Mind Body Connection and Back Pain
00:00:00 Speaker: We're going to be talking about the mind body connection. The topic is actually something that was brought to me last week by a student. And so I'm going to go ahead and read the email that he wrote to me, and we'll start with that. All right. So this is from Adam. Adam wrote me this wonderful email and I'm going to read it. And this is what kind of generated the topic for this week. So it says Doctor Peebles, I am now in module five of your program and seem to be getting a lot out of it though the pain in my left glute lower back is still present. I found the book Healing Back Pain by Doctor John Sarno in your reading suggestions. By the way, if you haven't already, check out my book recommendations in the Resources library in the program. There's some other books in there too that I recommend, and they could be really helpful. So he says. And I have spent the last two to three weeks reading his mind body prescription book and researching T.m.s. I am very curious what your thoughts are on his teachings slash treatment, and what your advice would be for navigating between physical healing and emotional slash psychological healing. So we have kind of two different schools of thought here. And so we'll talk more about that. We have the emotional the psychological. And then we have the physical causes of back pain and also healing of back pain. There seems to be a lot of evidence for both approaches, but the two sides don't address each other. Doctor Sarno suggests that chronic back pain is directly the result of repressed emotions, and will be unaffected by physical therapy, such as your core balance program. Yet your program makes more sense to me than any other physical healing method due to its emphasis on fixing posture, re-engaging the core long term, and physical intentions in all movement throughout the day. Thank you so much for your help and inspiration. Thank you Adam. As I mentioned in my response, I think it's a fantastic email and you've obviously been doing your research and I honor you for that. That is how I got to where I am is just mostly doing self research. And a lot of that happened before I ever went to physical therapy school. And after so many years of empowering myself through research and reading and different things, I finally thought, wow, it's probably time for me to get some sort of credential in this because I already know so much, and so maybe that's a path for you. Adam, I have no idea where you're at in your life, but if you're putting in the work and the effort to empower yourself like this is a really wonderful thing. So honoring you for that. So let's talk a little bit about this. We have Doctor John Sarno and this book, which I recommend in the program as a recommended reading. I mentioned that reading this book, I was probably about twenty four or something, so I'm thirty six now. Maybe I was younger, I imagine I was a little younger than that, but it changed my life. It was a pivotal book for me to read and to learn the things that he was saying, that I had never heard anything like this before. And if you haven't read it, he kind of gives the overview in his message to me. Um, Adam does. And that, you know, it's emotional and psychological causes that are causing back pain and the back pain. The pain has nothing to do with physical causes. And so he basically explains how this works, and that emotional stress can cause tension in the body. And the tension that it causes restricts blood flow. The blood vessels constrict because they tense up. And in that physiological response there is less blood flow to the tissues. And because there's less blood flow, there's less oxygen. And the muscles are basically starving of oxygen. And that causes pain. And so that's Doctor John Sarno's explanation for most cases of back pain. And I think it's a good thing to know. I think it's a an element. It's a factor in back pain. And then there is the other universe, the other school of thought, which we learn about in physical therapy, school or any other kind of, you know, Western medical school or training program is going to be more focused on the physical in that there's something wrong. You know, Western medicine seems to place a lot of emphasis on disease. So degenerative discs are actually a disease. And this must be treated with medicine or exercise. But it's a physical thing. Okay. There is something physical happening. It might be related to posture or genetics or trauma or a different physical cause that you might be able to think of. So the question I see here is, do these two schools of thought overlap or are they separate? Which is what Adam has said, is that they. I'll read what he says is that there seems to be a lot of evidence for both approaches, but the two sides don't address each other. Okay. So are they separate? Do they? Do they not relate? And it is my personal belief I wanted to address this live because I think it's extremely valuable. I think that they absolutely overlap. And I think that there is a cause of back pain that is psychological and emotional. And I think Doctor John Sarno is right. That tension causes back pain and emotional, you know, different mindsets, different psychological states of being cause tension. I believe that there is a mind body connection and that thoughts that you have and emotions that you feel in your mind have a physical effect on the body. And I would hope that most people believe that. So there is a connection, and that connection can cause back pain. And also I think that back pain can be caused by physical causes. And I, I would hope that Doctor John Sarno would agree with that, because we all know people who have been in a car accident, and that's when their back pain started. And you could argue that the ongoing persistent back pain might be continuing because of mental causes. But I believe that there are other physical causes beyond an acute trauma, such as a car accident. I believe that posture and muscle imbalances. What I teach in the master class can lead to joints being out of alignment. And so if if joints are out of alignment, if they're not congruent with each other and they're moving, that causes friction. And that's the basis for the degeneration. And so I believe that like I said, both can contribute. And I believe that in some cases people will have both impacts simultaneously. So maybe the back pain started with a car accident or started after years of muscle imbalances and poor posture. But that back pain has caused some emotional situations that make it harder to get out of back pain. And the emotional and psychological state of mind could be causing the back pain to be ongoing. And the reverse can also be true. I think that emotional and psychological states of mind can be the original cause of back pain, and maybe if it goes on long enough that those problems can become physical, and that the muscles have been starving of oxygen for so long that they're not working properly, and that can cause dysfunction in the way we move. It changes the way you move in your level of confidence. It can cause fear in the way you move, and that itself can become a self-perpetuating cycle and cause physical damage. And so that's how I would like to approach this. This question is do they overlap? Absolutely. Is Doctor John Sarno right? Is all back pain emotional and psychological. And so whatever you do physically won't affect it. I don't agree with that. I don't think he is saying that. I think in his book he's saying that a large percentage of cases of back pain might be this way, and maybe it's possible that his estimate for the amount of back pain cases that are purely emotional and psychological might be a little larger than what I would believe. But I do believe that some are emotional, and I think that some are purely physical. But I don't think his solution is the end all, be all. And I don't think only treating the physical is the end all be all. I think maybe in a lot of cases you need to address both. And so the question is how to do that. Well the physical is spelled out in my program. So my answer to how to address the physical Is it would take me hours. It would take me weeks to to answer that. But as I said in the beginning of the stream, I believe a lot of it has to do with making your core more part of your daily life and reactivating it, and just having an awareness that that's what supports your spine in your movement. I think that our lifestyle back pain cases are generally going up. I think it would be like this for you guys. So generally the numbers of back pain, the percentage of people experiencing back pain is going up. And I believe that is related to lifestyle. The amount that we spend sitting, the amount of time that we spend at a computer or in front of a screen, and also, you know, mental illnesses on the climb as well for many different reasons. So you could argue that that could be another reason why back pain numbers are going up. So at the end of the day, I believe that both should be addressed. I'm not a specialist in psychology or, you know, addressing emotional pain, but I do believe that it's healthy to express your emotions, even if they're negative. And I believe that holding things in and bottling things up can lead to a physical manifestation of emotions. And so that's exactly what Doctor John Sarno is saying, is that it's a physical manifestation of emotional energy, because it's not being let out through communication or emotional expression. So it needs to be let out somehow. And that's how it basically transmutes into a physical symptom, which is tension, muscle tension. So that's the extent of where I would go. Not being a professional. And I think that that's not the only solution in most cases of back pain. And it's good to be aware of. So the book is I still recommend it because it's a valuable awareness to have. And having had thousands of conversations with real humans in back pain and seeing hundreds of of imaging that there is a physical component in the majority of cases of back pain. And that's why in my journey, I was not trying to reach this destination of where I'm at now. I was on a journey looking for answers, and my answers ended up being this. And so that's why this program is more physically focused and it has been highly successful in helping people. So thanks again for your email, Adam, and for bringing this up. I think it's an important topic for people to just be aware of and that there is a mind body connection, and maybe that doing some emotional healing could help speed along anyone's journey out of back pain. Let's get into some student questions. So this is from Kaylee in I believe she's talking about the Perfect bridge, the main exercise that we learn in the first week. Okay, so Kaylee says with the bridge I lose the abdominal connection if I go higher in a bridge. I also think this bed I have, she's renting a furnished place is some kind of memory foam, or Tempur-Pedic is causing a lot more issues. I wake up feeling like I got hit by a bus sometimes, so I want to do address that. And then the paragraph below is a separate comment in a separate lesson. So we'll talk about that next. But this one here is kind of two different things. First of all, feeling like you got hit by a bus when you wake up is no way to start the day. So I'm sorry to hear that, Kelly. I would definitely look into other options for a mattress. Mattresses can have that effect, so if it's way too soft for you, that could make your body really sore when you wake up. And if you can borrow a mattress or sleep on the floor, you might feel a lot better waking up, you know, or even just a sleeping pad, like just find some other form of a pad, or maybe a blow up mattress or something so that you don't have to start your day like that. Yes, a mattress can have that effect. Firmer is generally better, especially if you sleep on your back. The firmer the better. If you sleep on your side. You can go a little softer, and that's a little better for your shoulder that you're sleeping on whichever side. And then the first sentence you lose abdominal connection if you go higher in the bridge. That is very common, Kaylee. And that's actually one of the things that you are working on, progressing as one of the goals is to be able to maintain connection and be able to come up higher in the bridge. That is a sign of progress, and you're trying to make that progress over a period of days or even weeks. And so the fact that you can't do that now is not a bad thing. It's just where you're at now. And your goal is to get better, and it doesn't happen overnight. You can make a little bit of progress each day, but your goal is in the big picture to make progress over, you know, a longer period of time and that kind of progress, that slow progress is the way it happens. And so it's okay where you're at now, and I just encourage you to continue practicing and have that long term big picture mindset that it's going to take days, if not weeks, to be able to maintain connection and come up into full bridge. Okay, so Kaylee, in a separate comment, I remember she posted this in the module one assessment. So at the very end of module one it says I am able to activate the core muscles when I sit and breathe and when I lay down before a bridge. Okay, great. It takes a ton of effort to maintain in a bridge. I found it helpful when I let go and re-engage them while in a bridge, but again, I'm not lasting super long and I feel a ton of tension in my neck and upper body. I lose some core connection in a bridge unless I really, really concentrate or let go and re-engage. My sides are sore too, and I feel tight and so do my hips. The concept I struggle most is the push away most with is the push away. Okay, Kaylee, so it's kind of similar to what I was saying before. I think where you're at is I wouldn't have put the pressure on yourself or have the expectations that you should be able to come up into full bridge and maintain connection. The best thing that you can do is work where you're at and try to make incremental amounts of progress over time, and that's the best possible thing you can do. There are no better thing you can do, making a massive amount of progress in a short period of time for the body is extremely challenging. The body doesn't like rapid change and so be okay. That where you're at now is okay and is normal and and so to maybe just turn down the intensity a little bit on your training. And I don't recommend having to try as hard as you can to do this stuff. In the beginning this is more meditative and tuning in and mental mind body connection, being able to feel your body. And I actually want to give you credit for the amount of body awareness that you are showing in your comments. I think it's impressive that you're aware when you lose connection and just the amount of description about where you're feeling tension and where you're not feeling tension, and so keep that up. That's really helpful for the whole program. So I just wanted to honor you for that. And so I think that's my advice, is take a little pressure off yourself to be able to do this fully and just practice where you're at. Turn down the intensity. Breathe and be able to relax at the same time so that you're not tensing your whole body and causing extra tension in your neck and your shoulders and your upper back. That is a common thing that happened to students when they are trying really hard, because when you try so hard, you're just tense your whole body. And what we're trying to do is hyper focus our attention and our muscle engagement into the core. And so it really helps to just turn things down and operate a little bit of a lower intensity. There's actually going to be a lesson on that in two days for you if you're on day seven right now. So in a couple of days, you'll get a lesson on turning down the intensity. And that's it seems counterintuitive, but it's going to be a key to making progress in this program. And the soreness you're feeling I would expect is from just tensing so much. So I think your soreness will go down as if you turn down your level of effort and intensity. It's a really common thing is a really common issue students have. And that's why there's an entire lesson dedicated to turning down the intensity. Because it seems wrong. It seems counterintuitive. We want to try harder to accomplish more, but in doing that, it activates all the muscles that we don't want to turn on. And so you'll learn more in the lesson. All right, Guillermo, this is just an update. It sounds like restarting the program on June thirteenth. And that was two days ago. Working on improving breathing and incorporating the back anchor into, uh, back anchor progression. Okay. That's great. Guillermo, I think one of the most beneficial exercises in all of phase one is the back anchor progression. So I'm really glad you chose that one on your own. And you found that one to be where you're at. And so many people can benefit from that. So keep working on that one and prioritize your breathing. Okay, so if you're sacrificing breathing to be able to push away harder to elevate your pelvis more, I want you to reverse that. I want you to prioritize breathing so that you can continually breathe and then add in the abdominal engagement while being able to maintain a fluid level of breathing. And so I know that means slower progress, but it means building the strongest foundation, which is breathing. Breathing is the foundation of the anchors, and the anchors are the foundation of the program. But you have to be able to breathe with the anchors. And so the breathing is the foundation of the foundation. I said that on last week's stream as well, and I feel strongly about that. So prioritize breathing and it may take longer, but you're on a long journey, Guillermo. And I know you had to pause for a little bit and you're just getting back to it. So there's no pressure to be able to progress really fast. Uh, better off that you just do this right? And, uh, yeah. Like I said, I'm really glad you're on the back of progression, and you're really focused on your breathing and you're aware that that's something that's a factor. So keep doing that and be patient with the progress because it will absolutely come. That reminds me that Kaylee had mentioned in her question the push away when I said push away to you, Guillermo. So she says the concept I struggle with most is the push away. Kaylee, I'm going to be answering a question about the push away later on. All right. So next question is from Jack. This is a question about the typewriter squat. And he says this is similar to horse stance. Correct. I feel some imbalance between right and left. Should I focus on shifting to the weak side until balanced? Absolutely Jack, you are right about that. So to answer your second question there, whenever there's an imbalance between left and right, and this is later in the program. I believe Typewriter Squad is phase three. So he's pretty far along in the program. He's in the third month, and in phase three we address left to right imbalances. I'm going to talk more about this in a later question. But we before we can address left to right imbalances we address front to back imbalances. And it must be that way. And so now he's made it through. He's gotten sagittal plane balance. And we're working on left to right imbalances. And and any time Jack that you feel one side weaker than the other then you should work on the weak side and try and bring that up so that it's balanced with the strong side. And the goal is to strive for balance. So so yes to that. And this is common actually with the typewriter squat. So even myself, I can feel a slight difference between left and right. And so I just wanted to let you know that it's actually pretty common. I know that you are a physical therapist, Jack. So basically Jack, it's not the same as horse stance. The only similarity is really that it's a wide stance, and that you drop down low in the stance, you drop your butt down low. But the effect of the two exercises is quite different, because what we're doing with the typewriter squat is we're training. And in everything in core balance training, you're staying connected to your anchor. So we're really training the core to stay stable while being able to rotate in the hips. So one hip is doing a little bit of internal rotation and the other hip is doing a little external rotation as you typewriter. Over to one side. And if you're not this far out in the program and you're watching this, the typewriter squat is shifting from one side to the other with your hips. And the emphasis jack is really on the butt and the hips shifting over. So it's not the knees that we're shifting. And so if you watch, I haven't seen you doing it, but if you watch the video again in the lesson, I'm really just trying to get my butt over my heel on one side and then back to the other side. And I do see one of the most common errors with that exercise is people are shifting more. Their entire legs and the knees go with them. And so just a reminder of that. So yeah, not really the same. But yeah there's just the wide stance and dropping low is the similarity. And then the movement of the typewriter squat is kind of like in addition to the horse stance, the most similar thing to the Typewriter Squad is called a classic squat is really similar is almost the same thing. You can look that up if you want. So next question. This is actually not from a student. This is from a prospective student. So somebody that's curious about the program emailed and said I've had three back surgeries, no fusions. I suffer from a neuropathy type from neuropathy type symptoms across my buttock, also from the bottom of my feet, up to my knees. Do you think your system would improve these conditions? I absolutely believe that the program helps people who have had a history of back surgery. I think that people who go into the surgery see it as a solution, and I don't see back surgery as a solution. I see back surgery as the correction or removal of a serious problem. So if you haven't had a fusion, I'm guessing your back surgeries might be microdiscectomy where they cut out a piece of your disc that might be pressing on the nerve, and so the removal of that part of the disc pressing on the nerve is a fantastic thing, because it can help you function. But the real solution has to still happen after the surgery, because whatever it was that caused that problem in the first place, the disc to or whatever the problem was that the surgery corrected, that problem is still there. The root of the problem. And so whether someone has had back surgery or not, the program will help. But I believe that the program is really particularly helpful for people who've had a history of back surgery, because the program is more effective for severe Year back conditions. And I say that because it's had more success with people like that because of where they're coming from. The program is very gentle and it starts gentle, and so it attracts people that are not able to do a lot with their bodies, and it doesn't really attract highly athletic people very often because it starts it's maybe it's like too boring or too slow for extremely fit people. But we do have that, our fair share of those people. But it does certainly do attract more people with more of a severe condition. And a lot of those people have had back surgery. So it's an excellent post op program, like right after back surgery, or even if it's just in the distant past, what the program does is it helps you to build up the deep spinal support muscles, the deep core stabilizers. To support your spine so that they act like a back brace. And without wearing a back brace. And it starts off very low intensity. And it gradually builds up over a period of, you know, if you go through the whole program. It's about twelve weeks. And so we do get to higher intensity things like what I was just talking about before the typewriter squat. But yeah. And with the neuropathy stuff, it'll just depend on how long that's been going on. If it's been going on for ten years, maybe we can curb it from continuing to get worse and maybe you can have some improvement, but it's not as likely to improve as for someone who. The neuropathy has only been going on for a few weeks. So that's the truth. And so that's the only factor, is the amount of time that the neuropathy has been going on. But either way, if it's been going on for ten years, you know, a solution, a real solution can help it to prevent it from getting worse and maybe have a little bit of improvement. So just wanted to let you know that. Thank you for your question, Mike, and I hope that helps. Next question is from a student. So this one's from Marcy. Marcy says, my physical therapist told me your butt should be beneath you, not behind you. I like that. I've never heard that. But, yeah, I mean, it makes sense. I believe this is in line with what we are learning here. Correct. I walked five miles today and could feel it in hip flexors, since I was conscious of my front and back anchors. I'm wondering if the anterior pelvic tilt can eventually cause medial knee problems. My knees are feeling better since I started the program. Thank you for all you are doing. Marcy. Marcy, you're not the first person. And you probably won't be the last person to tell me that your knees got better from doing a back pain program, doing core balance training, particularly core balance training, and absolutely, one hundred percent, you know, the tilt of the pelvis is a result of muscle imbalances. The muscles are what pull it into the tilt. And those same muscles, some of them attach directly to the knee and have a direct, not even indirect, but like direct impact on the alignment and function of the knee. And so I'm not surprised, and I'm very happy to hear that your knees are feeling better. And yes, this is very interrelated, so keep at it. You're doing great. I know you've been really active student and so proud of you for that and keep going. Uh, let's talk about the top one. So your butt should be beneath you, not behind you. I like that. Partly because it's funny and also because it's addressing the anterior pelvic tilt that we address in the program. So an anteriorly tilted pelvis would mean that the butt is more, you know, stinkbug sticking back like that. But I don't think it's the full story because, you know, a lot of people what they would do to get there, but underneath them is to squeeze their glutes. And you can't function in life with your glutes squeezed all the time. You can't walk with your butt squeezed just to get it underneath you. And so the full story is that, yes, your pelvis should be in neutral. But it's not just your butt, it's your core and all the surrounding muscles. If you, you know, imagine the visuals in the master class where the muscles are pulling the pelvis. It's lots of muscles on all sides of the pelvis that are pulling it, and so all those muscles being in balance is what keep your pelvis in a neutral position, not just your butt. So but I do like it and I do agree with it. And it's funny too. And nice job walking five miles. That is awesome. I, as you know, fully support walking and everybody to walk more. And it's hard to do because it takes time, but that's something to really be proud of. So keep at it. And if your hip flexors are firing too much when you're walking, just turn it down a little bit, relax a little bit and see if you could just incorporate the anchors a little more fluidly into your walking, rather than holding and gripping the anchors. So hope that helps. Let's get to one from Heidi. Heidi says I went for a walk today. Good job. Heidi. We've got a theme here going. Walking is good and Heidi is another great active student. So she says, which is normal practice for me. I try to do a three mile walk. We have a great trail to use on our property, so I really tried to apply the anchor triad. It certainly helped. I'm assuming I would apply the same principle when I'm going uphill. I try not to lean too much forward as that can dump into my lower back. Try to use my quads and glutes a bit more. So, Heidi, I know that. So you asked this question about how we should apply the anchors going uphill. And then the very next day the lesson was on walking uphill and downhill with the core anchors. So I know you already got your question answered, but I just wanted to address this. And I know you did that lesson because you posted in the lesson that it made a lot of sense to you, and I hope it worked for you. In practice, I just wanted to say that leaning forward is going to dump into your lower back. And so the healthy thing that we want to do is the hip hinge. And so that's what that walking uphill lesson is all about. We're going to hinge instead of lean, you know, with causing some ending in the spine. And so that's a lot less stress on the back. And so yeah I hope you already got your question answered in the lesson. Chris says, Doctor Ryan, your program has really helped me become more connected with my body, specifically noticing muscle imbalances. I've noticed that I have slightly more muscle in my left leg compared to my right, specifically in my quads. What are your thoughts about strength training to address the imbalance? This is a really good question and super relevant, Chris. So this is something that I've dealt with in the past. It was my right quad that was bigger than my left. Um, I had a traumatic injury to my left quad in the form of a gunshot wound, which we can talk about more in another stream. But my left quad was always, always smaller than my right, and it caused problems. It had an impact on my pelvic positioning and everything. So you do want to try and even out the strength in those two sides, the left and the right. And so that is something that we do in phase three of the program. We start to address left right imbalances. I think we actually start at the end of phase two. Module eight is where we really start I think. Can't be sure about that. But I think it's where we start doing addressing left to right imbalances. And we're going to get into some like the typewriter squat, which was an earlier question really addresses that well. And one of the most effective things that you can do, Chris, that is not in the program at all. It's too advanced, is a single leg squat. And I wouldn't just start out doing that. And I don't know about your fitness level, but one of the things I did for my training to correct that imbalance was I started out sitting in a chair, and it can be a high chair or a tall stool and just standing up from the chair on one leg, so it's like a single leg sit to stand squat. So you have the chair there as kind of a safety net, and you can start training that weak side up. And the strength, it comes fast. And you know, if you keep training on a single leg squat and stay connected to your core. Of course, throughout that's a prerequisite, and you keep progressing and lowering the height of the chair. Eventually you can do a full single leg squat, and it's pretty awesome. I can't do one right now, but, um, not too long ago I could do one. And if I were to start training that right now, I could probably do it again not too long from now. So that's one good way to do that. You know, left right imbalances are best trained doing unilateral exercise. So that means not bilateral as symmetrical. Unilateral would be doing something different on one side versus the other. And so we do the single leg bridge in the program. We do the single leg RDL Romanian deadlift or I call it running men. And so all of these are going to be training the left to right imbalances. I'm going to want you to pay attention, just like you already are, to the differences in strength between the left and the right, and train the weak side more. But yeah, one way to really jump ahead with that kind of strength building in your quads is the single leg squat, for sure. And I don't know if your fitness level is appropriate for that, but if it is, I'd try it. And if not, then you can do regressions of it. Using chairs a tall chair is a good thing to start off on. And thank you for the kind words, Chris. I really appreciate that. And you know your comment above, that means a lot. And the gratitude that students show really mean a lot to me. So thank you. Okay. I think we're getting into the last question here and then we'll wrap things up. So the last one is from Jimmy. It says when we are doing the front anchor. And I mentioned to Kaylee before that this is about the push away. So when we're doing the front anchor and alternating our legs and raising our head, I'm kind of confused when the video says to push away. Does it mean push towards the floor or push away from the floor? That might be confusing what I said, but I struggle when I'm in the position and getting my legs off the floor. Just want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly. And he says thank you. So thank you Jimmy, for asking. It's really good to get clarity on this. The push away is quite confusing. It's the one concept I've had the hardest time communicating what it actually is. And so it's common that people have a little confusion around what does push away mean. There's different ways to conceptualize this in your mind. And so the two different ways that I like to recommend are one pushing the floor away from you. So if I'm laying on the floor and I have my front anchor here connected to the floor, I would be pushing the floor away from my body with my front anchor. And so you're basically trying to get the floor farther away from you. And that could be the push away and sitting too. So I'm sitting and like I'm slouching and then my seat is the floor, or my seat is the surface that I'm pushing away from. I want my seat to be farther away from my body, and my push away points are my sit bones. So the seat is farther away and my posture automatically corrects. I don't have to control how that happens or what muscles I'm using to do it. All those muscles work synergistically together automatically to do the thing, and the thing is to get the seat farther away from me. So that's one way to look at it. Jimmy. And the other way to look at it is that you are pushing yourself away from the floor. So the first one is you're pushing the floor away from you, and the other one is you are pushing yourself away from the floor. And that's really what's happening because the floor doesn't move. So the exact same result happens. But I'm trying to get my body farther away from the floor, and the push away points or push away zones are the areas that I'm using to do the pushing. And I'm not concerned with what muscles I'm using. And it's not an intense thing. It's a very low intensity thing. It's the same level of intensity that a baby or an infant would use to to do it, because that's how they are training their deep core muscles. And a baby or an infant has incredibly strong deep core muscles. Their spine is very supported and they can lift their legs up and their butt up off the floor. And they're using these same push away zones that we use in the program. The program is modeled after natural human development, and a baby's intention is to get up off the floor. That's all they have the most pure intention possible because they are. Their mind is so blank. They have a blank slate coming into this world, and they see these adults walking around and these big people walking around, and they want to copy us. They want to get up off the floor and be like us. And so their arms and legs are not strong to do that. They don't use their arms and legs yet before their arms and legs become strong, they are pushing away from their anchors. And they're not anchors at that point yet. They're just their baby support zones. And that's the bottom of the rib cage in the lower back. And when their baby is doing belly time, it's the bottom of the rib cage in the front or the pubic bone. And they're just trying to look. Maybe they're not even trying to get up yet. They're just trying to look around. This is how we develop. And this is why it's so important that the deep core muscles develop first, and then the arms and legs. And so I know the question was just about the push away. And I'm expanding this way beyond that. But our movement patterns become more arm and leg dominant at some point in our lives. And so the goal is to switch back to how we were meant to be, which was core dominance. And the arms and legs are appendages of this big, strong center, our center of power, our powerhouse. And so that's all we're doing. The questions that people ask are more complicated, and they're complicating what it is and is really just so simple that it's what a baby's doing. We are using our push away zones to push the floor away, or to push ourselves up off the floor, and that's it. And we're not trying to control how that happens or what muscles are doing, what or what their names are or anything like that. So just turn down the intensity. If it's hard getting your legs off the floor, that's okay. It might be something like your hip flexors being really tight and it's not a physically mechanically possible. But we're also addressing the hip flexor length by doing the bridge. And so over time you'll gradually get better at this. Jimmy. And it's okay that if you need to slow down in the program and not move forward because it's going to take a little bit longer. Time to get to where you feel ready to go to the next module. So hopefully that helps. A little mini conclusion would be about the mind body connection. To be aware that there may be emotional or psychological component to back pain, and to reflect on yourself and your current situation in life, um, your relationships with other people or with yourself, and consider ways that you could express emotion and get it out through the form of emotion or communication, and so that it does not have to manifest in a physical way. And maybe that could be a factor for you. I don't know, but I believe it is for some people. I think it has been for me in the past. I remember feeling my back pain get worse when I'm really late for something, and I'm in a rush and I'm all super tense, feeling late and my hip flexors get really tight. And I remember going many times. I remember going, oh yeah, my back pain is a little worse right now, and I didn't do anything except feel stressed out that I'm late. So maybe taking a breath and saying everything's going to be okay or whatever, just having the awareness that there could be a correlation or causation or a contributing factor of the mental emotional side, the mind body connection is real. And, um, that's not maybe not the only solution, that maybe there is also a physical component. And so to address both is the best way to to look at the whole picture from a holistic perspective. So that's the conclusion. Thank you for all the kind words. Thank you for being here. Super grateful to be able to do this and help people for my life and lifestyle. And as you leave the stream and go back to your normal life, whatever you're doing, do something that's good for your body. Go for a walk. Get down on the floor and connect to your core. Or do something that makes you feel happy and reduces your stress because your body does so much for you. So give something back to it and show gratitude to your body by paying it back. Take care and take care of your body too. Bye bye.
