This past weekend, the Affiliate program got presented in the southern hemisphere as the PRI integration for Fitness and Movement was hosted in Sydney, Australia!! I traveled over 10,220 miles (or over 16,447 km) and the very long plane ride across the south pacific was well worth it! Sydney was such a fun city, and it was a pleasure to spend some time with the PRI Australia group.
I am beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to share the PRI science with this area of the world. It is exciting for me to watch attendees connect to a deeper dimension of PRI because I believe it’s in those deeper dimensions of PRI that the magic happens and gaps are bridged. Attendees from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Georgia and various parts of Australia were all represented. Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Physiotherapists, Pilates, Yoga, and Exercise Specialists were all in attendance, with the class being about half and half. Half being exposed to PRI before and the other half were brand new to the science. Needless to say it was a diverse group — yet all united to learn more about the diaphragm and its influence on posture.
Regardless of credentials and training, this course is enlightening to help us all remember how to program Respiration and Alternating Reciprocal Activity to enhance Tri-Planar performance patterns (i.e “Functional Fitness”)
We hit the ZOA hard and discussed it’s role in managing hyperactivity and unnecessary muscle tension. The exercises I introduced focused on shaping the ZOA three dimensionally with respiratory abdominals, along with promoting expansion, movement and flexibility of the ribcage. I then emphasized the 5 steps of programming for shaping adaptation and better integration for symmetrical compound lifts.
The 5 steps in this course are presented to help create a framework for programming and organizing how exercises are presented to clients and patients. The 5 steps also help in organizing core stability and symmetry from the diaphragm level outward.
I loved seeing the passion and ah-ha moments as attendees connected with the material and got new resources and insights to help progress their clients and patients. I think we will see PRI quickly continuing to grow in this area of the world. Thank you to Mark Obrien and Jason Thomson for hosting. Special thanks to Mark for the hospitality and opening up his brand new facility for us to use. Fit Plus Well is such great hidden gem just south of Sydney. And Jason, thank you for sharing your passion, your insights (nuts, I will always remember your nuts cue) and helping with much of the logistics of the weekend!
My visit to Australia was fun and I hope to get to come back one day! I could definitely live in Sydney – beaches, city and mountains were all right there. Beautiful coastline. Thank you to all who helped organize the event! Cheers!!
