You Just Need 3 Things to Be Happy.

I once attended an inspiring talk by world champion surfer Mark Occhilupo.

He shared a profound realisation he had that took him from depressed, drug addicted and overweight (everyone thought he was finished!) to making one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time and winning the world surfing title! 

He said to be happy, you just need 3 things:

Thing No.1: Someone to Love.

Thing No.2: Something to Do.

Thing No. 3: Something to Look Forward To.

These are fairly obvious when you contemplate them in the context of your own life, but I wanted to touch on "Something to Do" and explain how Movement has given me a never ending stack of activities to enjoy each and every day and how this can work for you too.

Before I discovered "Movement" I used to see training as "Exercise" and I could never stick to anything long term because I would just get too bored when the skill component was low (arm curls are fun for a few weeks but after that I wouldn't be interested!).

This was primarily because I thought the only reason for training was to try and look a certain way (ie. aesthetics). 

A quality movement practice isn't just about how you look (although it is important I know!), it's about having skills and tasks that keep you engaged in the practice itself.

Including mobility work in your practice, whether it starts out just being comfortable in a deep resting squat and you progress further from there towards more advanced postures like splits or backbends, means there is always something to do towards better joint health (ie. less pain) every single day.

Add some bodyweight strength skill, whether it starts off with your very first chin up and progresses from there into ring muscle ups, and you have another endless skillset to perform each day, week, month and year.

Handstands  offer endless progressions too. First we start on a wall, then we balance freestanding, then how to make shapes, how to press and so on.

Locomotion is another infinite world to play in really fun way to creatively express your strength and mobility.

Having more complex skills like these is a great way to maintain the drive and motivation to keep training & practising year after year.

Skill of the Week

Rolling is in my humble opinion a seriously underestimated skill that all humans should practice. 

Not only is it playful and fun, but it improves your relationship with the floor.

Why is floor communication valuable? 

For a few reasons:

1. It helps protect you if you fall (roll don't break!).

2. It toughens you up (when did we all become so soft by the way?).

3. It gets you outside in nature (grass is good!).

4. It's fun as well as practical.

Here is a lesson from my online course Locomotion Flow 2.0 on the Back to Front Roll which combines and Backwards Shoulder Roll & a Front Shoulder Roll with a Twist! 

Grab 50% off this weekend only using code SPRING50 at checkout for my online courses, Ring Flow or Locomotion Flow 2.0.

What an honour it has been helping so many of you recently to fall in love with Movement just as much as me! 

Receiving messages each day from students who are getting out of pain, feeling better in their bodies and just falling in love with movement is why I do this.

Here's one I received from Ray Lambton yesterday:-

Hi Aaron. Just wanted to say Thank you for these online courses you’ve created. Changed my whole outlook not just the way I now train and practice but also the way in which I move in general.
My best wishes
Ray

Bali Retreat

Next week I travel to Bali to guest teach alongside some incredible teachers (Sondre Berg, Harry Williams, Leo Moves, Roxi Smith, Will Grant) from around the world at a retreat hosted by Ghetto Movement.

I will be sure to bring you insights from that retreat and if you happen to be one of the guests attending then I look forward to seeing you there! 

Membership Site

The membership site continues to develop and I will release this upon returning from Bali sometime in November. 

So stay tuned for that new offer then! 

In the meantime, take care and happy moving!

Aaron