Immediate Back Pain Relief with Functional Patterns

My introduction to Functional Patterns (FP) began from hearing about one of the savants/godfathers of cutting edge body work named Tom Myers on the Daniel Vitalis Podcast. Myers is said to be one of the leading contributors to the current understanding of fascia, he is a notable contributor to why modern anatomy books even have a connective tissue page. 

Myer's school of thought is embodied in his trademarked methodology called Anatomy Trains. The main understanding, as I take it, that makes Anatomy Trains so powerful, is the realization that the direction of muscle fiber has a big influence on the corresponding therapeutic techniques that should be applied to them. While Anatomy Trains is really applied to body work, Functional Patterns takes the foundational understandings- that our structure and movement is dependent upon interweaving fascial continuities that run throughout our bodies- and applies it to movement and physical training. 

My friend, Everett Hoffman, a personal trainer of 5 years, has been transformed by the potent combination of Anatomy Trains and Functional Patterns. Over the last year he’s studied Anatomy Trains and became a certified FP practitioner. He offered to pilot a team based training program with me and my colleagues at Green Gas. He had us correcting posture, and rolling on rubber balls while explaining the tenants of FP so that our experience connected to theory.

Here's a few key takeaways.

1. You sit too much, so your hips are pointing down, causing tension in your lower back. ...SO,  Tuck your butt, and keep your weight on your heels (when standing). My Back pain, evaporated instantly with just this simple lesson.

2. Get on the Ball. Literally, sit on a lacrosse ball on your gluteus medias (that muscle that lives between your front and your back pocket). Just as yoga is a great way to bring your focus onto a single flow or area of tension, this ball practice forces your mind to be intensely aware while focusing your mind on relaxing your areas of tension, releasing the fascial tissue and freeing up your blocked energy to do the things that make you happier and more successful. 

I formerly taught yoga. While it still holds a place in my heart, I found FP to be a more science-based approach to meditative and therapeutic movement. If that sounds interesting, I encourage you to explore more. Even better, reach out to my friend Everett or another FP coach and taste it with your body instead of just your eyes

It took me two minutes of a Functional Pattern training to erase a chronic lower back tension that plagued me for more than 10 years. It took around of week to ingrain the lesson into a habit that made freedom from pain a daily reality.