Hi Chris! Thanks for the subscription and hope you are well. Some of the exercises might have a Feldenkrais-ish feel to them, but others won't, and I'm not sure if I will talk about Feldenkrais specifically in the book.
I really like your approach and I’m looking forward to reading the first chapter. I just wanted to share an observation based on many years of coaching people in more primal, natural movement.
What I’ve consistently found is that environment is often the biggest obstacle. For example, people who work in offices or spend most of their time in built, sedentary environments don’t need to crawl, jump, or squat to survive or do their daily tasks. Because of that, their brains tend to perceive those movements as non-essential—even if they’re incredibly beneficial for health. This makes it much harder for them to integrate these movements into regular practice, even when they understand they’re “good for them.”
For me, crawling, squatting, balancing, and other foundational movements are second nature—I use them every day in my own practice and when coaching. But for many people, because their environment doesn’t require them, the brain categorizes them as optional. And if something feels optional, it often gets dropped.
That’s why I’ve been working a lot on helping people shift that perception: that even though your job or lifestyle might not require a full squat or a minute of crawling, those movements are still essential for your long-term physical and mental well-being.
Hi Michael, Thanks for sharing that's an excellent point. Another way to look at it is that the environment invites certain movements and discourages others, and this changes movement behavior. And you're right that if you change your perception and skillset that can change the invitation. Parkour is a great example.
This is part of the reason I divided the movements into different broad categories like “on the ground” or “on our feet”. These categories define different times on the evolutionary/developmental timeline, and also different environments. For example, if you spend a lot of time “on the ground” as a kid might do in a sandbox, or an adult gardening, movement patterns like squats, sitting transitions, and crawling type movements naturally emerge. And when you get better at those movements, the ground looks more inviting, and you will spend more time there.
I’ve always thought parkour is one of the best ways to nourish primal movement patterns. It blends mobility, strength, cardio, agility, coordination, power, and control in such a functional and playful way—because it’s task-centered, not rep-centered like most traditional exercise.
My own approach often starts with the movement patterns we learn naturally as we grow: from lying down to crawling, standing, jumping, climbing. Over the years, I’ve tried to simplify that process—but I still end up with far too many variations and progressions of each movement! Hehe. I’m really looking forward to seeing how you tackle that in your work.
And yes, I agree—the environment is both the biggest enabler and the toughest barrier. On paper, changing the environment is the simplest way to get people moving more naturally. But in practice, it’s the hardest thing to do. Like you said, the real work is helping people reshape how they perceive and interact with their environment. That shift alone can change everything.
Hi Todd, fascinating subject and looking forward to reading this. I feel a key question is this: Beyond what we have evolved doing, where are the limits of healthy movement? What are we capable doing of without damaging ourselves? We are extremely versatile as well as limited. How can we explore / extend these limits without risking injury. I believe these questions have been explored in depth by Frey Faust via his Axis Syllabus forum for some years.
I’ve been coaching my clients in fundamental movement patterns for over 15 years now—get-ups, crawls, reaching, balancing, jumping, hanging, and general explorations of task-based training (aka play) as essential tools for developing strength and mobility. I’m really looking forward to your book, Todd. I’ve been researching this topic myself for nearly 20 years. Looking forward to first chapter.
I suggest ways to make it playful and communal (exercises to do in couples, triads or groups, plus non competitive gamification) and possibly in accessible nature (parks)
I am always interested in developmental movement patterns and getting back to fundamentals, and I am eager to hear your perspective, but I feel that The people over at Original Strength and Tim Anderson have really provided a ton of content on this very subject I was wondering if you have seen their stuff on this topic?
Hi Stephen, Thanks for your interest. I am familiar with Tim Anderson's work, and also work by Paul Chek, Mark Sisson, Erwan Le Corre, Simon Thakur, Dan Lieberman, Rafe Kelley and others who have addressed the topic of natural movement. It’s a big topic and I hope my book will provide some original insights.
Hi Chris! Thanks for the subscription and hope you are well. Some of the exercises might have a Feldenkrais-ish feel to them, but others won't, and I'm not sure if I will talk about Feldenkrais specifically in the book.
Excellent - worth a subscription. Will there be any discussion of Feldenkrais within this framework too?
Great idea! I'm looking forward to this.
Thanks Cheryl! FYI, the Introduction and the first Chapter have now been published. Check the archive to find them.
I really like your approach and I’m looking forward to reading the first chapter. I just wanted to share an observation based on many years of coaching people in more primal, natural movement.
What I’ve consistently found is that environment is often the biggest obstacle. For example, people who work in offices or spend most of their time in built, sedentary environments don’t need to crawl, jump, or squat to survive or do their daily tasks. Because of that, their brains tend to perceive those movements as non-essential—even if they’re incredibly beneficial for health. This makes it much harder for them to integrate these movements into regular practice, even when they understand they’re “good for them.”
For me, crawling, squatting, balancing, and other foundational movements are second nature—I use them every day in my own practice and when coaching. But for many people, because their environment doesn’t require them, the brain categorizes them as optional. And if something feels optional, it often gets dropped.
That’s why I’ve been working a lot on helping people shift that perception: that even though your job or lifestyle might not require a full squat or a minute of crawling, those movements are still essential for your long-term physical and mental well-being.
Hi Michael, Thanks for sharing that's an excellent point. Another way to look at it is that the environment invites certain movements and discourages others, and this changes movement behavior. And you're right that if you change your perception and skillset that can change the invitation. Parkour is a great example.
This is part of the reason I divided the movements into different broad categories like “on the ground” or “on our feet”. These categories define different times on the evolutionary/developmental timeline, and also different environments. For example, if you spend a lot of time “on the ground” as a kid might do in a sandbox, or an adult gardening, movement patterns like squats, sitting transitions, and crawling type movements naturally emerge. And when you get better at those movements, the ground looks more inviting, and you will spend more time there.
I’ve always thought parkour is one of the best ways to nourish primal movement patterns. It blends mobility, strength, cardio, agility, coordination, power, and control in such a functional and playful way—because it’s task-centered, not rep-centered like most traditional exercise.
My own approach often starts with the movement patterns we learn naturally as we grow: from lying down to crawling, standing, jumping, climbing. Over the years, I’ve tried to simplify that process—but I still end up with far too many variations and progressions of each movement! Hehe. I’m really looking forward to seeing how you tackle that in your work.
And yes, I agree—the environment is both the biggest enabler and the toughest barrier. On paper, changing the environment is the simplest way to get people moving more naturally. But in practice, it’s the hardest thing to do. Like you said, the real work is helping people reshape how they perceive and interact with their environment. That shift alone can change everything.
Hi Todd, fascinating subject and looking forward to reading this. I feel a key question is this: Beyond what we have evolved doing, where are the limits of healthy movement? What are we capable doing of without damaging ourselves? We are extremely versatile as well as limited. How can we explore / extend these limits without risking injury. I believe these questions have been explored in depth by Frey Faust via his Axis Syllabus forum for some years.
Excited to see more!
Thanks Liam!
I’ve been coaching my clients in fundamental movement patterns for over 15 years now—get-ups, crawls, reaching, balancing, jumping, hanging, and general explorations of task-based training (aka play) as essential tools for developing strength and mobility. I’m really looking forward to your book, Todd. I’ve been researching this topic myself for nearly 20 years. Looking forward to first chapter.
Thanks Michael. I'll be looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Looking forward to first chapter!
I suggest ways to make it playful and communal (exercises to do in couples, triads or groups, plus non competitive gamification) and possibly in accessible nature (parks)
Very good idea thanks for sharing.
The table of contents is already great and excitant...i m in a hury to discover and read the book
Thanks you very much Todd
Thanks Egger!
I am always interested in developmental movement patterns and getting back to fundamentals, and I am eager to hear your perspective, but I feel that The people over at Original Strength and Tim Anderson have really provided a ton of content on this very subject I was wondering if you have seen their stuff on this topic?
Hi Stephen, Thanks for your interest. I am familiar with Tim Anderson's work, and also work by Paul Chek, Mark Sisson, Erwan Le Corre, Simon Thakur, Dan Lieberman, Rafe Kelley and others who have addressed the topic of natural movement. It’s a big topic and I hope my book will provide some original insights.
Sounds wonderful!
Thanks Travis! Hope you are doing good.
Hi Todd, I'm sure excited for this.
Thanks Elspeth!