didn’t matter how important an exercise was for developing flexibility, strength, power, or balance. Knowing that I could lift a certain amount of weight in a particular fashion was not nearly as exciting as knowing that I could easily get myself over an 8ft wall and hop down to the other side like a cat. Once I saw the practicality of what MovNat had to offer I was hooked. 

Since then, this practice of natural movement has afforded me the ability to more easily perform a variety of tasks in my life. One of the most important is my role as a father of 2 young daughters.  Knowing I can lift, carry and throw/catch them to myself without concern of “throwing my back out” or having to stop because I need a break is empowering. I get to be the fun dad and I take pride in that privilege. MovNat training has also saved me on a number of occasions by reducing risk from serious injuries in soccer and trail running. Two areas which are notorious for foot, ankle and lower limb issues. These potential impairments have been sidelined by the simple fact that I incorporate more barefoot training and balance activities than I would have with a traditional exercise routine. 

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But above all what this practice has given me that I enjoy the most is a lifelong practice that I can keep coming back to. It’s honest and serves as a great teacher when there is lack of skill for the movement. It’s also inspiring to learn things that I imagined I was not capable of before. And it will easily overlap and supplement the other activities I still love to do, especially those outdoors. 

If you are looking for the opportunity to invest in yourself and create a sustainable solution that can grant you fulfillment of activity across your lifespan than MovNat has the answer.