FBKTIM: Seeing Bodies: And the Parts Interact to Become a Whole

Overview

From Bodily Knowledge to Intuitive Movement (FBKTIM) is a seven-part live series with physical and yoga therapist Sherry Brourman, built chapter by chapter from her book of the same name. Each session unpacks one chapter, bridging physical therapy, yoga therapy, and pain science into a framework you can bring straight into your own practice, with research assistant Gina moderating.

This session covers Chapter 5: Seeing Bodies: And the Parts Interact to Become a Whole. New to the series? Start with the free introductory session to see how it all connects, or see the full series and register here.

It is highly recommended that you have a copy of the book to accompany this series. You can purchase a copy of the book from Amazon or Singing Dragon, and you can learn more about the book on Sherry's website.

About Chapter 5: Seeing Bodies: And the Parts Interact to Become a Whole

Having the ability to see and understand bodies in motion stretches far beyond their anatomy. In this chapter, anatomy becomes a back-pocket tool for seeing around the edges of structure and into the whole person within their unique personal movement system.

Rather than using bodily shapes or movement patterns as answers, we learn to see them as guideposts. We observe breathing, anatomy in motion, movement habits, transitions, and the relationships between body regions, while considering the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual layers of being that contribute to what we see.

When I watch someone breathe or move, I like to imagine how each of the chapter’s seeing-body lenses may be contributing. A closer look and deeper understanding then validates or invalidates what I imagined and guides me to next steps. By comparing fallback postures, potential template postures, closed-chain, and open-chain postures, patterns may become clearer while remaining individual to the whole human who inhabits them.

Chapter 5 develops a way of seeing that is anatomically informed without allowing anatomy to determine the story.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, participants will be able to:

1. Consider each of the five “seeing-body lenses”—feet and ankles; knees; hips, pelvis, and lumbar spine; thoracic spine, breath, and shoulders; and shoulders, cervical spine, and head—to investigate individual movement patterns and habits.
   
   
2. Use foundational anatomy to recognize bodily shapes as guideposts within a unique movement system.
   
   
3. Observe bodily shapes, breathing patterns, facial expressions, and movement style as contributors to a whole-being body story.
   
   
4. Use presence and mindful listening to challenge initial impressions, release bias and the “need to know.”
   
   
5. Understand breathing patterns as products of whole-body movement patterns and as influencers of bodily shape.
   
   
6. Compare movement patterns across fallback postures, potential template postures, closed-chain postures, and open-chain postures.
   
   
7. Consider biological, psychological, social, and spiritual layers of being as contributors to movement style.

Audience