On binaries in the movement industry

Aug 6

I always smile to myself when a new client comes to me, whether in an intake session or their first class, and tells me the reason they’re here is because, somewhere along the line, they picked up the idea that their posture is poor, or that some part of their body is dysfunctional (i.e., a bad spine, weak hips, no core strength, etc.).

After many years of teaching movement, from therapeutic and rehabilitative work to more athletic approaches, I’ve heard it all. So much of the noise in the movement industry, while maybe well-intended, often creates confusion. “Am I doing it wrong?” “Am I feeling it in the right place?” “Is my form correct?”

There’s often something unspoken behind these labels, an undercurrent of shame, weakness, or even a sense of moral failing that comes from assigning “bad” or “wrong” to a body that is constantly doing it’s best to support and protect you.

I have deep compassion for those stuck in fear of hurting themselves, especially when navigating chronic pain. But honestly, I think a lot of information overload surrounding movement these days can do more harm than good.

I don’t subscribe to the overly simplistic binaries of right/wrong or good/bad form that have become so popular in the age of social media. I also don’t believe there is such as thing as “bad” movement; only movement we’ve yet to build capacity or tolerance for.

Take something like a hip hinge as an example. It’s a foundational human movement. When assessing a hinge, I look at a client’s ability to achieve a deep crease in the front of the hip joints while also expanding into the posterior pelvis.

There’s no morality tied to a hip hinge, so we can look at it objectively. You’re either finding it, or maybe you’re flexing your spine as your body attempts to bypass it. Maybe you have some restriction that is causing you to compensate in another way. But is one version good and another bad? It just is. It exists.

The real question is: do you have the awareness to notice where your body tends to bypass? Can you shift between shapes and recognize the choice you're making based on context, on sensation, or on what you personally need to strengthen, explore, or restore in your own body?

When guiding movement in any capacity, I think it’s far more helpful to approach movement with curiosity rather than judgment. We can help people become aware of what they’re doing and support them in making a new choice. We can also help them build strength and resilience in unconventional or often criticized ranges of motion that, somewhere along the line, were unfairly stigmatized.

But in my opinion, it’s bigger than that. We’re expanding consciousness and awareness in the body. So one version isn’t “right,” and the other isn’t “wrong.” It’s situational.

Often, we’re stuck in a pattern and aren’t even conscious that the body has other options. There may be a different pathway available that feels more supportive or less compressive. Maybe helping people develop a clear internal map of how the parts of their body work together does far more good than instilling fear and rigidity in their movement practices.

Like most things, movement is full of paradoxes: push and pull, contraction and expansion, stability and fluidity, effort and ease.When we reduce movement to binary thinking, we often lose the nuance, the complexity, and the intelligence of the body. While quick solutions and certainty may feel familiar, I believe true movement resiliency can come from embracing paradox, expanding the body’s options, and staying open to new perspectives along the way.