WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.199
Hello, greetings, Dr.
00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:21.440
Hao, Washa Bra Lao Show, as they say here in Suzhio, China, and a very warm welcome to the IMMT channel, where we talk about all things mind-body health related with an emphasis on Pilates, functional movement, filden Chris, and manual therapy, because here at Sino British Academy, that's what we do.
00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:32.880
Did you ever feel like, well, you're just collecting health advice?
00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:36.719
Do this stretch, now this exercise, take this supplement.
00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:38.719
Here's a quick biohack.
00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:39.759
Don't eat this.
00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.000
Oh, and let's not forget to meditate.
00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:43.840
Well, you're not alone.
00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:55.520
And here's the thing: most of the advice we receive, especially on the social media, even if it's based on facts, is rather limited in its efficacy.
00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:58.880
And it's rather like putting a band-aid on a leaky pipe.
00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:04.159
It might look better for a second, but the water just keeps coming.
00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:16.159
So today we're talking about a rather different approach that's based on an integrated system of looking at the body in terms of a holistic framework.
00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:24.719
And this framework, so to speak, is called Integrated Movement and Manual Technique or IMMT.
00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:33.439
So hopefully by the end of this episode, you're going to see your own health and how you train others in a whole new light.
00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:36.159
So what is IMMT?
00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:40.640
Well, it's a holistic health model built on a simple truth.
00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:45.760
Your well-being doesn't come from one thing and it never has.
00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:51.840
IMMT recognizes six key players in your health story.
00:01:52.159 --> 00:02:04.079
Three are inside you, what we call the three intrinsic pillars, and th and three are outside of you, what we call the extrinsic influences.
00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:18.240
The three intrinsic pillars comprise of your structure and function, so basically your body structure and how you move, your emotional state.
00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:29.120
So ever wondered how stiff you are at home, but now you go on a holiday and you go to a nice beach and you suddenly become a yogi and you're all floppy and flexible.
00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:33.759
Your nutrition, number three, your nutritional and biomechanical health.
00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:38.319
So things like food, sleep, hormones, and all of that stuff.
00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:44.960
Now, the three extrinsic influences are made up of the environment.
00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:52.800
So we're talking here city noise, desk job, social pressure, also uh your peer pressure, right?
00:02:52.960 --> 00:03:03.120
Uh your belief system, uh like when your doctor says, Oh, you have a bulging disc and you carry that X-ray photo around with you on your phone as proof.
00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:06.080
And then the context of something is very important.
00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:12.400
For instance, getting locked out of your bedroom because the door slipped is well, it's kind of annoying.
00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:20.879
But getting locked out of your bedroom whilst your kid has an asthma attack inside and you've lost the key, well, that's suddenly a crisis.
00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:24.560
Same door, totally different uh body response.
00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:29.840
So the context is very important of uh events and how we see things.
00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:39.919
So when we acknowledge and see how all of these are put together, um, we see a picture instead of individual pieces of the puzzle.
00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:44.080
And we can see that an IMNT approach makes sense.
00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:49.520
And we don't want to be ignoring any of these six aspects.
00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:52.319
And here's where it gets interesting.
00:03:52.639 --> 00:04:04.319
Most of us are trained to think to find the expert, the shoulder specialist for my shoulder, the back specialist for my back, the movement guru, etc.
00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:20.720
And while specialists are, of course, amazing, you know, if I'm if I'm having a heart attack, I want to see a heart surgeon, not a yoga teacher, sorry, yoga teachers, but uh that's acute care, and we need that, and it's essential at that moment in time.
00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:31.360
But what about the chronic cases, chronic issues, tight hips, low back pain that's been there for many years, fatigue, poor posture, this kind of stuff.
00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:35.519
Well, for this, we don't need to dive deeper into a single tree.
00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:38.879
We need someone that can see the whole forest.
00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:45.920
And this is the generalist approach, and it's the philosophy behind IMMT.
00:04:46.240 --> 00:05:03.519
Pretty much, pretty well much, what author David Epstein talks about in his book Range, the idea that in complex, messy systems such as the human body, a breadth of knowledge can be as useful or even more meaningful than pure depth.
00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:14.639
So, IMMT is not a technique, it's a philosophy for pract practitioners, and the ability to make use of a broad toolkit.
00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:26.480
So, Pilates, manual therapies, strength work, breath work, even conversation, and always, always looking for the root cause and not just focusing on the symptoms.
00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:31.040
So, how does this actually work in practice?
00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:36.639
The osteopaths will argue that structure governs function.
00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:47.839
And whilst others may disagree with this and say that function governs the structure, it's really a chicken and egg story of two sides of the same coin.
00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:59.519
Some people may require more structural work, say for a shoulder problem or a back problem than functional work, but other people may require more functional work for exactly the same thing.
00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:03.600
And many people may jump straight into function, for instance.
00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:14.639
Let's strengthen your glutes, whilst others may be slightly more conservative and say, well, let's take some time to release those opposing muscle groups such as the hip flexors first.
00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:22.240
And here's the issue at hand the brain cannot use a muscle, it doesn't know is there.
00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:27.279
So we're talking about activation of the muscles, not the strength initially.
00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:46.800
However, interestingly enough, the applied kinesiology approach developed by George Goodhart is based on the swing door theory, whereas most of the time the weak long muscle is the thing that we go to first without having the need to release the opposing short tight one.
00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:51.600
Well, that's a subject for a future episode, anyway.
00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:58.720
I think the most common understanding taught by most people now, such a is an example.
00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:03.759
Uh, your lower back is tight and your hip flexors are overactive.
00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:09.920
And you could do a thousand bridges, and your glutes still won't be switching on properly.
00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:15.680
They're taking a body nap, and this is due to the lack of body mapping.
00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:22.319
In other words, the hip flexors, such as the psoas, remain short and tight for a reason.
00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:27.279
They are the symptom or the messenger and not the cause.
00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:33.120
And most of us are working directly on those, thinking it's going to solve the whole problem.
00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:39.600
But the ultimate solution should be: why are the psoas short in the first time?
00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:50.639
So maybe it's a lack of spinal support from the diaphragm because the psoas is part of that system to help support the spine.
00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.240
And if the diaphragm's not working, the psoas is working overtime.
00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:56.800
So the solution is to work the diaphragm.
00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:04.000
Or maybe it's because you've been sitting on your butt for so long, the proprioceptors in the glutes have completely given up.
00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:09.120
So the solution here is to reactivate the proprioceptors in the glutes.
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:12.800
Another case, maybe it's an issue with the kidneys.
00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:17.839
The psoas are the railway tracks along which the kidneys ride.
00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:28.720
And a possible solution, therefore, for this situation would be to give or have a kidney lift and get restored motility to the kidneys.
00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:34.639
Or another way, maybe you don't lift your arms often enough overhead into extension.
00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:47.039
So your psoas is keeping you in this flexed, safe position, and you have these hyperfacilitated abdominals that now need to be released, because otherwise they're just compressing the spine.
00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.840
And so the list goes on and on and on and on.
00:08:49.919 --> 00:09:01.840
So in our in terms of the structure and functional components, the emphasis is going to be on neuromuscular re-education and utilizing the neuroplasticity of the brain.
00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:14.159
So this comes from movement awareness and usually sub-maximum loads normally less than 20%, maximum 30% normally.
00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:21.919
And the more tools you have in the box, the broader uh your vision becomes and the more things you can see.
00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:27.200
In other words, you become someone who sees but doesn't just look.
00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:30.320
You listen, but you don't just hear.
00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.840
You feel, but you don't just touch.
00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:38.960
And you speak, you say something without just talking.
00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:44.720
And IMMT allows you to see the forest and not just the tree.
00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.320
So here's my challenge for you for this week.
00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:56.000
Uh think about or pick one chronic ache or movement issue that you've been trying to fix with just one exercise.
00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:01.039
And ask yourself, do I need to prepare the structure first?
00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:16.399
And also ask what other of the three intrinsic pillars or three extrinsic influences may be affecting or be affected by this issue that you're trying to fix.
00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:22.720
IMMT is not a certification you hang on the wall, it's a way of thinking.
00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:27.519
And once you see it, hopefully you can't unsee it.
00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:29.679
So I hope you enjoyed this episode.
00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:33.600
And if you like what you hear, remember to subscribe.
00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:35.679
And I'll see you in the next episode.
00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:41.039
But until then, remember to move smarter, not just harder.
00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:47.120
And if this lit just a little spark in you, please share it with a colleague who needs to hear it.
00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:49.279
And I'll see you next time.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.199
Hello, greetings, Dr.
00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:21.440
Hao, Washa Bra Lao Show, as they say here in Suzhio, China, and a very warm welcome to the IMMT channel, where we talk about all things mind-body health related with an emphasis on Pilates, functional movement, filden Chris, and manual therapy, because here at Sino British Academy, that's what we do.
00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:32.880
Did you ever feel like, well, you're just collecting health advice?
00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:36.719
Do this stretch, now this exercise, take this supplement.
00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:38.719
Here's a quick biohack.
00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:39.759
Don't eat this.
00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.000
Oh, and let's not forget to meditate.
00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:43.840
Well, you're not alone.
00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:55.520
And here's the thing: most of the advice we receive, especially on the social media, even if it's based on facts, is rather limited in its efficacy.
00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:58.880
And it's rather like putting a band-aid on a leaky pipe.
00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:04.159
It might look better for a second, but the water just keeps coming.
00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:16.159
So today we're talking about a rather different approach that's based on an integrated system of looking at the body in terms of a holistic framework.
00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:24.719
And this framework, so to speak, is called Integrated Movement and Manual Technique or IMMT.
00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:33.439
So hopefully by the end of this episode, you're going to see your own health and how you train others in a whole new light.
00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:36.159
So what is IMMT?
00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:40.640
Well, it's a holistic health model built on a simple truth.
00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:45.760
Your well-being doesn't come from one thing and it never has.
00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:51.840
IMMT recognizes six key players in your health story.
00:01:52.159 --> 00:02:04.079
Three are inside you, what we call the three intrinsic pillars, and th and three are outside of you, what we call the extrinsic influences.
00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:18.240
The three intrinsic pillars comprise of your structure and function, so basically your body structure and how you move, your emotional state.
00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:29.120
So ever wondered how stiff you are at home, but now you go on a holiday and you go to a nice beach and you suddenly become a yogi and you're all floppy and flexible.
00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:33.759
Your nutrition, number three, your nutritional and biomechanical health.
00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:38.319
So things like food, sleep, hormones, and all of that stuff.
00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:44.960
Now, the three extrinsic influences are made up of the environment.
00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:52.800
So we're talking here city noise, desk job, social pressure, also uh your peer pressure, right?
00:02:52.960 --> 00:03:03.120
Uh your belief system, uh like when your doctor says, Oh, you have a bulging disc and you carry that X-ray photo around with you on your phone as proof.
00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:06.080
And then the context of something is very important.
00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:12.400
For instance, getting locked out of your bedroom because the door slipped is well, it's kind of annoying.
00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:20.879
But getting locked out of your bedroom whilst your kid has an asthma attack inside and you've lost the key, well, that's suddenly a crisis.
00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:24.560
Same door, totally different uh body response.
00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:29.840
So the context is very important of uh events and how we see things.
00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:39.919
So when we acknowledge and see how all of these are put together, um, we see a picture instead of individual pieces of the puzzle.
00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:44.080
And we can see that an IMNT approach makes sense.
00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:49.520
And we don't want to be ignoring any of these six aspects.
00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:52.319
And here's where it gets interesting.
00:03:52.639 --> 00:04:04.319
Most of us are trained to think to find the expert, the shoulder specialist for my shoulder, the back specialist for my back, the movement guru, etc.
00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:20.720
And while specialists are, of course, amazing, you know, if I'm if I'm having a heart attack, I want to see a heart surgeon, not a yoga teacher, sorry, yoga teachers, but uh that's acute care, and we need that, and it's essential at that moment in time.
00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:31.360
But what about the chronic cases, chronic issues, tight hips, low back pain that's been there for many years, fatigue, poor posture, this kind of stuff.
00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:35.519
Well, for this, we don't need to dive deeper into a single tree.
00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:38.879
We need someone that can see the whole forest.
00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:45.920
And this is the generalist approach, and it's the philosophy behind IMMT.
00:04:46.240 --> 00:05:03.519
Pretty much, pretty well much, what author David Epstein talks about in his book Range, the idea that in complex, messy systems such as the human body, a breadth of knowledge can be as useful or even more meaningful than pure depth.
00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:14.639
So, IMMT is not a technique, it's a philosophy for pract practitioners, and the ability to make use of a broad toolkit.
00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:26.480
So, Pilates, manual therapies, strength work, breath work, even conversation, and always, always looking for the root cause and not just focusing on the symptoms.
00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:31.040
So, how does this actually work in practice?
00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:36.639
The osteopaths will argue that structure governs function.
00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:47.839
And whilst others may disagree with this and say that function governs the structure, it's really a chicken and egg story of two sides of the same coin.
00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:59.519
Some people may require more structural work, say for a shoulder problem or a back problem than functional work, but other people may require more functional work for exactly the same thing.
00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:03.600
And many people may jump straight into function, for instance.
00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:14.639
Let's strengthen your glutes, whilst others may be slightly more conservative and say, well, let's take some time to release those opposing muscle groups such as the hip flexors first.
00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:22.240
And here's the issue at hand the brain cannot use a muscle, it doesn't know is there.
00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:27.279
So we're talking about activation of the muscles, not the strength initially.
00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:46.800
However, interestingly enough, the applied kinesiology approach developed by George Goodhart is based on the swing door theory, whereas most of the time the weak long muscle is the thing that we go to first without having the need to release the opposing short tight one.
00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:51.600
Well, that's a subject for a future episode, anyway.
00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:58.720
I think the most common understanding taught by most people now, such a is an example.
00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:03.759
Uh, your lower back is tight and your hip flexors are overactive.
00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:09.920
And you could do a thousand bridges, and your glutes still won't be switching on properly.
00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:15.680
They're taking a body nap, and this is due to the lack of body mapping.
00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:22.319
In other words, the hip flexors, such as the psoas, remain short and tight for a reason.
00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:27.279
They are the symptom or the messenger and not the cause.
00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:33.120
And most of us are working directly on those, thinking it's going to solve the whole problem.
00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:39.600
But the ultimate solution should be: why are the psoas short in the first time?
00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:50.639
So maybe it's a lack of spinal support from the diaphragm because the psoas is part of that system to help support the spine.
00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.240
And if the diaphragm's not working, the psoas is working overtime.
00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:56.800
So the solution is to work the diaphragm.
00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:04.000
Or maybe it's because you've been sitting on your butt for so long, the proprioceptors in the glutes have completely given up.
00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:09.120
So the solution here is to reactivate the proprioceptors in the glutes.
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:12.800
Another case, maybe it's an issue with the kidneys.
00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:17.839
The psoas are the railway tracks along which the kidneys ride.
00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:28.720
And a possible solution, therefore, for this situation would be to give or have a kidney lift and get restored motility to the kidneys.
00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:34.639
Or another way, maybe you don't lift your arms often enough overhead into extension.
00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:47.039
So your psoas is keeping you in this flexed, safe position, and you have these hyperfacilitated abdominals that now need to be released, because otherwise they're just compressing the spine.
00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.840
And so the list goes on and on and on and on.
00:08:49.919 --> 00:09:01.840
So in our in terms of the structure and functional components, the emphasis is going to be on neuromuscular re-education and utilizing the neuroplasticity of the brain.
00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:14.159
So this comes from movement awareness and usually sub-maximum loads normally less than 20%, maximum 30% normally.
00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:21.919
And the more tools you have in the box, the broader uh your vision becomes and the more things you can see.
00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:27.200
In other words, you become someone who sees but doesn't just look.
00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:30.320
You listen, but you don't just hear.
00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.840
You feel, but you don't just touch.
00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:38.960
And you speak, you say something without just talking.
00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:44.720
And IMMT allows you to see the forest and not just the tree.
00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.320
So here's my challenge for you for this week.
00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:56.000
Uh think about or pick one chronic ache or movement issue that you've been trying to fix with just one exercise.
00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:01.039
And ask yourself, do I need to prepare the structure first?
00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:16.399
And also ask what other of the three intrinsic pillars or three extrinsic influences may be affecting or be affected by this issue that you're trying to fix.
00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:22.720
IMMT is not a certification you hang on the wall, it's a way of thinking.
00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:27.519
And once you see it, hopefully you can't unsee it.
00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:29.679
So I hope you enjoyed this episode.
00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:33.600
And if you like what you hear, remember to subscribe.
00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:35.679
And I'll see you in the next episode.
00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:41.039
But until then, remember to move smarter, not just harder.
00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:47.120
And if this lit just a little spark in you, please share it with a colleague who needs to hear it.
00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:49.279
And I'll see you next time.
