What is natural movement?

Natural movements are the full range of movements the human body has always needed for survival.

As our daily environments become safer and humans become more sedentary there is a greater need for us to reclaim many of the movements we have lost as a result of this lifestyle.

Moving as many of our muscles as regularly as we can and moving our joints in a wider range of motion helps us ensure our bodies not only stay healthy and strong, but can in fact thrive in all the decades of our lives.

What’s different about natural movement?

Natural movement training comes from breaking down human movement patterns into specific skills which we can train our bodies to perform with good technique and efficiency.

Techniques as simple as being able to get up and down from the ground, crawling, balancing and lifting safely, up to (for those who want to go further) jumping and climbing.

I have taken what I’ve learned and looked at the practical movements we use in daily life and looked at how we can be more aware of the ways we move (and don’t move!), how we can make improvements, have options to move differently and how to remember to add on extra movements to the tasks we complete day to day, in order to make these changes sustainable.

Reclaim movement members learn simple movements to increase mobility and build strength.

What skills are involved in natural movement?

In natural movement training, we look at the skills humans are 'designed' to perform and break them down into practical techniques - all of which have a range of regressions and progressions.

The skills include Ground Positions (including Squatting), Ground Movements to transition between ground sitting positions, but also as ways to move near the ground, Get Ups (from and to the ground), Walking, Crawling, Balancing, Stepping Up, Down, Over & Under, Lifting & Carrying, Throwing & Catching, Jumping & Hanging.

The live classes I coach in the Membership have 2 different themes, but both cover most entry-level skills between them.

The ‘Practical Movement Skills’ class is about lots of foundational movement for mobility and then focussing on one or more key skills and showing how to apply them in daily life.

The ‘Midweek Movements’ is more focussed on ground movement, get ups, useful stretches and generally working on mobility.

To achieve a balanced skill-set and therefore healthy generalised whole-body movement patterns, we work on all the skills, even those with which we feel less comfortable. Where you start with each movement skill depends on your current movement ability - I offer regressions and progressions for movements.

Becoming more aware of how you move in general is the starting point. With regular practice and applying increased movement to your daily life, you will notice the improvement in your skills that in turn improve your overall strength & mobility.

Increased awareness combined with the improvement in your movement gives you the confidence to move more safely, efficiently, enjoyably and hopefully more in general!

How does natural movement benefit your body?

When we have functional capability, the whole body works together in good movement patterns, so we are more able to protect ourselves against injury by becoming stronger, more flexible and therefore more adaptable. Then we can have more fun with our everyday movement.

The result is feeling great (in body and mind), having fun while doing it, spotting more opportunities to practise your natural movement skills (even with puddle-jumping at 48!) and being able to move through life with confidence in our movement...in every decade of our lives.

Who would benefit from practising natural movement?

Everyone can feel the benefits of improving their movement patterns; both the quality and quantity.

If you feel you are being held back either physically due to reduced mobility from a previous injury, or mentally your confidence has decreased as you age or you are starting to notice creakiness in your joints and nagging pains that keep cropping up, then starting to learn to move naturally throughout your day will be hugely beneficial, as it can become a new way of life!

If you feel less confident about joining entry-level classes, then you can start with the mini movement videos in the membership to start building towards a class. Or you can sign up for some private coaching where I offer tailored programmes to suit your specific personal needs and help you work progressively and consistently toward your goals.

What is a movement coach?

A natural movement coach takes you through healthy ways of moving that are needed on a daily basis to keep you mobile and strong. These movements help you to reclaim movements you may find you are losing with age. Many of the movements are needed to function well in life, be that aiming to play comfortably on the ground with grandchildren, staying independent well into old age, or being practical to be useful for yourself and others. If we want to be fit and healthy we need to be confident in our body’s capability to practise all the types of physical exercise you enjoy.

What is the MovNat method?

MovNat is an international real-world strength and fitness method that was started by Erwan le Corre over 10 years ago, that aims to give you a new quality of movement by learning practical skills.

MovNat is characterized by a safe and progressive training practice and can be trained both indoors (in the gym or at home) and outdoors.

Why ‘real-world’? Because it’s about training your body in natural daily movements, to be capable of enjoying all of life’s opportunities whatever your age.

The MovNat method is the breakdown of the skills & techniques of natural movement we are born with. Movements are all either multi-joint or whole-body movements as this is how our bodies react efficiently and adapt to practical situations.

MovNat can be taught to any individual at any age or ability level to enhance their overall movement skills.

I focus on helping introduce the concept and movements to those over 40 (although not exclusively!) as this is my lived experience.

Reclaim Movement is for you if:

Have become disconnected from your natural movements patterns through normal modern living (e.g. sitting at a desk for many hours of the day or rarely getting down to the floor) and you are experiencing fear of certain movements through previous injury (this was me...read my story ) or you are generally experiencing reduced mobility, stability or strength.

enjoy exercise, but want to try something different to your usual exercise regime to challenge your movement skill set to find gaps in your movement patterns and train in a more ‘natural’ way (complementing your current movement goals).