At the heart of the human experience, the “how”
of walking shapes physical comfort, security, emotional well-being and happiness, regardless of medical diagnosis.
Every pain doctor, mental and physical health professional, and wellness coach stresses how important it is to go out for walks. But what if your walks are hurting? Many do not know that walking can be damaging when unbalanced.
What if walking could be more beneficial, enjoyable, and wellness-producing? This course offers a different solution for chronic pain and discomfort in the neck, shoulder, wrist, upper/lower back, knees and reoccurring injuries and strains.
Online series beginning July 25, 2020
When gait is interrupted, the decline can be
rapid and sometimes hard to reverse.
Take your clients from decline to function to quality walking.
In this online training we will use
… the sensory learning platforms of the Feldenkrais Method® and Bones for Life®, to discover the cause and effect relationship between poor patterns of movement and health. Not only is gait a gateway to human health, there are gates within gait that can guide us as rehabilitation and wellness professionals. This course advances beyond the traditional study of characteristics found in the stance and swing phases of gait. Using Integral Human Gait™ theory, we explore a comprehensive map that far exceeds the current understanding of physical medicine, rehabilitation and sports training.
Target Audience
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Feldenkrais and other somatic practitioners
- Yoga, Pilates and Movement Teachers
- Personal Trainers
- Anyone who works with others to improve function
Continuing Education Credits: 20 hours are offered by the NCBTMB for massage and bodyworkers. This workshop also qualifies as an advanced training for Feldenkrais Practitioners (20 hours).
July 25 - August 22
with Carol Montgomery and Cynthia Allen
Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight time/New York
Using Zoom or similar online platform
All sessions will be recorded and available on replay but live attendance is needed for continuing education units*
Fee: $497 (sliding scale available)
Times listed are Eastern Daylight/New York
Convert to your time zone
Learning Themes and Objectives
Whole-body integration frees the body to choose healthy gait patterns
- The Interdependent Relationship Between Pressure, Lift and Alignment
- Two phases of gait: Stance Phase and Swing Phase:
- Stance phase needs pelvic rotation to become a step forward
- Invisible Vertical Power Line of the Heel (VPLH)
Swing phase powers your spring in stance phase - Lumbar spine wants to be neutral, uninvolved, “Switzerland” in both phases of gait
- Lower rib availability (ensures a body part is free and usable)
The Re-Organizing Power of Counter-Rotation
- Adjust (re-organize) your girdles using rotation: pelvic, shoulder, head
- Free your ribs to support stance and swing phase of gait
- Interrupting compulsive motor pattern habits:
- How to find your rhythm for a smooth and efficient gait
- Interventions using somatic movement exploration to maximize the availability of the hip, knee and ankle during the phases of gait
The dynamic interaction between posture and gait
- The interface of the abdominals, pelvic floor, buttocks
- Why your mid-trunk should be engaged and free to move: Somatic Movements for the hips and gluts
- How your “abs” hold you upright
- Group practice:
- How to examine gait to choose the most effective intervention
- Hand up the wall
- Head turning
- Mid-trunk side-bending
- Standing on one leg, aligning the C7 vertebrae and center of mass
About your instructors
Carol Montgomery, MSPT
Carol Montgomery is co-author of Integral Human Gait™ theory and principal instructor in the Gait for Wild Human Potential workshop. She is dedicated to initiating paradigm shifts in the fields of healthcare, most of all wellness and movement. Hence her status as founder and owner of Montgomery Somatics, a private physical therapy and somatic education center. In addition to a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy, she is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitionercm. As well as a Movement Intelligence Senior Trainer. She also has extensive training and education in Gestalt and Integrative Psychotherapy. She has a rich understanding of the biomechanical underpinnings of human movement because of her postgraduate training in orthopedic and manual medicine. Montgomery has over 20 years of teaching experience with the public, professional healthcare providers and physical therapy students.
Cynthia Allen
Cynthia Allen is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitionercm and Senior Trainer in Movement Intelligence and Bones for Life®. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio where she sees clients privately and teaches several classes per week in Awareness Through Movement® and Bones for Life®. Because of her thirty-five plus years in health care management, wellness programming, organizational consulting and private practice, Allen has led individuals and groups in personal development, movement, and spiritual and integrative practices. Allen is co-author of Integral Human Gait Theory™ and a principal instructor in our Gait for Wild Human Potential and Bones for Life® workshops.
Allen is co-author of Integral Human Gait theory, creator of the Feldenkrais® Awareness Summit, Your Better Back and Your Learning Body online programs.