Natural Human Movement videos

Greetings, fellow humans!

As a reminder, I am happily now offering top quality "mo-ssage" and one on one holistic fitness coaching at Synchronicity Wellness in Asheville! 

Regardless of what part of the world your ancestors came from, it's safe to say they moved a lot. They walked every day, the squatted every day, and they lifted things every day. Perhaps, they even ran every day. Think of it like this:

• Graceful

• Efficient

• Powerful…

• and PLAYFUL!

This is how you and I were meant to move.

Unfortunately, for many of us, modern life has disconnected us from how our body was meant to stand,walk, sit, lift, play, dance, and run.
By re-integrating our natural, ancestral movement patterns into the context of our modern life,
my approach to “natural human movement” encourages movements and postures that are helpful rather than harmful to our physiology.
The result is a safe, enjoyable approach to attaining our full human potential for movement.
When we view our own health from the ancestral health or biological perspective, we start to ask: “What was our body designed to do?”
This perspective shifts us toward a more natural, whole foods way of eating. Similarly, this perspective must also take into account how we move.

In an effort to share some  ideas on how our bodies were meant to move, I am in the process of co-creating a series of short videos on ePhysiologix. Below is a link to some of what has been published so far:

http://www.ephysiologix.com/fitness/naturalhumanmovement/

some individual links are below:


Tap/click here to watch:   Squat to sit/ squat to stand: 

Tap/click here to watch: Self massage of the calf (this one is more "self care" than natural movement)

Tap/click here to watch: Run like an animal, not a machine  (a one minute "selfie" showing what gentle trail running can look like)

If you want to see an older (and much longer) video with a somewhat in-depth explanation of why we have lost our natural human gait, and how to begin regaining it,

Tap/Click here to watch: Grace in every step 

It's a wonderfully cold and soggy day as I look out the windows from my beautiful work place.
As "old man winter" sets in, it's easy for many of us to just snuggle up on the couch, enjoy a warm beverage, and watch movies. I'm not suggesting for even a second that you miss out on these truly wonderful comforts. However, it's worth mentioning that you were meant to move. Enjoy these moments of relaxation, but also take every opportunity to move.

OK, Now go outside and play! 

                          Much love, -Mo the human

The most technologically advanced shoe ever made.

Greetings, fellow humans!

There is a shoe available which is far beyond any technology we normally associate with sports equipment. It is equipped with thousands of microscopic sensors designed to make the sole adapt instantly to changing terrain and traction environments. An extremely powerful, yet portable data processor constantly monitors the information coming from each shoe making minute adjustments with every step to ensure a smooth and efficient gait whether walking, hiking, or even running.

While not suitable for use in every sport, these shoes are extremely lightweight and supremely comfortable and breathable, with a truly custom fit for every athlete. Unbeknownst to the general public, many top athletes and training facilities have used these shoes for some or all of their training with overwhelmingly positive results.

With proper training and frequent use, these shoes can help build maximum core strength, coordination, efficiency, and balance in athletes and normal people of all ages.

These shoes, sadly, are not for sale... The good news is, you already have a pair! We are referring to the natural human foot. 

Over one billion people are currently using the most popular shoe on earth: None. While the unshod populations of the earth do have many struggles in life, their feet are remarkably healthy. 

Those of us who have spent most of our lives in shoes, however, are in need of a serious "software update" to take advantage of our feet. Once we learn how to feel our feet, we can then move on to building the necessary strength and flexibility to take full advantage of our truly amazing and capable feet. I have seen bunions, hammer toes, plantar fascia issues, knee pain, and even back pain improve tremendously through carefully training and regaining a natural human gait. If you have any interest in getting back in touch with your feet, consider the "sobriety test" as a careful first step into an exciting new journey.

Finding Your Natural Human Gait Step 1 

The “Sobriety Test” Exercise: 

Teaching Your Brain to See with Your Feet 

Expect this to be a joyful, but possibly very slow process. Different people learn at different speeds. Approach this as if you are gardening. You cannot force a plant to bloom. As such, do not force your feet or brain to adapt too quickly. Let this be a short time you take every morning to experience the sensation you brain has been hungry for since childhood.

1.     Start completely barefoot on a flat, hard, smooth surface such as a wood or stone floor.

2.     Stand for a moment and gently shift your weight from foot to foot without lifting either foot off the ground.

3.   While looking forward (not down) with a soft gaze, begin lifting each foot very slightly, then gently placing it onto the ground before you slowly lift the other foot.

4.     With a soft, relaxed ankle, place one foot just barely in front of the other foot, then WAIT for the front foot to “invite” your weight onto it. This will involve some gentle contraction of the Gluteal and hamstring muscles in the back leg.

5.     As you shift your weight to the forward foot, gently lift the back foot without “pushing off”. 

6.     Repeat at a slow, gentle pace. If you are “thumping”, slow down.

7.     Try the same movement walking backwards. Notice the sensations in your feet.

After some time, you may wish to experiment with some different textures: rough surfaced concrete, dirt, etc… eventually even gravel. Do not rush this. With patience you can avoid possible injury as you slowly regain a very gentle and joyful gait. In time the muscles, tendons, and bones of the feet will become stronger as your brain-foot connection becomes “smarter”.

If you would like additional resources, click here.

OK, Now go outside and play!
                                       Much Love, Mo the human                

Run like an animal, not a machine.

Greetings, fellow humans!

First of all, let me say... I know next to nothing about competing in races of any distance.

I have worked on thousands of runners in my massage therapy career, many of whom have been quite accomplished competitors. However, I personally have little to no interest in competition. I'm not saying you should not compete, so much as I'm saying my approach to running is kinda the opposite of a competitor's mindset. Competitors seem to view their runs in miles and times, pacing, training schedules, etc. I do none of that. I'm not saying competitors don't enjoy their runs, but based on what I hear from the competitors I know, it seems like there's a lot of suffering going on there. (and quite a few injuries as well.)

 I consider running to be "PLAY" and not "EXERCISE". Not that no exercise comes from running, but I think if you goals are to"get in shape", running is an inefficient way to do so.


I run for 2 reasons:

1: Sheer JOY! (see 1 minute video below, or TAP/CLICK HERE if on a mobile device)

2: Quick transportation. (Walking is not as fast as running, even for a slow runner like me.)



About four and half years ago, I couldn't even consider running. Luckily, I was opened to a whole new approach that truly changed my life.

Thanks to a re-learning of this basic human skill, I can run again in a joyful and pain-free manner!



 If you want to go "further down the rabbit hole" on techniques for regaining a gentle, non-impact gait, watch the video below (or TAP/CLICK HERE if on a mobile device). Even if you are a competitive runner, I think this approach can lead to a more efficient and pleasure-filled run. The first 12 minutes is where I describe how and why the important first step in learning to run is learning to walk with a natural gait. The rest consists of a lengthy Q&A/discussion of ideas.

If you want to read more on some of my favorite resources, bunions, plantar fasciitis, and my favorite shoe options go here.

                                                     OK... Now go outside and play!      Much love, Mo the human.

What if "CARDIO" doesn't exist?

Greetings, fellow humans!

I'm now ready to put "cardio" in the same bin with "heart healthy whole grains" "artery clogging saturated fat" and "a good supportive shoe".

Don't get me wrong, fellow humans... I love to move!

(August 2014 update... I am now available as a personal trainer at Synchronicity Wellness Hooray!)

Vigorous physical movement is vital to my physical and mental health. Hiking, biking, trail running, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu... Numerous things that I have LOVED throughout the years could easily be considered "cardio" by most people.

If you love exercise bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, etc... Have fun! I'm not suggesting anyone stop doing any of that stuff. However, I now have pretty good reason to believe the term "cardiovascular fitness" is a cultural misunderstanding of biology.

Please allow me to give a "plain English" explanation:


About 10 or more years ago, my wife and I were a walking stereotype of Boulder, CO:

• We were young(ish), slightly tan, and relatively fit.
• She was a full time yoga teacher, and I was a full time massage therapist.
• We had the typical medium-sized athletic dog that we would take for hikes on the steep trails near town a few times a week. 
• We rode our cruiser bikes downtown to have sushi with our insanely beautiful friends. 

Essentially, you could have pulled us off a "GREETINGS FROM BOULDER!" postcard.


One day, we ran into my friend "Bob" (not his real name) who we hadn't seen in a few years. He invited us to join him and a group to hike three "14ers" in one day. (To those who don't live in the Rockies, this means we would be hiking up and down three 14,000+ foot tall mountains in one day.) This is the kind of thing Boulderites do for fun, I swear!

A few days later, we meet up early in the morning at Bob's place. That's when my wife and I realized we had accidentally found ourselves surrounded by another Boulder stereotype: the Uber-Athletes! You know,  The folks who train with heart rate monitors, have clothing and footwear sponsors, test out fancy new fabrics and gadgets for companies, model for fitness photo shoots... Yeah, like that. During the early-morning-coffee-in-the-kitchen conversation, we discovered a key factor we hadn't considered... Bob is now a competitive marathon runner. Actually, to our surprise, so is everyone else going on this hike except for the two of us!
But wait, it get's better...
"We've got a race coming up," one of these uber-athletes casually mentions, "and we'd kinda like to use today as a training day. So.... hopefully, you two don't mind if we keep a pretty good pace?" She says with  smile.

My sweet wife and I looked at each other with thinly veiled dread and agreed that we'd try to keep up with these kind and friendly folks... And then we got to the trail:

These "cardio kings" (and queens) couldn't keep up with us! "Oh, that's right," We thought, "These people are pros! They're pacing themselves. We know nothing about pacing. We better slow down, or they're going to just blow past us at some point."

So, we slowed down to the pace of the pros... And our dog started going nuts. He wanted to go normal pace... He wanted to GO!
"OK then", we figured, "We'll go our normal speed, and they'll pass us when they pass us."
They never passed us.

We sat at the top of the first 14 thousand-and-some-odd-hundred-foot-tall mountain and ate our lunch, then packed away lunch, waiting for these super-fit freaks (actually, very nice people) to catch up.
Finally they did catch up... IN PAIN.
Not only were they as confused as we were, but they appeared to be hurting themselves trying to catch us! The rest of the day went just like this. These folks could NOT keep up with us! 

For about a decade, my wife and I racked our brains and could not figure this out! I'm guessing the marathoners are still baffled by that "mystery hike" day.

Then I read the book "Body By Science" by Doug McGuff, MD and John Little...

This book changed my perception of exercise immensely. Among other things, it explains where the myth of "Cardiovascular Fitness" came from! Apparently, it was invented by a doctor who worked for the US Air Force. It went kinda like this... Allow me to grossly oversimplify:

We are all familiar with the "Cardiac Stress Test", right? You know, a person is running on a treadmill while hooked up to wires that measure heart rate, breathing into a snorkel to measure their breathing.
Our good doctor would have a soldier doing such a thing.

• Day 1: Heart rate and breathing go WAY up.
• Train the same soldier on the same treadmill for an hour a day
• Day 30: Same soldier, same speed, same treadmill: Heart rate and breathing are now much slower.

"Cardiovascular Fitness" is born! We all now accept that the heart and lungs are now more efficient at transporting oxygen to the body.
Hence, we dutifully "break a sweat" every day, getting our heart rate up for at least 30-45 minutes... Right? With me so far? OK.

So, what most of us DON'T realize is that this good doctor took his research a bit farther. He'd take the person who (after "cardio conditioning") did very well on the treadmill, and put them on a stationary bike. Guess what?- The heart rate and breathing went through the roof! He could put this supposedly "fit" individual on a stair-stepper/ elliptical machine/ nordic track... Heck even if he let this test subject run outside and his heart rate would go up!

Wait a minute... If the heart and lungs are more efficient, why are they only good at the treadmill?

It took years (and more sophisticated technology) to figure it out. However, we now know that the majority of change that happened from running on a treadmill was NOT in the heart and lungs. It was in the muscles!

By running at a specific speed, on this specific machine, he trained specific fibers of specific muscles to efficiently perform the very specific task of running on a treadmill... Thus reducing the amount of work his heart and lungs had to do... While performing that specific task.

So... Going back to the "mystery hike": By hiking on the steep, rocky trails around town a few times per week, my wife and I had unintentionally, and unknowingly conditioned our muscles to efficiently walk up and down steep rocky trails... Thus creating the illusion of superior "cardiovascular fitness" while performing that specific task! AND... I have very little doubt: If she and I had joined that group of runners on a run that day (instead of a hike) we would have had the worst day EVER... And they would have appeared to have amazingly superior "cardiovascular fitness"! While indeed we just had different types of "myovascular fitness"!

This starts to go into the explanation of the physiological advantages of strength training, HIT, crossfit, and cross-training, but we'll talk about that another day.
If you'd like to spend an hour learning a LOT about HIT, watch this talk by Dr. McGuff.


OK... Now go outside and play!

Much love, Mo the human.

Grace in every step: Regaining our natural human gait

Disclaimer:
As with everything on this blog, I am not telling anyone else what to do. I'm merely sharing my own experiences in exploration of human health. Think. Learn. Be your own teacher.

If you live in the Asheville area, you are lucky for a wide variety of reasons. One of them is that Synchronicity Wellness has gotten in the habit of hosting monthly "Paleo Potlucks" which are announced on the "Paleo Asheville" facebook page. At these events, I've met some wonderful people and had some truly amazing food. No wonder some folks call paleo eating "the foodie's diet"!
 I have also greatly enjoyed the various talks given at these potlucks. Each speaker has brought to the group a whole new perspective on a different subject. It's really cool to see how this "paleo thing" is encompassing so much more that just the classic diet and exercise stuff!

In October I got to give a talk at one of the potlucks regarding natural human gait.
The "lecture" is about 12 minutes, followed by a lengthy and somewhat funny Q&A/ discussion.
To watch the video click here:

If you watch, please let me know what you think. 


If you'd like some additional resources, including loads of shoe options that I consider healthy for our feet and Books for runners... Click here:

A simple exercise I have used with considerable success to regain a gentle, natural human stride is what I like to call...

The “Sobriety Test” Exercise:

Teaching Your Brain to See with Your Feet

by Mo Goldstein, happy human

Expect this to be a joyful, but possibly very slow process. Different people learn at different speeds. Approach this as if you are gardening. You cannot force a plant to bloom. As such, do not force your feet or brain to adapt too quickly. Let this be a short time you take every morning to experience the sensation you brain has been hungry for since childhood.

1.     Start completely barefoot on a flat, hard, smooth surface such as a wood or stone floor.

2.     Stand for a moment and gently shift your weight from foot to foot without lifting either foot off the ground.

3.   While looking forward (not down) with a soft gaze, begin lifting each foot very slightly, then gently placing it onto the ground as you lift the other foot.

4.     Gently place one foot just barely in front of the other foot, then WAIT for the front foot to “invite” your weight onto it. This will involve some gentle contraction of the Gluteal and hamstring muscles in the back leg.

5.     As you shift your weight to the forward foot, gently lift the back foot without “pushing off”.

6.     Repeat at a slow, gentle pace. If you are “thumping”, slow down.

7.     Try the same movement walking backwards. Notice the sensations in your feet.

After some time, you may wish to experiment with some different textures: rough surfaced concrete, dirt, etc… eventually even gravel. Do not rush this. With patience you can avoid possible injury as you slowly regain a very gentle and joyful gait. In time the muscles, tendons, and bones of the feet will become stronger as your brain-foot connection becomes “smarter”.

OK, now go outside and play!

                                                                          Much love, -Mo the human

Could too much exercise be killing you?

I love to run.

Those who spend time with me in daily life see it in my daily activity. I run from the car to work, I run in the woods with my kids. I run to get somewhere if I'm in a hurry. However, I almost never go for a long run, and I never see it as "exercise". To me, running falls into the "play" category, and generally only happens in short spurts. (see 1 minute video below if you like...)

Thanks to Ken Bob Saxton's Book  and a load of other resources I was able to run again for the first time in years without any pain in my knees and feet. I have never been fast, but that's not the point... to me -it's just joyful, childish playtime. I've never run a marathon, or even a half marathon. Heck, I've never run a race at all! (Did I mention I'm not very fast?)

Now, don't get me wrong... I'm NOT saying it's healthy to be inactive. Exercise is good. However, a growing body of evidence is suggesting that too much might be just as dangerous as not enough.


In the past few years (since re-evaluating all I thought I knew) I have been learning more and more that tells me... it's a really good thing I never caught the competitive bug! A growing pile of research is showing that "chronic cardio" is actually causing some serious damage to the heart muscle and coronary arteries of many runners... regardless of their "good form". Even if their knees, hips, feet, and back aren't being destroyed, it appears their hearts may be. It seems that, contrary to the overriding message of the book "Born to Run", too much exercise can actually INCREASE the effects of aging! Now, nobody is saying exercise is bad. However, too much seems to be.

I now have good reason to believe the same thing could also be happening to hard core cyclists (which I was for many years), cross-country skiers, etc...

Would you rather be a healthy "tortoise", or a dead "hare"?

I have to give a BIG thanks to cardiologist James O'Keefe for simplifying most of what I've been learning from various sources into an 18 minute video that in my opinion is well worth watching.

Thanks for reading, Now go outside and play!

                                                                             Much love, Mo the human

PS if you have a taste for a more geeky version of Dr. O'Keefe's talk, go here.