One Woman's Perspective on the 1-Day MovNat Workshop

Enjoy this guest post by blogger Karen Phelps who recently attended a MovNat 1-day workshop. Karen is a freelance writer and editor living amongst the hills and trees of Ashland, OR. She blogs about Paleo nutrition and lifestyle at PaleoPeriodical.com.

“I attended MovNat’s one day workshop in Eugene, OR in January, and imagine my surprise to discover that I never left.”

But let me back up. I’ve always been physically active, essentially growing up feral and outside at all times in trees, on bikes, and generally running amok.

“As a woman, I feel proud that I was able to develop that sense of physical freedom and confidence.”

Perhaps all too predictably, this changed when I became a teenager and physical activity became less spontaneous and less important. Adulthood brought long, boring stretches of cardio punctuated by weird, useless maneuvers performed under a gym’s fluorescent lighting. “Exercise” became this thing I “did”, just like going to work or brushing my teeth. The only purpose it served was to keep me from gaining too much weight, an admittedly sad and ultimately failed approach. There was no form, no function.

At the workshop, I felt long-dormant neurons firing.

“If there had been a scan of my brain while climbing on top of the bar or falling off a simple 2×4 on the ground, you would’ve seen cobwebs being swept away by flashes of light.”

There was a deep memory in there being reawakened. By the end of the day, the sorest muscles in my body may have been in my face from smiling so hard.

“But the biggest surprise awaited me at home. Let it be said that being a parent is one of the most primal experiences out there.”

In fact, I think parenting fulfills each of the three Pillars of MovNat: respect the laws of nature, trust our primal heritage, and satisfy real-world demands. My daughter Edie is 2 ½ years old and goes through phases of never wanting her feet on the ground: “Up peas, up peas!”

Now, when I bend over to pick her up, my body immediately explores the most efficient way to do that. I feel my shoulders roll back, my pelvis go neutral, my knees bend, my quads and biceps engage. Her weight is no longer like a stone in my low back. When she gets squirmy, I consider it an opportunity to wrangle an awkward load.

And of course, Edie has become an inspiration too. I watch her run around with a complete lack of boundaries, climbing and balancing with ease, and I’m reminded of my own latent possibilities.

“I recognize that it’s my solemn duty to encourage those skills in her through every phase of life. In this way and others, MovNat is no longer contained.”

It’s informing every movement of every day, redefining my perception of reality, and inspiring me to understand and express my full potential as a human being.

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