Where Physical Therapy, Yoga Therapy and Pain Science Meet
This book is not an obvious choice for a Pilates Practitioner. However, it is a book packed with the kind of body reading material that all movement professionals need. Yoga teaches and cues feet and breath differently to Pilates and the information on those 2 topics in this book I found very valuable.
The chapter on pain science was a standout for me. It is a fantastic read for anyone who is trying to navigate pain in themselves or their clients. Brourman connects the science to the experience with compassion and empathy. Reminding the reader of the uniqueness of each individual, and that yes – sometimes science is right, and sometimes it isn’t, and then what can we do? Do we trust our own intuition?
A lot of people gravitate to teaching movement because they themselves are an Intuitive mover, and once we start teaching we realise how different this is from the bodies who walk in our door.
You can’t teach someone in 10 sessions to have “perfect proprioception” or interoception. The relationship between teacher and client happens over many sessions. To reach the point where we are able to facilitate long term positive change for our clients, or to be able to use our intuition, comes from a deep understanding of ourselves as bodies that move, anatomy study and the application of that to the body in front of us. This book reminds us that what we feel / experience is founded in science, that trusting your intuition is valid… and now back it up with anatomy.
Brourman says “I believe that understanding how movement works makes it easier to feel. But that’s still just one component of truly feeling movement. And if coming to intuitive movement is a mission, we need the other component deeply in tow”.
If you are a teacher who would like to improve your intuition, or self-trust in what you see this book is a gift that will help you to join those dots.
This book is very well laid out. Very easy to follow and reference back to. Brourman has divided the book into logical chapters, headings, tech boxes and explore boxes. She uses client stories and images sparingly, but well. Referencing back and forth to them as the book goes on linking ideas that travel through the thread of the book. Each chapter starts with a summary of points and then delivers on each of them.
Brourman connects anatomy in kinetic chains. Patterns that we all see every day in our clients. It was a nice step back to look at them through a lens of yoga movement, and then think “well where do I see that shape in Pilates?” Warrior 1 bares similarities to Skater on the reformer, Downward dog is of course Upstretch, mostly she refers to Mountain Pose, i.e. – standing. Bottom line of it all though – know your anatomy patterns, see the kinetic chain, and then help to make it “energetically symmetrical”. (* Her term, and a great concept for bodies that aren’t “even”.)
WHO IS THIS FOR – The teacher who wants to blend what they feel, with science. Great for a new or mid-career instructor who wants to improve their body reading skills with anatomical back up. If you are a teacher who likes to include Yoga repertoire in your classes, then this book is a great way to polish your alignment understanding.
I also think this book is a good resource for larger studios. Short sections could be recommended to teachers as a specific reference to help with a particular client’s pathologies, AND/ OR cueing for different minds.
Tahmour Bloomfield
PAA Pilates Practitioner L3 / Adv Dip FAMO / Studio Owner / Movement Nerd
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