NEW TO ANATOMY IN MOTION – WHERE Do I START IS A COMMON QUESTION.
It’s actually a GREAT question.
A question based on curiosity, a willingness to learn and understand more.
Being curious leads to asking more questions.
More questions leads to needing to do some form of an assessment.
The assessment allows you to gather more information.
That information, is where your own body and/or clients body shows you what it is doing.
To me, it’s our body showing truth.
If we can assess it, paying attention to the details it will tell us EXACTLY what it is doing.
If we know exactly what it is doing and are students of ANATOMY IN MOTION’S FLOW MOTION MODEL we can use the map to also find out exactly what it is NOT doing. ie: find what’s missing.
We then have a checklist with the intention to help put back what’s missing.
MY ADVICE TO NEW STUDENTS HAS ALWAYS BEING – PUT THE WORK INTO YOUR OWN BODY.
The process of Anatomy in Motion has multiple parts;
1.) Conceptually understanding the ethos and philosophy of Anatomy in Motion.
2.) Feeling and experiencing the work in your own body and finding your own blockages. I think this part is key and often overlooked. Your body becomes your teacher and provides you with the opportunity to amalgamate the theory with the practical… and you get to sort out your own problems/limitations at the same time.
3.) Seeing the movement in another person’s body.
4.) Improving palpation skills. As an example being comfortable finding the talus bone as it’s often not located where you think it should be.
5.) The application of the work via the AiM thought process.
“Truth is that in human movement there are no A=B answers. Everything is unique, individual and needs addressing as so. This is why we teach a thought process, provide a model to follow and invite people to engage in a self assessment and awareness of their own anatomy” – GARY WARD
It’s the process of putting time into the work and into your body that develops your ability to see and use it.
Getting into the habit of ‘checking in’ with yourself is good practice.
The more time you spend inside the details both in your head listening/watching the ONLINE COURSE MATERIAL and putting it into your body, the clearer it will become.
Like any skill, with time the more you do it the more efficient you become.
(Below is a short example from of an AiM workshop I hosted I hosted in DUBLIN/Ireland in November 2021)
When you are looking at a foot, a knee or the closed CHAIN BIOMECHANICS OF THE LOWER LIMB MECHANICS; questions to ask for your own thought process: (This is something I heard Chris Sritharan say on my first Anatomy in Motion course in 2015 and it has stayed with me ever since).
- What is actually happening (remember honest movement)
- How is it happening
- Where is it happening
- Why is it happening
- What joint spaces are opening or closing
- Where is the pressure going
- What would I like to see happening knowing what I know about the lower body mechanics
- What would my intention be “if” I put a wedge in x spot, what would I like to see happen.
During the workshop we assessed a students foot.
We found the talus bone and identified its current resting position.
During an assessment to see how the foot was pronating we identified that the whole foot was everting, losing contact with the 5th metatarsal head, the calcaneus was lifting off the ground and all of the pressure was going into the forefoot pushing the forefoot into the ground.
All of the movement was coming from the TCJ dorsiflexing and very little movement from the foot.
What would we like to see with a pronating foot?
Tripod on the ground, 3 points of contact, Calaneous, 1st metatarsal head and 5th metatarsal head. Three planes of motion, Sagittal, Frontal & Transverse. Joints opening on the plantar surface and medial border and closing on the lateral border and dorsal surface. Opposition between rearfoot and forefoot. Tissue lengthening on the plantar surface.
Can we help give back what’s missing?
We started by putting an AiM wedge under the calcaneous to see what would happen with the foots movement if the calcaneous could stay on the ground?
Our intention was to provide more plantarflexion to the rearfoot and assess the outcome.
If the calcaneous can plantarflex better, what will happen to the other parts.
The plantarflexing wedge helped so we added an additional wedge to encourage dorsiflexion of the forefoot to see if it would provide opposition between the rearfoot and forefoot.
It did.
The foot started to move more, more joints opening, more tissue load. It became softer, less effort and the forefoot stopped pushing down into the ground. A smoother and more efficient movement.
This is a short example but my point is, we followed a thought process.
Where did we start?
We took one plane at a time, Sagittal, Frontal and Transverse.
Knowing the closed CHAIN BIOMECHANICS OF THE LOWER LIMB we were able to spent time, assessing, checking what exactly was happening and what was missing and then looked to put back what was missing.
Our assessment evolved as the body showed us more information.
Even if you get lost, it’s always worth remembering to keep it simple. Remember the joint surfaces are shaped in a certain way that will dictate where the bones move.
The mechanics are always there to help you get back on track and find your way.
Just like a map 
For more information on Anatomy in Motion here is the website: HTTPS://FINDINGCENTRE.CO.UK