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.

August 11, 2015August 26, 2015

Benefits Of Fluid Movement

Why is fluid movement so important that I made it one of the five principles in The Merisoiu Technique?

Why do I insist my clients practice it?

And why do I spend hours upon hours creating videos for The Academy on fluid movement sequences?

Here’s the answer to all these questions:

Slowing Down

Too often we go through life in a rush. And then, at the end of the year we wonder “where did the year go?”.

Although there are the same number of days in a year every year, give or take one day from February every 4 years, it seems like time is against us.

What we all fail to understand is that that happens because we are in a rush a l l t h e t i m e.

We are not aware of what is happening around us or even within us. And we always think about the next thing we need to do, failing to feel the moment we are in right now.

Thus, Fluid Movement teaches my clients to slow down and to feel every movement, every step, to synchronize body, breathe and mind.

Harmony

Another aspect of the modern society is the perception that we are formed of legs, arms, trunk and head. No, we are one whole unit.

Fluid Movement develops the awareness of this one unit.

Fingers, hand and arms work in harmony with hips, legs, feet and toes. It’s like a dance, a very mindful and slow dance in Karate patterns.

Mental and Physical Relaxation

When the mind is occupied with Fluid Movement sequences I have developed myself, there is no more room for troubled thoughts, stress, anxiety, depression.

Furthermore, as our thoughts and feeling leave an imprint on our body in the form of muscle tension, releasing that physical tension through the Fluid Movement sequences will also lead to releasing mental tension and invite calmness and peace.

Your mind and body are always connected. And although the mind can function independently of the body, they still work better together.

Focus and Patience

I encourage my clients to practice the Fluid Movement sequences as slow as they can. This Cultivates The Art Of Attention And Focus (one of The Merisoiu Technique 20 Laws Legacy).

Focus and patience leads to more productivity and calmness as well as improved relationships with people around you.

Challenging the mind

The patterns I create are not random. They develop a certain type of movement and incorporate the principles of balance and body weight transfer.

They are also not something easy to learn. It requires a lot of co-ordination, focus and patience to learn the patterns and then practice to refine them, getting a better and more complete understanding of your body and mind the more you practice.

In fact everything I teach is based on learning skills, patters and techniques. Your personal creativity comes after the foundations have been set during your training with me.

So there you have it. Some of the benefits of practicing fluid movement as part of The Merisoiu Technique.

In fact, in The Academy visitors section you can see how fluid movement works. There are no specific fluid movement sequences but it will give you an idea of I mean.

If you’d like FREE access to one of the Fluid Movement sequences do book a complimentary call with 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.

May 28, 2015

What To Do When You Are Short On Time To Train

If you don’t feel amazing then you will not be able to make others around you feel amazing either.

And to feel amazing you must look after your health. And part of that is movement. Not workout, not exercise but movement.

What’s the difference

Well training, circuits and training systems all have their place. As a qualified Personal Trainer I know the importance of a properly designed training program. It’s a must if you work towards a goal and need to make proper progress.

However I also advocate for creativity, flow and the pleasure or pure, simple movement. Sometimes it’s good to break the pattern, to stop counting sets and reps and just allow your body and mind to be creative.

So that’s movement and what I coach.

The benefits

Whether it’s simple movement, a properly structured training routine, a sport or just walking through the forest, crawling under tree trunks and up steep hills the core benefits are the same:

• Energy. My mother says it’s like an energy drink. She hasn’t done any type of movement in over 30 years! and how she started running, 1 min at a time.
• Reduce stress, anger, frustration, depression name it. And if you also do stretching and Fluid Movement you also reduce physical stress.
• It leads to other healthy habits, such as nutrition and healthy, quality sleep. They will automatically begin to change for the better when you start training.
• Done regularly it lowers risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke according to NHS
• Boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy

You got the picture. You will feel amazing and you will make others around you feel amazing.

“If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented,” says Dr Nick Cavill, a health promotion consultant.

[tweetthis]“If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented,” Dr Nick Cavill[/tweetthis]

When you are short on time

Ok you have your business or are very busy at work and cannot fit a 1h or 30min full training or movement routine.

That’s fine. Because remember the things which will create a massive difference in your lie are small habits done on a consistent basis.

So when you have 5 min or 10 min you could do the following:

• A quick, short and classic routine: 50 star jumps, 30 press-ups, 30 squats, 1 min plank, 1 min side planks left and right, and add other exercises as needed depending on the time you have. Need help to decide what to do? You just need to ask, click here.

• Incorporate movement in your daily routine. This is my favourite. Here are a few examples:
o crawl upstairs
o balance on one leg when brushing your teeth (careful this can lead to injury though)
o before you sit down to have your meal do 30 squats
o crawl/inverse crawl/jump/frog jump around the house between rooms, if possible

• Stretch throughout the day.
You may think “ah stretching is no worth, it’s not going to help me with anything”. I must disagree and say you are wrong here. Stretching, unwinding your body is imperative to reduce physical and psychological stress. And if you bring in Fluid Movement that’s even better as it will release more tension in the bosy. So stretch often throughout the day.

Here’s what you can begin with. The stretch I teach all my students.

• Deep breathing exercises.
Ok, now why would I want you to do this? Well there are about 16 reasons why breathing exercises are important for your physical and psychological health.For example:

o improves and maintains your cardiovascular capacity.
o helps you heal faster by directing the breathe into areas of the body where there are injuries and illnesses.
o relaxes the mind and brings clarity, focus, allows room for more creativity and productivity.
o encourages good posture. When you slouch notice how your body closes up and your breathing becomes shallow. Then you take a deep breath, your chest comes out and your body naturally straightens.

Read all the other awesome benefits of practicing deep breathing, here.

Breathing exercises

And here are two deep breathing exercises to begin with:

Step 1. Make sure you breathe correctly, that means when you breathe in you make your stomach big, when you breathe out you pull your stomach in.

Step 2. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth

Step 3. The exercise. Let’s take 4 seconds as count for breathing in, out and holds. You can adjust them to fit your level:

Linear breathing technique

I use this as a warm up for the others.

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

Triangle breathing technique

Imagine an equilateral triangle. It has 3 equal sides

– BREATHE IN through your nose on a count of 4.
– HOLD on a count of 4.
– BREATHE OUT through your nose on a count of 4.
– No hold after this one. Repeat

Adjust the in breathe, out breathe and holds according to your level.

More advances breathing techniques are square, rectangle, therapeutic breathing.

I can give you more ideas but just try one of these and see how they work out for you.

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Alexandra Merisoiu is the Founder and Coach at Urban Women Fitness and creator of The Merisoiu Technique.

She works with professional women in their 30’s and 40’d helping them to relieve stress and take them feeling overwhelmed and exhausted to feeling energized, enthusiastic and transformed.

Her HODs (Habits Of The Day) series helps you

★ Change the way you feel physically & emotionally, for the better
★ Reduce aches and pains (shoulders, back, neck etc) and feel excellent in your own body
★ Be more calm, patient, focused and productive
★ Build discipline and learn to be consistent
And it’s a step by step process

To sign up for Alexandra’s 28 Days HODs, click here