February 2021 Newsletter
February often feels like mile 2 in a 5K race. The endorphin rush that you got when starting off at full speed are wearing off. The reality of the struggle it will take to get to the finish line becomes apparent. Push forward. One step at at time. It’s not as motivating as the start line or glamorous as the finish line, but it where the magic actually happens.
The Foundation Training team has spent this month busy at work. We filmed quite a bit for our online education portion of the certification. Anatomy, application, case studies, and more. Now we hunker down for editing to make it even more amazing. We are continuing the preparations for an updated and improved streaming app, easier to use and ready for the uptick in videos we will be putting out. And we are creating more topic specific workouts and articles to come your way soon so please drop up us an email if you have something you are wanting to delve into.
Instructor Highlights
We have instructors all over the world integrating Foundation Training into their practice and finding innovative ways to reach their audiences. Each month we bring you a little snapshot of what they’ve done recently.
Lisa Walsh is a Level 2 Instructor teaching group and private classes in Monmouth County, NJ. With so much of our current lives online and at home, Lisa encourages her community to get outside and enjoy nature by providing classes on the beach and in the park. She recently held free classes in her backyard to a group of local moms, focusing on the power of Foundation Training to transform their everyday movements to help them feel more in control of their wellness no matter the circumstances. For Lisa, Foundation Training opened a conversation with her body that she had never had before, and she feels very lucky to be able to share the work with her community.
Austin Komarek is a Level 1 instructor, chiropractor, manual therapist and trainer at Blossom: The Art of Life and Healing in Napa, California. One of our more recently certified instructors, he spent 2020 integrating Foundation Training into his practice, allowing him to smoothly transition his practice from a treatment-only to a “treatment and training” approach. In addition to the stylistic changes of his clinical practice, Foundation Training has given him a feeling of strength his own body, noting that “after 10 hour days I’m now feeling more put together than broken down. “
6 Week Challenge
Daily Decompression Breathing
We have embarked on this journey together with you, creating not only a healthy habit but an increased appreciation for what happens when we put first things first. With the challenge coming to an end this month, we hope that your daily moments of focused breathing will continue. Like a sled deepening the grooves of repeated runs down a hill, the path is created from repetition. Keep an eye out in 2 weeks for our big winner who will receive tele-sessions from both Dr. Goodman and Jessie Salas.
- Concept Corner -
Your body will follow where your head leads. Neck position can be challenging to correct because our body innately counteracts the position, adapting the center of gravity to keep us balanced. This is awesome for preventing falling down when we move around. Not great if we are sitting at a desk or looking at a phone all day and our head remains in the forward posture.
This forward head position creates an array of muscle imbalances throughout the body. Which, in turn, causes pain, joint issues, and even a diminished ability to breathe. Try using the following cues to set your neck position for effective Decompression Breathing.
📍CHEST UP… to bring your shoulders wide apart while the ribcage remains aligned over the pelvis. (Avoid the front of the ribcage jutting forward)
📍 LENGTHEN the BACK of your NECK… lifting that bony point at the back your skull, called the external occipital protuberance, which brings the jaw slightly back and up (avoid simply pulling chin straight back).
Workout of the Month
Every month we provide you with a new workout from the FT team. This month Core Educator Evan Halquist takes us through a short but focused workout on the Founder. Working through inward and outward anchors, along with different arm positions, this workout provides an opportunity to improve your form and sensory awareness in the variations of the Founder.
New Certification Format Coming Soon!
Online education. You’ve asked about it. We hinted at it. We’re creating it in full force right now.
The reality is that we were plotting a more extensive education portion for our certification process before the pandemic began. The pause in travel and resources limited the ability of our team, who are literally all over the world at times, to get together to film at quick rate. But, like all unexpected moments in life, we adapted and have made things even better with the new skills this time afforded us.
Let’s begin with a clarification. The online education portion will be just that – a portion of the certification process. It will be a prerequisite to the in-person portion, not the whole certification itself.
The online education will be a 6 week program that allows for a deeper dive into anatomy, using more digital assets to clarify in a way that is not possible on living humans. Supporting concepts like muscle chains, breathing processes, and the like can be visualized in a way only special effects allow. And case studies can be integrated into several weeks of study, allowing our future instructors to work through the process as they learn the concepts.
This is what our certification process will look like going forward.
- Six-week online education
- Videos, lectures, handouts, case studies, homework to help facilitate understanding
- Two day in-person skills training event
- Applying the information learned during online education
- Fifty hours of student teaching
- Completed within your scope of practice at your own pace after the in-person event
- Test out over zoom
- Demonstrating competence in both teaching and understanding the material
The dates of in-person skills training events are TBD due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions. The online education program will be launched when we firm down the dates of the in-person events (since they are contingent upon each other).
We would love to have in-person certification dates set up and give you an exact date when the online education will be launched. But our priority remains the health of our community and the quality of our education. We are moving forward every day and promise to keep you updated as we go.
We will be making several announcements through our social media channels as we finalize details of the release, if you are not already following us, please do so to stay informed. Our social links are listed at the bottom of this newsletter.
(Additionally, all currently certified instructors will be provided free access to the online education with a year to complete it at their convenience. Current student instructors will have 6 months to complete it at their convenience. All instructors will need to complete the online education to maintain their presence in the Find-a-Trainer list)
Feed the Wolf
A monthly mental snack to feed personal development.
“The only way that we can live is if we grow. The only way we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way that we can learn is if we are exposed. The the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves into the open.” C. Joybell C.
We are in a constant state of change. Which is hard to believe when we feel stuck. But physically the cells in our body are in an ongoing process of death and rebirth. Our bones, muscles, and all our other tissues respond to the forces around us and the nutrition we give it. We are exposed by simply being alive. What are you exposing yourself to that will determine how your body changes?
Our brain is not different. Our view of ourselves and the world is based on the input we (sometimes unintentionally) get it from the outside and what we feed it from the inside. Exploring, thinking outside your own box, and meditation are of some the essential nutrients for the mind. What are you exposing yourself to that will determine how your perception changes?
Taking accountability is hard, but it is always the first step to getting wherever it is you want to go next.