WEBVTT
00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:05.599
Greetings and welcome to the IMMT channel.
00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:27.679
So hands up, if you've had this client, you are teaching a pelvic curl, you cue the pelvic floor, you cue the abdominals, normally the TA, and you cue the glutes, the hamstrings, and bam, the lower back kicks in straight away every time.
00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.839
Or maybe you're the person doing it.
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.679
So what to do?
00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.799
That's what we're going to talk about a little bit today.
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:47.520
And we're talking about the IMMT approach, integrated movement and manual technique, and why it might be the single most useful philosophy that you've never heard of.
00:00:47.920 --> 00:01:01.039
So if you're a Pilates enthusiast, uh an instructor, yoga teacher, gym instructor, maybe a pedal player, or just interested in your general own health and well-being, stick around.
00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:20.640
Okay, so a big question is when working with a dysfunctional body, maybe it's our own or or a client's, how do we know if we're simply layering on top of a compensation pattern and making it worse, obviously?
00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:24.640
And if so, how are we gonna go about trying to fix that?
00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:33.120
And I love Pilates, you love Pilates if you're doing Pilates, and Joseph Pilates was, in his own words, ahead of his time.
00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:40.079
But Joe probably didn't have Janderslow Cross syndrome walking into his studio every hour.
00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:52.319
Maybe he did, and he probably didn't have clients who sit around for 10 hours every day and then wonder why when they're sitting doing the short box exercise, their hip flexors are screaming at them.
00:01:52.640 --> 00:02:04.799
So whilst Pilates itself may be great for so many things, how can we incorporate what we're teaching to help release and fix chronically shortened muscles?
00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:12.639
In other words, how can we use Pilates to downregulate an overfacilitated nervous system?
00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:20.800
No matter what you see on social media, it's not so simple to magically wake up a glute that's been asleep for 20 years.
00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:35.439
Okay, so um I think that's not so much a failure of the system of Pilates, but it's more of a lack of understanding of being taught the concepts of the nervous system and sequencing.
00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:49.360
So in IMMT, we believe that while structure may dictate function to a certain extent, depending uh your background where you come from, um, the function also influences the structure.
00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:55.360
Now, of course, some people will say that function determines the structure, but it's uh it's two sides of the same coin.
00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:11.439
So within with certain preps, then we're or without certain preps, we're basically asking the brain to do something of its own habitual movement, where it's gonna be recruiting the things that it normally does for that movement.
00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:21.599
So, in other words, most of us are gonna be stuck in this groundhog day of habitual movements until we do something purposeful to change it.
00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:28.960
So, what does the IMMT look like in our example here with the pelvic lift or the pelvic curl?
00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:37.599
Well, we can see how the six health factors that we recognize in IMMT can relate to the pelvic lift, pelvic curl.
00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:40.400
First of all, there's the structure and function.
00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:47.599
So, of course, we're talking here the pelvic position, the rib cage, their actual range of motion, not the one they think they have.
00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:56.560
The emotional component, maybe the client had an argument with their partner that day, or do they hold their jaw whenever they're trying to do something?
00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:58.960
So many issues might be relevant.
00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:16.000
Uh, in terms of the nutritional biochemical component, this might be beyond our or your scope of practice, but we can still recognize that things like fatigue, inflammation, um, poor sleep are all affecting the quality of a movement.
00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:18.879
And in the environment, what do they do?
00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:20.160
What's their job?
00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:21.360
Do they sit at a desk?
00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:22.160
Are they parents?
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.000
Do they have a long commute?
00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:30.399
And their uh that their belief system, if they say, I have a bad back, it's a belief.
00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:32.639
It's not really a sentence.
00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:37.360
And the context of uh what their situation is.
00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:40.800
So when they go on holiday, do they suddenly get better?
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:48.079
So the context of what everything's happening, so we can't fix it all, but at least we can recognize it as a generalist.
00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:55.519
And here's the key: you see, uh we're not seeing the tree in the forest as a specialist.
00:04:55.839 --> 00:05:05.759
Our superpower comes from being able to see all of the trees or the whole forest in order to recognize a certain condition.
00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:23.920
So when we're in a session and a client walks in with that classic posture with that uh anterior tilt, the tight quads, the weak glutes, the weak abdominals, and that tight lower back, we need to know what we can do that's gonna work.
00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:30.639
So normally we would say, oh, you need to strengthen your glutes, and then we give them a glute-strengthening exercise.
00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:44.079
But the thing is, if the body truly intrinsically knows that those muscles are weak, then it wouldn't be weak or in that state in the first place.
00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.759
So the nervous system would be holding a different pattern.
00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:52.240
In other words, the brain can't use a muscle, it doesn't know it's there.
00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:55.519
And if it's holding that pattern, it doesn't know it's there.
00:05:55.839 --> 00:06:07.680
So uh depending on the scope of your practice and the country that you you uh that you live in, you're probably not going to be able to do a 20-minute massage on your client on the reformer there.
00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:09.920
But there are things that you can do.
00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:18.319
So we can uh we can use some self-release using a small ball on the rectus femoris or the TFL.
00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:26.399
We can use gentle hands-on cueing to help lengthen the lower back using some traction or very light compression.
00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:37.839
We can teach some mobilization or positional stretch, the classic hip uh hip flexor kneeling stretch to start with, or using it as a mobilization.
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:45.199
Um, and we can call this a structural release or a prep, a structural release prep.
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.399
And then we use that before we activate.
00:06:48.639 --> 00:07:05.199
So now when you do the bridging or your uh pelvic movements, the brain hopefully can actually start to feel where is the glute and/or the hamstring, and the lower back isn't that first thing to completely switch on.
00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:12.000
And then the movement becomes about re-patterning something and not reinforcing something.
00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:17.839
So our uh perceived amount of exertion for the exercise is important.
00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:25.519
Remember to we need to keep it below 30% in order to have this neuromuscular re-education.
00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:26.879
And guess what?
00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:37.680
You probably just made your Pilates session 10 times more effective than adding a whole bunch of whole new exercises and getting your client to completely sweat.
00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:49.439
So, one thing that IMMT helps you to understand is that it stops you pretending the body stops you pretending that the body is just a movement machine.
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.360
You know, you can release, you can stretch, you can mobilize.
00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:57.519
If you're the teacher, you can manually cue, verbally cue.
00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:04.240
And of course, if something's not inside your scope of practice, you you refer out.
00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:17.680
So, in my my own humble opinion, some of the things that happen when you adopt this approach that we have in the IMMT is that your clients then stop plateauing.
00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:27.759
So, you know, they suddenly start improving, and you stop guessing why some cues work for one person, but they don't work on this other person.
00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:36.639
And you stop feeling like you're just moving bodies in space and repeating exercises.
00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:46.240
Instead, you become an instructor who actually educates and helps people to empower themselves on their wellness journey.
00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:51.200
And this got to be good for your client and also good for you in the long run.
00:08:51.360 --> 00:09:07.759
Suddenly the hundred feels different and the roll-up feels possible, and the person that used to hate all of those sideline or uh side plank exercises start loving it because their TFL is not on fire from the compensation.
00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:17.679
And that's re-educating the brain, biomechanics of the brain, and neuroplasticity, something, of course, that the Felden crisis is very big on.
00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:23.039
So just before I sign off, about uh, how about some homework for you?
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:37.519
In your next Pilates uh session, how about you before you do an exercise, pause and ask yourself, are you or this person, have they been appropriately prepared for the exercises to come?
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:46.960
In other words, did you set yourself, did you set up your client to succeed, or is her or him set up to fail?
00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:51.519
And if the answer is all no prep, then maybe change one thing.
00:09:51.679 --> 00:10:06.320
Do 90 seconds of release work, uh, a little bit of stretch-in mobilization, and a cue that doesn't just say engage your core, which is going to be the subject of uh another episode coming up.
00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:10.639
So, and then you can check does that movement look different?
00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:16.639
So, if you want to know more about the IMT, stick around and subscribe to the channel.
00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:23.519
We've got lots of great topics to discuss and lots of movement and manual techniques to share.
00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:30.799
And oh, in our next episode, we will be diving into everyone's favorite topic, which is the core.
00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:35.440
So, until then, teach smarter, not harder.
00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:41.840
And remember, the brain cannot use a muscle, it doesn't know it is there.
00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:43.360
See you next time.
00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:05.599
Greetings and welcome to the IMMT channel.
00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:27.679
So hands up, if you've had this client, you are teaching a pelvic curl, you cue the pelvic floor, you cue the abdominals, normally the TA, and you cue the glutes, the hamstrings, and bam, the lower back kicks in straight away every time.
00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.839
Or maybe you're the person doing it.
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.679
So what to do?
00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.799
That's what we're going to talk about a little bit today.
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:47.520
And we're talking about the IMMT approach, integrated movement and manual technique, and why it might be the single most useful philosophy that you've never heard of.
00:00:47.920 --> 00:01:01.039
So if you're a Pilates enthusiast, uh an instructor, yoga teacher, gym instructor, maybe a pedal player, or just interested in your general own health and well-being, stick around.
00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:20.640
Okay, so a big question is when working with a dysfunctional body, maybe it's our own or or a client's, how do we know if we're simply layering on top of a compensation pattern and making it worse, obviously?
00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:24.640
And if so, how are we gonna go about trying to fix that?
00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:33.120
And I love Pilates, you love Pilates if you're doing Pilates, and Joseph Pilates was, in his own words, ahead of his time.
00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:40.079
But Joe probably didn't have Janderslow Cross syndrome walking into his studio every hour.
00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:52.319
Maybe he did, and he probably didn't have clients who sit around for 10 hours every day and then wonder why when they're sitting doing the short box exercise, their hip flexors are screaming at them.
00:01:52.640 --> 00:02:04.799
So whilst Pilates itself may be great for so many things, how can we incorporate what we're teaching to help release and fix chronically shortened muscles?
00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:12.639
In other words, how can we use Pilates to downregulate an overfacilitated nervous system?
00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:20.800
No matter what you see on social media, it's not so simple to magically wake up a glute that's been asleep for 20 years.
00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:35.439
Okay, so um I think that's not so much a failure of the system of Pilates, but it's more of a lack of understanding of being taught the concepts of the nervous system and sequencing.
00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:49.360
So in IMMT, we believe that while structure may dictate function to a certain extent, depending uh your background where you come from, um, the function also influences the structure.
00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:55.360
Now, of course, some people will say that function determines the structure, but it's uh it's two sides of the same coin.
00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:11.439
So within with certain preps, then we're or without certain preps, we're basically asking the brain to do something of its own habitual movement, where it's gonna be recruiting the things that it normally does for that movement.
00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:21.599
So, in other words, most of us are gonna be stuck in this groundhog day of habitual movements until we do something purposeful to change it.
00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:28.960
So, what does the IMMT look like in our example here with the pelvic lift or the pelvic curl?
00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:37.599
Well, we can see how the six health factors that we recognize in IMMT can relate to the pelvic lift, pelvic curl.
00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:40.400
First of all, there's the structure and function.
00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:47.599
So, of course, we're talking here the pelvic position, the rib cage, their actual range of motion, not the one they think they have.
00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:56.560
The emotional component, maybe the client had an argument with their partner that day, or do they hold their jaw whenever they're trying to do something?
00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:58.960
So many issues might be relevant.
00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:16.000
Uh, in terms of the nutritional biochemical component, this might be beyond our or your scope of practice, but we can still recognize that things like fatigue, inflammation, um, poor sleep are all affecting the quality of a movement.
00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:18.879
And in the environment, what do they do?
00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:20.160
What's their job?
00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:21.360
Do they sit at a desk?
00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:22.160
Are they parents?
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.000
Do they have a long commute?
00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:30.399
And their uh that their belief system, if they say, I have a bad back, it's a belief.
00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:32.639
It's not really a sentence.
00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:37.360
And the context of uh what their situation is.
00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:40.800
So when they go on holiday, do they suddenly get better?
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:48.079
So the context of what everything's happening, so we can't fix it all, but at least we can recognize it as a generalist.
00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:55.519
And here's the key: you see, uh we're not seeing the tree in the forest as a specialist.
00:04:55.839 --> 00:05:05.759
Our superpower comes from being able to see all of the trees or the whole forest in order to recognize a certain condition.
00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:23.920
So when we're in a session and a client walks in with that classic posture with that uh anterior tilt, the tight quads, the weak glutes, the weak abdominals, and that tight lower back, we need to know what we can do that's gonna work.
00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:30.639
So normally we would say, oh, you need to strengthen your glutes, and then we give them a glute-strengthening exercise.
00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:44.079
But the thing is, if the body truly intrinsically knows that those muscles are weak, then it wouldn't be weak or in that state in the first place.
00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.759
So the nervous system would be holding a different pattern.
00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:52.240
In other words, the brain can't use a muscle, it doesn't know it's there.
00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:55.519
And if it's holding that pattern, it doesn't know it's there.
00:05:55.839 --> 00:06:07.680
So uh depending on the scope of your practice and the country that you you uh that you live in, you're probably not going to be able to do a 20-minute massage on your client on the reformer there.
00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:09.920
But there are things that you can do.
00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:18.319
So we can uh we can use some self-release using a small ball on the rectus femoris or the TFL.
00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:26.399
We can use gentle hands-on cueing to help lengthen the lower back using some traction or very light compression.
00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:37.839
We can teach some mobilization or positional stretch, the classic hip uh hip flexor kneeling stretch to start with, or using it as a mobilization.
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:45.199
Um, and we can call this a structural release or a prep, a structural release prep.
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.399
And then we use that before we activate.
00:06:48.639 --> 00:07:05.199
So now when you do the bridging or your uh pelvic movements, the brain hopefully can actually start to feel where is the glute and/or the hamstring, and the lower back isn't that first thing to completely switch on.
00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:12.000
And then the movement becomes about re-patterning something and not reinforcing something.
00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:17.839
So our uh perceived amount of exertion for the exercise is important.
00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:25.519
Remember to we need to keep it below 30% in order to have this neuromuscular re-education.
00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:26.879
And guess what?
00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:37.680
You probably just made your Pilates session 10 times more effective than adding a whole bunch of whole new exercises and getting your client to completely sweat.
00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:49.439
So, one thing that IMMT helps you to understand is that it stops you pretending the body stops you pretending that the body is just a movement machine.
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.360
You know, you can release, you can stretch, you can mobilize.
00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:57.519
If you're the teacher, you can manually cue, verbally cue.
00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:04.240
And of course, if something's not inside your scope of practice, you you refer out.
00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:17.680
So, in my my own humble opinion, some of the things that happen when you adopt this approach that we have in the IMMT is that your clients then stop plateauing.
00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:27.759
So, you know, they suddenly start improving, and you stop guessing why some cues work for one person, but they don't work on this other person.
00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:36.639
And you stop feeling like you're just moving bodies in space and repeating exercises.
00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:46.240
Instead, you become an instructor who actually educates and helps people to empower themselves on their wellness journey.
00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:51.200
And this got to be good for your client and also good for you in the long run.
00:08:51.360 --> 00:09:07.759
Suddenly the hundred feels different and the roll-up feels possible, and the person that used to hate all of those sideline or uh side plank exercises start loving it because their TFL is not on fire from the compensation.
00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:17.679
And that's re-educating the brain, biomechanics of the brain, and neuroplasticity, something, of course, that the Felden crisis is very big on.
00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:23.039
So just before I sign off, about uh, how about some homework for you?
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:37.519
In your next Pilates uh session, how about you before you do an exercise, pause and ask yourself, are you or this person, have they been appropriately prepared for the exercises to come?
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:46.960
In other words, did you set yourself, did you set up your client to succeed, or is her or him set up to fail?
00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:51.519
And if the answer is all no prep, then maybe change one thing.
00:09:51.679 --> 00:10:06.320
Do 90 seconds of release work, uh, a little bit of stretch-in mobilization, and a cue that doesn't just say engage your core, which is going to be the subject of uh another episode coming up.
00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:10.639
So, and then you can check does that movement look different?
00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:16.639
So, if you want to know more about the IMT, stick around and subscribe to the channel.
00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:23.519
We've got lots of great topics to discuss and lots of movement and manual techniques to share.
00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:30.799
And oh, in our next episode, we will be diving into everyone's favorite topic, which is the core.
00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:35.440
So, until then, teach smarter, not harder.
00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:41.840
And remember, the brain cannot use a muscle, it doesn't know it is there.
00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:43.360
See you next time.
