How ‘Primal’ Are Your Movements: The Seven Primal Movement Patterns

Every time you move, in a flash, your body receives innumerable impulses from the sensory neurons, deciphered by the brain, and relayed out to the motor neurons creating movement.  And while your body is an incredible machine, coordinating multiple movement patterns in a matter of split-seconds, there are a seven specific movement patterns that the body relies on most often.
These seven primal movement patterns include:
Push  Upper body pushing away from the body
Pull  Upper body pulling towards the body
Lunge  Linear stride, lowering a knee, with an upright torso
Squat  Hips move downward underneath body with straight back
Rotate  Twisting of the core (pelvis to ribcage)
Hinge  Bending at hips forward, butt moves back with neutral spine
Gait  Walking, jogging, running, sprinting

These seven “Primal Movement Patterns” are the most commonly undertaken by the body.  To speed up the processing for each movement, our body creates neural-shortcuts for each movement.  Imagine, using computer coding as an example, instead of 100s of pages of biologic HTML to activate each motor neuron crossing each joint in the movement, our brain creates a shortcode like [shortcode=action-squat] for ease with repetition.  Inside that “shortcode” is the hyper-quick recipe for how you repeat that action over and over, day in and day out.
Problems arise, though, when these movement patterns become inundated with faulty coding, such as imbalances, compensations, injuries, improper muscle tone, emotional trauma, inactivity, and more.  As you can see in the overhead squat image above, there are many ways to compensate when performing the action.  Good news!  You can reprogram that code with mindful, dynamic movement patterns through exercise, massage,  yoga, postural adjustments, and more.  It takes hard work and time, but well worth the investment in your body.

Properly performing these seven primal movements on a daily basis can be the difference when it comes to aches and pains in your daily life.  No need to battle your own body with incorrect movement patterns; let’s schedule your 1st training/massage session in the near future.  Contact me for availability and let’s schedule your next massage!  Have a great week, look forward to talking to you soon.

Until next Monday,
Jason Brain

Happy New Year: 2019 in Review

Hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready for a joyous New Year.  I was reflecting on the past year and all the people and opportunities I’ve been blessed to share, and thought I’d share some of my favorite bodywork memories, experiences, and milestones.

Cheers to a new year and a wonderful 2020!
Earned Personal Training Certification In October, I officially completed my Personal Training Certification with the International Sport Sciences Association (ISSA).  I’m so fascinated by the body in all facets, I’m also taking a Strength & Conditioning and a Nutrition Coach certification course to continue rounding out my comprehensive bodywork practice.  Why not, right!?

Interested in taking your fitness to the next level?  Consider scheduling a training session in the new year!  Let’s define your goals and create a fitness plan towards success, whether it’s strength gain or weight loss or beyond; I’m here to help.  Contact me and let’s schedule your 1st training session in the new year!
Started @ Burke Williams, Mission Viejo in May I gotta say, I didn’t know what to expect.  Was worried it might be too-spa-like for me, but I’ve really come to enjoy the people I work with and the company.  I’m only there a few small shifts a week, but it’s going well and I certainly don’t mind the free massages for the therapists on staff.
New Events Around Southern California From Irvine to Carlsbad to Canoga Park, I was meeting new people all over the Southern California area.  Whether it was a Brain & Body setup at farmers markets or being brought on for corporate chair/appreciation days, had a blast delivering relief and relaxation with the ol’ massage chair.

Have an event, party, or fundraiser coming up?  Or ready to surprise your staff with a relaxing spa day at work?  Contact me for availability and pricing!  Always up for bringing massage to fun environments.
Celebrated 2 Years @ Encino StudioI can’t believe it’s been over two years at my space in Encino.  Time flies when you’re having fun at work.  Like they say, when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.  Here’s to another many years, and many thanks to my massage-partner-in-crime, Josh King.

3 Reasons You Need a Massage this Summer

Personally, your body deserves a massage every season of the year (if not more frequently). When Summer rolls around, there’s more than enough reasons to swing by for a soothing massage as the days get longer and the temperature rises. 

Below are three great reasons you should get a massage before or during the summertime.

1. Injury Prevention, Activity Booster
During the warmer months, we tend to find ourselves outdoors and more active. Make sure to remain loose and limber for all those fun activities, and make sure you don’t end the summer full of soreness, strains, or sprains. Massage is a surefire way to get your body ready for activity, or to recovery after some strenuous exertion.

2. “You Time”
Got kids home from school all summer? Got plans for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays for family, friends, and co-workers all summer? With all this wonderful weather often comes a lot more plans and happenings. Don’t spread yourself too thin and make sure to take care of yourself. Dedicate and hour or two to yourself with a relaxing massage.

3. Dehydrated Skin
As the temps scrape the hundreds here in Southern California, your skin is bearing the brunt of the damage. Keeping cool by sweating, ultraviolet sun exposure, and loss of body moisture through the skin are just a few reasons the skin needs a little extra love during the summer. Why not get a full body moisturization through massage? True, every therapist uses different products, but I offer organic, hypoallergenic creme that can be enhanced with my essential oils for focused skin care. No need to neglect the largest organ of the body, your skin.

Hope these benefits of massage remind you of how important it is to take care of your body and stop neglecting your self-care regimen.

Interested in more benefits? I could talk for days. Let’s schedule your next massage soon and get you ready to rue the summer.

Have a wonderful week. Happy June!

Introducing Burke Williams’ Newest OC Massage Therapist

The rumors are true!  After a year away from the spa scene since leaving Equinox (Encino) to move to Orange County, I’m joining the Burke Williams Mission Viejo team part-time to keep these hands, forearms, and elbows busy while I continue to build my private Brain & Body business in the South Orange County area.

The thought of getting back into a spa had been on my mind when I learned Burke Williams was hiring after filling out an online recommendation for a massage colleague recently. I decided to check it out and was quickly swooped up by their Massage Manager at the Mission Viejo location.  I officially start this next week and am excited spread the massage love a little more down here.

Can’t visit me at Burke Williams? I’ll come to you!
Contact me to schedule you next mobile massage session!

One exciting perk of working at Burke: I can see private OC clients there with all their fantastic amenities at my personal rate, plus clients can use the fantastic spa after our massage for the rest of the day.  That is, as long as the client has never-ever been to a Burke Williams Spa before (the one restriction).  Private client appointments at Burke kick in after a couple months there; will keep everyone posted, trust me.  How sweet is that, though!?

Now, unfortunately, this does mean I will be working in OC Sunday afternoons and will only be available in the SFV/Los Angeles area all-day Saturday from 10am to 10pm.  If anything opens up, like a spare Friday afternoon/evening, I will keep you posted.

Until next time, take care!