One of my New Year’s resolutions was to build a better morning routine to help me use my time more optimally during the day. Part of that morning routine includes reading for 30 minutes over breakfast…and I have to tell you, it’s my most favorite part of the day. My first book of the year was Todd Hargrove’s A Guide to Better Movement, and I really really loved it. So much so, that I just needed to share it with you!
I was first introduced to Todd Hargrove through his blog post back in October, “Why do muscles feel tight?” I loved it, was hooked, and ordered his book the same day. Todd is a pretty smart guy, and has a unique background being a prior attorney and current Rolfer and Feldenkrais practitioner. I love learning from people who are not physical therapists because I find it challenges my viewpoints and helps me to see my clients from a different perspective. Todd’s book did not disappoint.
Who should read it?
- Anyone who likes moving, should move, and wants to move better
- Athletes (yes, this includes any of you who exercise regularly) who want to make sure they are caring for their bodies
- People experiencing persistent pain
- Practitioners working with humans who move
- (Is that broad enough for you?)
What are the details?
- Available on Amazon.com for $17.95, paperback (Click here: A Guide to Better Movement: The Science and Practice of Moving With More Skill And Less Pain
)
- Length: 277 pages, broken into the following sections:
- Introduction
- Part 1: The Science of Moving Better
- Defining Better Movement
- Learning Better Movement
- The Brain Maps the Body
- Motor Development and Primal Patterns
- Part 2: The Science of Feeling Better
- The Science of Pain
- Movement and Threat: Central Governors
- Movement, Thinking and Feeling
- Part 3: The Practice of Moving Better and Feeling Better
- Strategies to Move Better and Feel Better
- Lessons in Better Movement (pgs 149-277)
What’s so great about it? As you may know, my studies recently have sent me deep into the world of neuroscience, so I love reading books that integrate the whole body rather than just focusing on specific tissues. Hargrove does an excellent job of not only teaching the science related to movement and pain in a way that is easily understandable by clinicians and patients alike, but also offers strategies and lessons for improving movement and shifting away from a pain state. He uses excellent analogies throughout his book that all people will be able to relate to and understand. On another note, his book is full of great quotes… and I’ve always been a sucker for a good quote… so you’ll see some of my favorites here :).
In the first part, the science of moving better, Hargrove discusses the essential qualities of good movement (coordination, responsiveness, distribution of effort, division of labor, position and alignment, relaxation and efficiency, timing, variability, comfort and individually customized). I especially love his section on relaxation and efficiency as I believe this to be a huge factor for the men and women I treat experiencing chronic pelvic pain. So often, these people end up in states of chronically over-activating musculature to perform tasks, and I believe changing this can make a big difference for them. “Efficient movement requires skill in relaxation… thus developing movement skill is often more about learning to inhibit the spread of neural excitement rather than extending it.”
Next, he goes on to explain the process for learning better movements diving in to the motor control system, and then explains how the brain maps the body and the ways in which those maps can change over time. “The current organization of [a person’s] sensory maps already reflects a lifetime of effort to organize them in an optimal way to perform functional goals.” He uses a great analogy here of a skiier going down a hill. The first trip down, the person has endless options on the path to take down…but after going again, and again, deep grooves in the snow are formed and it can be difficult to take alternate paths.
Lastly in this section, he discusses motor development and primal movement patterns and the importance of training foundational movements with large carryover into a variety of functional tasks.
Part two, the science of feeling better goes into our favorite topic–pain science. Hargrove does a fantastic job of explaining pain and gives a plethora of examples and analogies to help the reader understand very advanced topics. Two of my faves from this section are,”Although nociception is one of the most important inputs contributing to pain, it is neither necessary nor sufficient for pain to exist,” and, “Pain is an action signal, not a damage meter.” This section also explores different options for moving past pain and discusses how the central nervous system responds with threat in order to protect the body. The last chapter in this section looks at movement and emotion and explains the way we now understand the mind to relate to the body. (Hint: the mind and the body are ONE).
The last section of this book, the practice of moving better and feeling better discusses strategies for improving movement and key components of training movement variety. Hargrove summarizes his thoughts on this in the following way, “Move playfully, experimentally and curiously, with full attention on what you are doing and what you are trying to accomplish. Focus on movements that are the foundation for your movement health, and have a lot of carryover to many activities, as opposed to movements that are specific and don’t have carryover. Move as much as you can without injury, pain or excess threat, wait for the body to adapt, and then move more next time.”
Hargrove ends the book by providing 25 lessons to help improve movement. These are based on the Feldenkrais Method (which I liked as I currently use some of these principles and movements within my clinical practice.). Each lesson offers options for progressing and provides guidance for attention and variations.
So, in summary…. I loved this book. I have already recommended it to clients, and plan to use some of the movement lessons within my practice. I hope you love it too!
Have you read any other great books recently? I’m looking for my next one to read!
~ Jessica
