The Source Of The Fluid Movement Principle

Fluid Movement is one of the 5 essential principles of The Merisoiu Technique along with Organic Movement, Earthing, Mindful Control and Food Discipline™.

When I coach my clients they see it as Tai Chi or Qigong. They are not wrong but not quite right either.

The Fluid Movement principles comes from Martial Arts indeed but it is deeply rooted into Karate Shotokan.

I’ve been practicing Karate Shotokan since 1995 and I think I had my first competition in 1999 or 1998.

So you can safely assume that no matter what I do there is a touch of Karate in it. And my coaching makes no exception.

Tai Chi and Qigong and both Martial Arts. There are many common elements between different disciplines. Of course, they influenced each other.

So yes, if I coach you then you will notice similarities.

What are the Fluid Movement sequences

In Karate we have Katas which are movement sequences executed as a specified series of a variety of moves, with stepping and turning, while attempting to maintain perfect form.

By perfect form we mean technique, posture, the established pace or rhythm.

Each movement in every Kata, there are Katas where you take 54 steps or more, has a purpose. Since this is a Martial Art we are talking about, the purpose is usually self defence.

However, there is more than the eye can see. If you take out the self defence aspect of Katas you can turn them into beautiful movement patters that contribute to health.

What are the Fluid Movement sequences meant to do

I have created the Fluid Movement sequences to solve the following problem for my clients:

1. Stress

Some of them are aimed at stress management. Calming the nervous system and bring peace and relaxation.

2. Improve focus and patience

And with this productivity in your work.

3. Reduce the risk of injuries

Injury happens when brute force meets brute force (Tai Chi Philosophy).

The law of physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

What happens when we use force, when we stump around when we walk? That’s the action. The results is the reaction which will be aggressive as well.

The sequences requite a lot of softness and Mindful Control (another one of The Merisoiu Technique 5 essential principles).
Practicing the sequences you become more aware of your posture, breathing , movement your body as a whole. As this happens you begin to move softer and more fluid.

Thus your action turns into something soft, calm and controlled. As a result the reaction will be soft and calm as well.

And so we reduce the risk of injuries by becoming aware of our bodies and moving softer and more fluid.

4. Feeling more comfortable in one’s own body

These are the more advanced Fluid Movement Sequences which work on mobility and flexibility.

5. Improved posture

Remember, the Karate Katas are a variety of moves, with stepping and turning, while attempting to maintain perfect form.

Posture is essential and in the Fluid Movement sequences you will learn to keep your posture in various given positions and moves. This is again part of the Mindful Control principle.

See the webinar on Posture I hosted.

6. Core strength

Do not be fooled thinking these movement are slow and easy. To have control over your body you must have core strength.

Correct breathing, Mindful Control component again, is a very important aspect in my coaching, whether running or moving slow.

Correct breathing also strengthens your inner core which is responsible for posture and movement in general. Your core is where your strength comes from.

Furthermore deep breathing may boost your body’s immune system and so helping your body heal in a more natural way. It is not recommended to replace your medical treatment with breathing exercises though.

Does this sound like something you would like to bring into your life? If so contact me.

July 7, 2015July 7, 2015

Why I Am Not A Personal Trainer

Who would have thought that the knowledge about the body learnt after thousands of hours spent in the Dojo training for Karate competitions and teaching will be the foundations of my coaching today.

Everything from breathing, posture and meditation to developing a strong, flexible and healthy body as well as knowledge about bones, tendons and muscles were ingrained in me from an early age. All I needed to do is fill in the gaps through studying and experimenting on myself and form a complete system: The Merisoiu Technique.

So why am I not a Personal Trainer?

I was a PT for the beginning of my career in the health and fitness industry. As a PT I used to help my clients lose weight, tone up, get fit, gain muscle mass as well as nutritional advice.

I loved it. I loved it until I realized that I had so much more to give my clients. And I wasn’t. I couldn’t give what I wanted and the way I wanted. I wanted to transform my clients’ lives by addressing the foundations and personal development.

Now as a Coach I not only help my clients with their physical appearance and wellbeing but change the way they live their lives.

I don’t coach my clients to get fit and healthy for the summer, I coach them to be fit and healthy for the rest of their lives. And we do it by addressing the root cause of their imbalances and slowly changing habits, starting with the smallest ones.

My clients leave my programs with a lot of knowledge about their bodies and how they function. They receive intrinsic knowledge which they cannot learn from a book. This comes from years and years of experience. In essence it’s a Personal Development journey.

I wanted to introduce my clients to a new way of living life. So I transitioned from Personal Training to Transformational Coaching…outdoors

[tweetthis]I wanted to introduce my clients to a new way of living life.[/tweetthis]

The roots of The Merisoiu Technique

So when I created the system, The Merisoiu Technique, it was because my clients wanted to get fit, strong and powerful. However they also needed to understand how their bodies function, how to move soft and fluid and how to prevent injury as much as possible. And it was essential not to sacrifice the later for the former.

It was imperative for them to understand the difference between tension and relaxation, intentional movement, posture and balance and counterbalance. The Mindful Control component is where my clients learn to bring together or to align body, breath, and mind. And then to catapult their results we brought in the physical and psychological benefits and the freedom of training outdoors all year round. Benefits such as strength and emotional balance. And of course the nutrition and healthy habits part.

Finally, it became clear that my clients needed to have access to a complete system which would offer them the foundations they needed to live a healthy and fit life for the rest of their lives. Once you understand the basics of movement, posture, breathing, nutrition and Mindful Control then you actually become in control of your own life, for the rest of your life.

All in all The Merisoiu Technique involves coordinated movement, breath, and awareness, building a strong and fit body and learning how to implement healthy habits and nutrition. It’s about building the foundations of a healthy lifestyle and reclaiming your nature.

The principles of The Merisoiu Technique

The Technique covers five main areas of health and wellness:

Earthing

It is no coincidence that The Merisoiu Technique is an outdoors system of Personal Development which takes place all year round, be it hot, cold, freezing or rain.

I believe nature is the most powerful force. And when you train with natures elements you become as powerful as the elements. Well…almost as powerful. It’s perfection to strive for. However they do make your stronger than you have ever thought you could be.

One of the elements of The Technique that many are afraid of is rain and winter training. What many don’t realize is that this is your challenge, this is what shows how dedicated you are to the way, the path you chose.

And this is when you strengthen your body and mind, more than in any other season. Winter is the season of breakthroughs for all my clients. You make it through winter training with me, you make it through almost anything else.

Natural Movement

Natural movement was created by Movnat Founder Erwan LeCorre. It’s training and conditioning the body through movement such as lifting, throwing, hanging, crawling, balancing, running, walking. So you will find natural movement element in this system as well.

Fluid Movement

I have personally development a range of fluid movement sequences based on my experience in Martial Arts. Imagine Tai Chi but different.

Fluid movement can be done very slow, slow, fast or very fast, it can still flow. The Merisoiu Technique fluid movement sequences covers all.

Mindful Control

Here we pay close attention to posture awareness, breathing mastery, attention and focus, technique and discipline.

This component also includes mindfulness and meditation practices.

There is a touch of Alexander Principles in the Mindful Control component

Habits Transformation

This component addresses any habits in your life that keep you from getting fit and healthy for life.

In general, with my client, we focus on nutrition, food discipline, individual training routines planned weekly and meditations.

So you see, this is a complete system. It pays close attention to every detail of your life. From breathing to posture and daily movement.

Your training never ends in the forest we train, it goes beyond. You take this knowledge home with you and you transform your life. What I was doing as a PT could not be taken home, it was left in the gym and it was changing your body but it didn’t go much further than that.

If this sounds like something you desire I invite you to book a FREE call with me to go over the struggles you are facing and see what are the best options for us to work together.

April 8, 2015September 3, 2015

HOW to breathe and WHY it is important

If we cannot control the simple act of breathing how are we suppose to control our thoughts, our bodies or ever the world around us.

And if we cannot feel and fully experience breathing how are we supposed to be mindful of anything else within or around us.

Everything begins and ends with breathing.

Unfortunately very few fitness professionals teach their clients about correct breathing, breathing patterns or even breathing exercises. Although breathing:

• removes stale air from lungs
• helps the body recover and heal injuries or illnesses
• improves blood circulation
• improves cardiovascular capacity
• reduces your cardiovascular warm up time
• reduces muscle soreness
• helps with flexibility and mobility
• increases amount of oxygen in your blood
• enhances the immune system
• relieves stress, anxiety and depression
• enhances focus, patience and calmness
• enhances the 5 senses – touch, smell, sight, sound, taste
• can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure (Harvard Health Publications January 26, 2015)
• even helps you fall asleep easier

These are some benefits of deep breathing. And you can find research on the topic everywhere. So why aren’t fitness pros teaching their clients this? I don’t know.

What is deep breathing

Deep breathing is also called diaphragmatic breathing, breathing deep into your stomach, abdominal breathing.

However we seem to struggle with deep breathing for some reason, although it’s a natural thing and we should be able to do it. There might be 2 reasons why we find it difficult at the beginning according to Harvard Health Publications:

1. Flat stomach is a symbol of attractiveness. So we need to hold out stomach muscles to make sure we are sexy enough.
2. The range of motion in our diaphragm is restricted because of shallow breathing.
3. And to add one from myself….. the abdominal muscles get tighter and tighter since they are not used. There’s no flexibility to “inflate” the stomach

Breathing in a correct way

When we do the breathing test many of my clients reverse breathe. Reverse breathe is when you:

• breathe IN and DEFLATE your stomach (belly button towards the spine)
• breathe OUT and INFLATE your stomach

I cannot do that even if I try. You are basically trying to inflate something that’s deflating.

So do THE TEST for yourself:

• place on hand on your chest and one on your stomach
• exhale to empty your lungs
• INHALE
• the hand on your chest should NOT move, the hand on your stomach should be PUSHED OUT by the stomach as it inflates
• EXHALE
• the hand on your chest should NOT more, the hand on your stomach should be COME IN, as the stomach deflates and belly button goes in towards the spine.

Next step – linear breathing

If you got this right then you can go to the next level, linear breathing:

• BREATHE IN through your nose on a count of 4
• BREATHE OUT through your nose on a count of 4.
• Repeat

If you cannot do on a count of 4 then start with 3 or even 2 and build up.

Cool, you got this right? I know you did.

However, just in case you need to take your breathing exercises at the next level, or maybe you want to know when you do then or how to better control your breathing, or how to breathe while you run and exercise book a FREE call with me and I’ll take you through everything you need to know.