I am bringing in Karin Gurtner to talk about Movement Therapy and how we as bodyworkers can learn from that practice and add value to the work we do with our clients. Karin is the founder of the art of motion, training in movement®, a renowned training organization for Contemporary Pilates & Slings Myofascial Training based in Switzerland and Australia. Her resume is quite impressive with certifications in massage, gyrokenisis, pilates, yoga, personal training and many many more. Without taking the next several minutes to list off all of her accomplishments and accreditations, hopefully it is suffice to say she is incredibly experienced, and a motivated learner through and through.
This is Part 1 of our conversation, as we had so much content to cover that I thought it best to break it up in to two episodes. That being said, we do cover quite a bit in this first part, everything from what it means to move and how that effects our relationship with our body, to the value of conscious movement training, and finally we get more technical and discuss the difference between proprioception and interception. I really enjoyed my conversation with Karin, she has so much energy and excitement around learning about the body and how it works. Not only is her work inspiring, but her zest for life is contagious as well.
She also has the honor of being my first guest to lead my audience through some movements during the episode. I’m curious to hear how that lands for you, so please contact me and let me know if it worked for you. I give you my conversation with Karin Gurtner.
In this episode:
[2:45] How she started out in movement therapy
[10:45] Translating anatomy trains into Movement
[13:19] What is a body?
[14:36] Current definition of movement
[23:42] Misconceptions about movement
[31:50] How to best use movement for our clients?
[35:42] What is the value of movement
Notable quotes from Karin:
“Bodywork is a conversation between two intelligent beings”
“Integrating anatomy trains into movement therapy is a translation of meaning, not a mirroring of techniques.”
“Many of us think ‘we have a body’, but instead we are a body”
“Thinking ‘I am a body, is a first person experience of myself as a whole living, feeling, thinking being.”
“Movement for me is a neuro-myofacial, skeletal, psycho-emotional, social, linguistically powered, imponderable synergy.”
“Our body is not a hierarchical system in which the brain is the dictator that determines what is going on underneath. There is free speech. Every system interacts and influences every other system and we interact with our environment and our environment shapes us.”
“The facial system is the largest sensory system.”
“The facial system has the most receptors, more mechanical receptors than muscular system… as rich as the retina of the eyes.”
“The way we move and the way we feel about movement is very much at home in our facial system.”
“The way I think about movement shapes the way I move.”
“The way I feel will change the way I move. On a good day I will move differently than a bad day.”
“Movement as a whole body event, is actually quite imponderable.”
“By consciously training we can improve our kinesthetic sense, which enhances trust in my bodies ability to heal itself.”
“A lot of people lose trust in their body, especially when they are in pain.”
