Unlocking Movement: Healing with Mobility Specialist Kim Spencer | ANEW Body Insight Episode 19

In Episode 19 of ANEW Body Insight, we invite you to explore the transformative power of movement with Mobility Specialist Kim Spencer. Kim shares her inspiring journey from a young dancer to a dedicated mobility expert, revealing how her passion for dance has not only shaped her career but also played a vital role in her personal healing.

From her early inspirations as a dancer, Kim discusses how this art form provided a sanctuary for her, allowing her to heal emotional wounds and develop a deeper connection with her body. She delves into the importance of mobility and its role in overall health, emphasizing how embracing movement can lead to greater self-awareness and emotional resilience.

Listeners will gain insights into the techniques and practices that can enhance their mobility, as well as tips for incorporating movement into their daily lives. Whether you're a seasoned dancer or someone looking to improve your physical well-being, this episode is packed with valuable information to inspire you on your wellness journey.

Join us as we uncover the healing benefits of dance and movement, and learn how to cultivate a more fulfilling relationship with your body. Don’t miss out on this enlightening conversation that highlights the intersection of physical health and emotional well-being.

Click the link in our bio to watch and listen, and discover how you can unlock your body’s potential through movement. Subscribe to ANEW Body Insight for more expert insights on health, nutrition, and wellness!

For more about Kim Spencer and her work, follow her on Instagram at @mobilityfocuspilates and visit at https://www.studiofocuspilates.com/ and Facebook at Studio Focus Pilates  (https://www.facebook.com/studiofocuspilates/?ref=br_rs&checkpoint_src=1501092823525282) and LinkedIn at Kimberly Spencer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-spencer-66588416/)  

Thank you for joining us on this journey to wellness. Remember, the insights and advice shared on the ANEW Body Insight Podcast are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine. To learn more about the podcast and stay updated on new episodes, visit ANEW Body Insight Podcast at anew-insight.com. To watch this episode on YouTube, visit @my.anew.insight. Follow us on social media at @my.anew.insight on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads for more updates and insights. Thank you for tuning in! Stay connected with us for more empowering stories and expert guidance. Until next time, stay well and keep evolving with ANEW Body Insight!

Transcript

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Welcome to the ANEW Body Insight podcast,


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empowering and inspiring your journey to optimal health.


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Hosted by Dr. Supatra Tovar, clinical psychologist,


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registered dietitian, fitness expert and author of Deprogram Diet Culture:


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Rethink Your Relationship with Food, Heal Your Mind, and Live a Diet-Free


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Life, and Chantal Donnelly, physical therapist and author of Settled:


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How to Find Calm in a Stress Inducing World.


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Here at City Club Los Angeles, we follow our guests journey to optimal


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health, providing you with the keys to unlock your own wellness path.


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Tune in and evolve with us.


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Hello and welcome


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to the ANEW Body Insight podcast.


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We are at City Club Los Angeles.


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Welcome to I am Chantal Donnelly.


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And I'm Dr. Supatra Tovar.


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We are excited today
because we have mobility and Pilates


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specialist Kim Spencer with us today. Yay!


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Kim is also a really good friend
and I'm going to tell you


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a little bit about her.


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Kimberly Spencer is a dedicated mobility
and Pilates


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instructor
with over 25 years of teaching experience.


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Her lifelong passion for teaching movement
began during her teenage years,


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following her through
a professional dance career and ultimately


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to her certification as a Pilates teacher
under Long Beach Dance Conditioning.


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Kimberly's journey started in a physical
therapy and pilates clinic for


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six years.


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Before establishing her own studio
that focuses on enhancing mobility,


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preventing injury and promoting
strength post recovery.


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And she holds three accreditations.


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I can say that even better accreditations


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as a mobility and strength specialist in
the Functional Range Conditioning system,


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and in addition to her in studio
and online training services,


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she currently provides on site
mobility strength training


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to professional soccer players
from the LA Football Club.


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That sounds like fun and corporations
like Universal Studios.


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That sounds even more fun.


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Her mobility workshops build on these tips
and tools, both from years of training


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and working with such a wide
array of movers and different problems.


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Thank you for being here.


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Kim. Thank you for having me.


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Can you share a little bit?


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We mentioned that you started
in your teenage years


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really having this passion and wanting to


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teach movement.


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Can you tell us a little bit about what
sparked that desire


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and that passion to teach?


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I don't think
I was personally drawn to it.


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It was more like I was pushed into it.


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I was pushed into teaching dance
when I was 16 for a Cal State


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Conservatory that they ran, and it wasn't
really on my radar at the time.


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and then I think I was just
naturally kind of good at it,


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I enjoyed it. it pushed me to think


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a little bit differently
than as a person who's just dancing.


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and then the same thing with Pilates.


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I was just
I had been going there for a few years.


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I started when I was 13.


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So by the time I was 16,
my practice instructor, one day was like,


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get up, and why don't you help her
do her, like, footwork, something.


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And I just stood there like, what?


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She's crazy.


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And then I led her through,
like, footwork series,


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and I changed some springs, and,
I don't know, it just it seems like


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teachers have pushed me into it
versus me being drawn into it.


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Well, yeah.


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Well, I'm really curious what actually got
you into dance in the first place?


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What started you off?


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I the story goes that I was watching
that we were watching


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TV, and Swan
Lake came on when I was five years old,


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and my dad switched the TV because, you
know, he doesn't want to watch Swan Lake.


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And apparently I threw a little tantrum.


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So he put it back to Swan Lake,
and he had to watch the whole rest


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of the ballet after that.


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And so they thought, I wonder if maybe
we should enroll her in ballet class.


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And so they found a


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local studio.


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Wow. And what did it do for you?


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It's dance. Yes.


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Like, throughout my years,
or I mean, it really opened up


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a whole different world
where I could just.


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I think I just could
feel like I could be myself.


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You know, I,


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I didn't have to be something or someone.


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I wasn't like, I could just really


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also hyper focus and be a perfectionist


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and but also kind of escape,


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you know,
what I was going through at the time?


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Yeah.


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Because I had a hard trudge, like,
I had a hard childhood.


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So it really just kind of allowed me
to escape from everything and just


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use my physical with my focus
and my mental focus and my emotional,


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I don't know, it just gave me an outlet
to drive everything through.


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That's so wonderful.


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How did your career transition
then from—


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because you were dancing professionally.


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We'd love to know what company
you were dancing with or companies.


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And then how did that transition to,
you know, getting your certification


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from Long Beach? Oh my gosh. So,


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after high school, like, even


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in high school, I did like little things
with, like postmodern.


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I did a dance professionally postmodern.


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I did a bunch of stuff
when I was in high school.


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And then after high school, I did,


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L.A. classical, did a Taiwan tour.


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So I went on tour with them,
and then I came back and I danced


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for a number of years
in Santa Barbara with State Street Ballet.


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And, excuse me.


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And then ended up going back
to Taiwan again with their tour.


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And then, after that, I got we came back
and I got injured, on stage,


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I had a, like, grade three major


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ankle sprain on stage, limped off.


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and I had the lead, for a ballet.


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And there are only three
people in that entire ballet.


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and it was it was.


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I can't remember what it was called,
but it was about Cupid and I was Cupid,


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and they,
I was desperate to have that part, so,


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I immediately any anytime I got injured
immediately, I wanted to take pilates


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because I knew I could really structure
my workout to keep me, as healthy


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as possible, and to strength train
in order to get myself


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back on stage and,


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I, I ended up not being able to do that
role,


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which was pretty traumatizing
for me at the time


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because it was a it was one of those roles
that was, for me, like done on you.


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The choreography was done on you.


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You also participated
with the choreography. And,


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so that was a really upsetting. But,


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I ended up being asked to again teach.


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So, I was invited to
I wasn't certified at the time,


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but I was invited to teach Pilates,
to group settings.


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right through my injury.


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So it's funny
how I just keep getting pulled into it.


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So that's why I ended up getting certified
because I'm like, okay,


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I think I think it's pretty obvious
that this is my my next path.


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So I keep getting shoved over there,
so why not embrace it?


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Yeah, well,
you were my first instructor ever.


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I remember
she always told me I had a naughty pelvis.


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So I mean, I took that as a good thing.


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But I have.


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No idea what that means.


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What does a naughty pelvis mean, Kim? 


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It's funny, I am I am much different now.


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I probably would teach
you much differently if I,


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the the, teacher that I am
now would probably teach you differently


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and probably not use
some of the same words.


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Although a naughty pelvis,
I liked it! is not necessarily a bad thing.


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She was a little scary.


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I'm going to say she scared me
a little bit because she's very intense. 


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But an amazing instructor. I mean, I care a lot.


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Yes, amazing instructor.


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I think what our audience members
and listeners probably don't know is that


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Supatra and  I met Kim


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because because we were all working
at the same place.


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So we were all working at ATP Physical
Therapy and Pilates in South Pasadena.


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Kim was a pilates instructor and also
worked the front desk office manager.


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Yeah, I did it all.


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You did it all.


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Supatra was a pilates instructor,
and I was working there.


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It was my first job
as a physical therapy student right out of


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school, as physical therapy therapist,
right out of school.


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And we all met. And, here we are.


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Yeah, many years later.


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So you worked there for six years?


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Is there something that you saw that
you experienced, that you learned


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while you were in a physical therapy
clinic and also the Pilates environment


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that you now that you now use?


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Or maybe it influenced you
in your mobility training today?


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I wouldn't say


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in the mobility training that I do.


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I would there's definitely some exercises
and exposure to things that


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I definitely wouldn't have been exposed
to, like vestibular stuff.


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having listening to,


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a surgeon come in and speak about spine,
like, that was all stuff that I would have


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probably never experienced
had I not been in a PT clinic setting.


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But mostly management stuff, like things
that I,


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would utilize to manage a studio
or my own business.


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So things that I would use or things
maybe I would do differently some


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more of that. I think,


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because even though,


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I had been teaching for two years already
before that, no, four years.


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Sorry, two uncertified and two, certified.


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I was still young.


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I was still early in my teaching path.


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So we were young, weren't we?


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We were. We were very.


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We're still. Yeah. It was a long time ago!  We’re still young!


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What are you talking about?


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This was pre children.


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Yeah. Our children are 19.


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Are adults older.


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Can you explain a little bit more
what you meant


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about learning about vestibular,


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aspects and,
the things that you kind of picked up


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that have really informed
what you're doing right now?


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I don't know if it informed it. I, I


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myself recently experienced


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vestibular vestibular episode.


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So I recalled like, oh, yeah, I remembered
I had learned something about that.


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I don't think it affected what I teach or,
what I choose to teach now.


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And that's not a bad thing.


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It's just, it didn't really


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it it doesn't really lend itself
to what I do now. So.


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Yeah. Yeah.


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Well, maybe for the audience,
if you could go into a little bit more


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about exactly what you do now
in that you've set up your own studio.


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Yeah.


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And you're, you know, working a little bit
differently than just strict Pilates.


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Explain what you do. Exactly.


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Okay.


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Where do I start?


00:12:05:14 - 00:12:05:25
yeah.


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So I opened up my own,
and I was just teaching pilates


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you know, just, for.


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I don't even know how many years, in a,


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boutique gym, basically.


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and and how it just wasn't a good fit.


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just everything from, like, the


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your environment affects
to people that come in.


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Right.


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So I have plots tends to generate people


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who are bring people in who are, older


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or looking for, oh, not rehab based,
but me kind of rehab based.


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And I feel like


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people just seem to find me.


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They have like, special needs, like,


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you know, ongoing back pain, ongoing hip
pain, getting ready for a hip replacement.


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Like, I those people find me.


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So, just the environment
wasn't conducive to having these clients.


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And so, thankfully,
we found a home that I could


00:13:05:27 - 00:13:09:24
provide a very isolated space


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that is private
that I can make conducive to having,


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you know, people that these clients
are bringing these clients in. so,


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I think


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it's that was that made a big difference.


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And then,
I mean, I to go into the whole mobility


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thing would like I'd have to start
why even you want me to go


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through the whole, like, so,


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I mobility is very, it's not.


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Yeah. It is very different from Pilates.


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it started because my daughter was, 13,


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and she tore her ACL and meniscus
and had to have major surgery and,


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it was actually after her.


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She went to, like, a regular sort of dance
therapy and,


00:14:01:23 - 00:14:02:23
yeah, that was okay.


00:14:02:23 - 00:14:06:08
But then she ended up
having a second surgery and that is when,


00:14:07:10 - 00:14:10:23
her PT after that we found a different
I wasn't really happy


00:14:10:23 - 00:14:14:19
with, the way that we had found,
she was okay.


00:14:14:26 - 00:14:19:17
She wasn't bad, you know, but an athlete,
especially a young athlete, needs.


00:14:20:13 - 00:14:23:13
They really need a good, good PT.


00:14:23:16 - 00:14:25:19
And so we found this other PT.


00:14:25:19 - 00:14:29:02
And he said one of the first things
he gave her after her


00:14:29:02 - 00:14:30:23
second surgery was knee CARS.


00:14:32:04 - 00:14:33:14
and I was like, knee CARS?


00:14:33:14 - 00:14:35:00
What the heck is knee CARS?


00:14:35:00 - 00:14:40:00
They’re controlled articular rotations
and the idea that the knee


00:14:40:00 - 00:14:43:03
could rotate in isolation
independently of any other part of


00:14:43:03 - 00:14:46:03
the body was just mind boggling to me.


00:14:46:03 - 00:14:50:04
I had never learned that in all the years
of teaching at a PT clinic,


00:14:50:11 - 00:14:56:03
all the years of Pilates and PT based Pilates,
and just the whole idea of the knee


00:14:56:03 - 00:15:00:07
could rotate in isolation,
and then that just started a rabbit


00:15:00:07 - 00:15:06:03
hole of just, well,
what else do is this related to?


00:15:06:03 - 00:15:09:12
And and it just started
my whole journey into that.


00:15:09:20 - 00:15:13:04
And then I couldn't
really focus on anything else


00:15:13:04 - 00:15:14:13
because it made so much sense


00:15:14:13 - 00:15:17:23
to really look at the structures
that that's underneath


00:15:17:23 - 00:15:21:07
everything that I had been working with
or trying to change,


00:15:21:18 - 00:15:27:04
you know, always trying to help
someone be less in pain, function better,


00:15:27:04 - 00:15:30:27
you know, always talking about
biomechanics and stuff like that. And,


00:15:32:01 - 00:15:33:13
this gave


00:15:33:13 - 00:15:37:29
me a whole new perspective
and set of tools


00:15:38:05 - 00:15:42:23
that goes underneath all of what
I was already trying to accomplish.


00:15:42:23 - 00:15:45:23
So it just
it really changed my perspective a lot


00:15:45:24 - 00:15:49:28
on how I teach, on how I view
the body, on words that I choose and,


00:15:51:00 - 00:15:53:10
just everything, everything.


00:15:53:10 - 00:15:56:12
So I don't want to say that, like,


00:15:57:00 - 00:16:00:08
I wouldn't have found
it had my daughter not torn her ACL.


00:16:00:08 - 00:16:00:18
It might.


00:16:00:18 - 00:16:03:18
I feel like
I would have eventually got there, but


00:16:03:29 - 00:16:06:16
it did kick me over there really quickly.


00:16:06:16 - 00:16:10:04
As someone who has worked
one on one with Kim in this,


00:16:10:26 - 00:16:13:06
mobility


00:16:13:06 - 00:16:15:10
practice that she has,


00:16:15:10 - 00:16:19:05
it is very different
from physical therapy.


00:16:19:05 - 00:16:20:15
It's very different from Pilates.


00:16:20:15 - 00:16:23:07
It's really different
from any traditional kind of movement.


00:16:23:07 - 00:16:24:00
It really is.


00:16:25:14 - 00:16:27:27
that I had experienced
and I, and I think that pretty much


00:16:27:27 - 00:16:31:19
anyone would experience and I believe
at some point I called it micro


00:16:31:19 - 00:16:35:13
movements of torture,
I believe, was the terminology.


00:16:35:19 - 00:16:38:26
So if I needed to, explain it
to any of you out there


00:16:38:26 - 00:16:43:26
who are trying to figure out what it is
that a CARS is or any type of,


00:16:43:26 - 00:16:45:16
I'm trying to think of the other terms


00:16:45:16 - 00:16:48:16
that you were using
when we were working together.


00:16:48:29 - 00:16:52:05
I don't know, I use a
I throw a lot out there.


00:16:52:05 - 00:16:53:02
I'm not quite sure.


00:16:53:02 - 00:16:56:29
There's a lot of it's a lot of independent
joint movement,


00:16:57:12 - 00:17:00:28
very isolated, very, specific.


00:17:01:04 - 00:17:04:18
But also I don't want that people
to be discouraged


00:17:04:18 - 00:17:07:20
by those words and think,
oh, I'm not flexible enough.


00:17:07:20 - 00:17:08:05
I'm not,


00:17:09:07 - 00:17:10:12
knowledgeable enough.


00:17:10:12 - 00:17:11:17
I'm not aware enough.


00:17:11:17 - 00:17:17:01
And it I'm teaching people on the spot
like people cashiers.


00:17:17:01 - 00:17:18:01
I just pull them off


00:17:18:01 - 00:17:22:01
and they tell me something that's going
on, and I can give them stuff right


00:17:22:01 - 00:17:25:27
there, then and there without any history
or anything


00:17:26:03 - 00:17:29:17
to alleviate
some of whatever they're feeling.


00:17:30:25 - 00:17:36:22
and I feel like it is very specific and,


00:17:37:25 - 00:17:41:27
again, very isolated
and has a lot of focused intent,


00:17:42:09 - 00:17:44:02
but it's also super accessible.


00:17:44:02 - 00:17:49:04
And I feel like that's
why I, I really love it.


00:17:49:04 - 00:17:51:13
That's why I use it.


00:17:51:13 - 00:17:55:06
and I want to have
people be exposed to it.


00:17:56:01 - 00:17:58:06
of course
there are many, many levels to it.


00:17:58:06 - 00:18:01:02
Right? But, yeah.


00:18:01:02 - 00:18:04:02
So what do you mean?
There are many levels?


00:18:04:05 - 00:18:05:20
Give us an idea of that.


00:18:05:20 - 00:18:09:17
I mean, so you're working on a joint.


00:18:09:17 - 00:18:11:29
You're working joint to joint, so.


00:18:11:29 - 00:18:17:05
Well, we're looking at, say, the spine.


00:18:17:22 - 00:18:21:12
that was other the other thing,
you know, as Pilates people, we talk, we


00:18:21:12 - 00:18:25:07
think that we're talking about and working
and training the spine all the time.


00:18:25:07 - 00:18:28:26
But never once had I experienced segmental


00:18:28:26 - 00:18:31:25
spine work and actually working


00:18:31:27 - 00:18:36:03
very deep at the vertebral level,
or even how to approach that


00:18:36:03 - 00:18:41:06
with a layperson
or even a person who thinks they've been,


00:18:42:09 - 00:18:42:23
working


00:18:42:23 - 00:18:45:23
their spine their entire life
like pilates teachers.


00:18:45:24 - 00:18:49:22
Because I recently taught a, workshop
that was spine based.


00:18:51:01 - 00:18:54:01
So how do I how do I explain it?


00:18:54:06 - 00:18:58:27
There are levels in the sense
that first you just get someone to move,


00:18:59:16 - 00:19:04:09
move independently,
feel what it's like to say, rotate


00:19:04:09 - 00:19:08:15
your let's go back to the knee
or to feel certain part


00:19:08:15 - 00:19:13:08
that your spine isn't one item,
but it is 24 different items.


00:19:13:29 - 00:19:18:07
just getting them used to feeling
that they can move those things.


00:19:18:15 - 00:19:22:14
And then, you know, the, the next level
would be like, well, how do we train that?


00:19:22:22 - 00:19:24:07
What do we need more of?


00:19:24:07 - 00:19:25:23
What are they missing?


00:19:25:23 - 00:19:28:05
How do we train that?


00:19:28:05 - 00:19:30:14
and then being more


00:19:30:14 - 00:19:33:14
intentional intention and.


00:19:34:00 - 00:19:35:19
Intentional. Intentional.


00:19:35:19 - 00:19:36:10
Thank you.


00:19:36:10 - 00:19:38:26
Like what is the word I'm looking for?


00:19:38:26 - 00:19:41:05
intentional about rotating their knee.


00:19:41:05 - 00:19:45:05
So the movement might still be the same,
but maybe there's a different position


00:19:45:05 - 00:19:45:21
that would


00:19:46:24 - 00:19:49:24
target specific parts or,


00:19:51:06 - 00:19:54:05
give them more resistance or,


00:19:55:22 - 00:19:58:06
just them intentionally


00:19:58:06 - 00:20:01:06
adding more attention.


00:20:01:09 - 00:20:03:13
and then, you know,


00:20:03:13 - 00:20:06:06
the the other level would be,


00:20:06:06 - 00:20:08:18
actually training


00:20:08:18 - 00:20:11:18
to just sort of have a knee that,


00:20:12:11 - 00:20:14:26
very unlike Pilates, which is, you know,


00:20:14:26 - 00:20:18:19
keep your knees in line with your hips
in line with your ankles would be okay.


00:20:18:19 - 00:20:23:04
Well, what if I had my knee turned in
and my foot turned out


00:20:23:04 - 00:20:27:07
and I was holding weight
and training that and bending up and down,


00:20:27:07 - 00:20:30:07
which people would be like cringing,
you know,


00:20:30:09 - 00:20:34:12
if you saw someone doing that on, let's
say, the reformer or the Cadillac or,


00:20:34:14 - 00:20:37:14
or even just out in the gym,


00:20:38:16 - 00:20:42:26
but then training that being able to be
that kind of having


00:20:42:26 - 00:20:47:12
that kind of strength in no matter what
you range, you're using or doing.


00:20:47:27 - 00:20:48:22
Well, yeah.


00:20:48:22 - 00:20:51:08
Just kind of making you feel
a little invincible.


00:20:51:08 - 00:20:53:01
In all transparency.


00:20:53:01 - 00:20:55:14
I never made it past level one with Kim.


00:20:58:01 - 00:21:02:01
Sometimes a lot of times level
one is very, very hard,


00:21:02:01 - 00:21:06:26
especially if there's I have chronic pain
people and neuro people and it's it's.


00:21:07:13 - 00:21:12:16
I'm a movement specialist myself
and I still this was so different for me.


00:21:12:24 - 00:21:15:10
And we were working on spine articulation.


00:21:15:10 - 00:21:18:01
And as a Pilates person,
I'm Pilates certified.


00:21:18:01 - 00:21:19:24
We do spine articulation all the time.


00:21:19:24 - 00:21:22:23
This is on a whole other.


00:21:22:23 - 00:21:25:08
I think that's
when you broke out the micro.


00:21:25:08 - 00:21:26:28
Micro movements of torture. Yes.


00:21:26:28 - 00:21:29:26
That's when I think. That's
when I said that word. Came out. Yes.


00:21:29:26 - 00:21:32:10
I was not happy with you. Yes. Yeah.


00:21:32:10 - 00:21:36:16
I think if people are confused
at what it might look like,


00:21:36:20 - 00:21:40:08
your Instagram,
I think you put a lot of that stuff on.


00:21:40:11 - 00:21:42:00
I try to tell you.


00:21:42:00 - 00:21:46:10
Yeah, give your Instagram, handle
so people can know it's.


00:21:46:16 - 00:21:48:14
@mobilityfocuspilates.


00:21:49:24 - 00:21:52:28
and just describe some of the stuff
that you put on there.


00:21:52:29 - 00:21:53:25
I think it's.


00:21:53:25 - 00:21:56:04
Fascinating. I put,
oh my gosh, I don't know.


00:21:56:04 - 00:21:57:23
I put everything out there.


00:21:57:23 - 00:22:00:23
I try to give people options.


00:22:01:16 - 00:22:05:07
trying to kind of lay out
those different levels.


00:22:06:20 - 00:22:09:08
You know, a lot of these Instagram
marketing people


00:22:09:08 - 00:22:11:09
say why you got a niche down.


00:22:11:09 - 00:22:13:06
And I'm like, but I can help.


00:22:13:06 - 00:22:15:23
So many people.


00:22:15:23 - 00:22:19:21
you know, I help everyday people,
but I also help Pilates


00:22:19:21 - 00:22:23:19
teachers understand that
it doesn't have to be super complicated.


00:22:23:19 - 00:22:26:19
Like you,
you can teach a little bit of this,


00:22:28:04 - 00:22:29:19
joint focused movement.


00:22:29:19 - 00:22:33:06
You can integrate it
or you can experiment with yourself.


00:22:33:06 - 00:22:37:13
Here are some options,
like for the knee for the ankle okay.


00:22:37:21 - 00:22:38:26
Instead of just the


00:22:38:26 - 00:22:42:20
toe curls with the towel
like let's move them independently. And


00:22:44:04 - 00:22:45:08
I just feel like


00:22:45:08 - 00:22:50:04
just trying to lay options out,
but also lay out options like that.


00:22:50:04 - 00:22:53:22
It doesn't have to for Pilates
people, doesn't have to be boring.


00:22:54:14 - 00:22:56:27
Like it can be creative if you want to,


00:22:56:27 - 00:22:59:27
but still joint specific,


00:23:00:12 - 00:23:02:13
instead of just creative to be creative,


00:23:02:13 - 00:23:06:09
which I'm all for, or creative
just to strengthen.


00:23:06:09 - 00:23:07:11
I'm all for that.


00:23:07:11 - 00:23:11:05
But I like to really show
that it can be creative,


00:23:11:19 - 00:23:15:06
or it can be strengthening
and it can still be joint focused.


00:23:16:14 - 00:23:17:16
yeah.


00:23:17:16 - 00:23:21:17
You had mentioned, your daughter's injury
doing gymnastics, and I know both of your


00:23:21:17 - 00:23:26:24
children were in competitive gymnastics
when they were teenagers and younger.


00:23:27:10 - 00:23:31:02
yeah, basically up until 12 or 13,
they were very high level.


00:23:31:12 - 00:23:32:06
Yeah.


00:23:32:06 - 00:23:35:06
Was there any experience,


00:23:35:20 - 00:23:39:08
or just being around the injuries
that you see with gymnastics,


00:23:39:08 - 00:23:44:25
did that guide you in any way
towards what you're doing now that,


00:23:48:04 - 00:23:49:13
I mean, I was


00:23:49:13 - 00:23:53:12
always very interested on the choices


00:23:53:21 - 00:23:59:01
that they would do, for exercises.


00:23:59:01 - 00:24:02:07
I was always very, interested in that.


00:24:02:07 - 00:24:04:10
But again, it was never joint specific.


00:24:04:10 - 00:24:08:29
So not that any of the exercises
that they were given or that they would


00:24:08:29 - 00:24:13:00
do were necessarily bad, especially
because my kids were in and out of


00:24:13:24 - 00:24:16:24
or we had them working with trainers.


00:24:18:19 - 00:24:20:17
and, and none of it was ever


00:24:20:17 - 00:24:23:17
joint specific,
but I didn't know it at the time.


00:24:23:18 - 00:24:24:00
Right.


00:24:24:00 - 00:24:27:17
I was just thinking
more biomechanically sound,


00:24:27:17 - 00:24:30:17
which is not something I actually use now.


00:24:30:21 - 00:24:33:21
but I was thinking more of that,


00:24:34:15 - 00:24:35:12
direction.


00:24:35:12 - 00:24:38:16
And with gymnastics,
if you're not articulating the joints


00:24:38:16 - 00:24:42:05
the way that you
so should, you're hinging on one joint.


00:24:42:05 - 00:24:43:19
And that's how the injury occurs.


00:24:43:19 - 00:24:45:27
Am I getting that right? Well,


00:24:47:15 - 00:24:50:01
yeah. So,


00:24:50:01 - 00:24:53:01
yes, in the sense that,


00:24:53:27 - 00:24:56:27
there I don't even know where to start
with that one.


00:24:58:14 - 00:25:00:26
So stumped you. Yes.


00:25:00:26 - 00:25:02:03
Okay.


00:25:02:03 - 00:25:04:04
So yes and no.


00:25:04:04 - 00:25:06:13
Right. So,


00:25:06:13 - 00:25:10:08
I think actually gymnasts
probably are like.


00:25:10:08 - 00:25:11:25
Closer.


00:25:11:25 - 00:25:15:03
In the sense that they do get
a lot more rotational stuff.


00:25:16:16 - 00:25:18:20
but, yeah.


00:25:18:20 - 00:25:22:12
So typically exercises,
traditional exercises


00:25:22:12 - 00:25:27:05
or even like gymnastics or gym—pilates
even very linear, right


00:25:27:05 - 00:25:30:07
forward, back in and out,
even if you like.


00:25:30:10 - 00:25:34:09
You know, I we did the whole PT segment
where, you know, lunge forward,


00:25:34:09 - 00:25:36:10
you lunge diagonal, you lunge side.


00:25:36:10 - 00:25:38:25
But it's still very linear
if you think about it.


00:25:38:25 - 00:25:42:26
It's never rotate the knee
and lunge forward that way.


00:25:42:26 - 00:25:47:02
So which again people might cringe,
but like what if you can train


00:25:47:02 - 00:25:48:29
that need to be strong in that range?


00:25:48:29 - 00:25:53:04
Or recently I've been posting a lot of
ankles where I'm rolled out on my ankles.


00:25:53:26 - 00:25:57:21
and I'm working with dancers at universal,
and they're freaked out by that.


00:25:57:21 - 00:26:01:21
And I tell them, I say, but you,
how many sprains have you had?


00:26:01:21 - 00:26:03:17
Oh, I've had multiple.


00:26:03:17 - 00:26:07:04
Well, if you trained your ankles
to be strong in that range,


00:26:07:04 - 00:26:11:12
there's a strong possibility
that you may never get a real bad sprain


00:26:11:19 - 00:26:14:10
because you've trained your tissue
to tolerate that.


00:26:14:10 - 00:26:18:06
You've trained your tissue to roll,
and it feels it doesn't freak out.


00:26:18:06 - 00:26:22:11
It feels like, oh, well,
I've I've done this like it might be achy.


00:26:22:11 - 00:26:26:26
It might, you know, be a little sore,
but it won't blow up into a grapefruit.


00:26:26:26 - 00:26:28:28
It won't all of a sudden pain.


00:26:28:28 - 00:26:29:10
Right?


00:26:29:10 - 00:26:32:07
Pain, eats away all your range.


00:26:32:07 - 00:26:34:08
It says, no, you hurt me.


00:26:34:08 - 00:26:36:02
I'm going to take all your range out.


00:26:36:02 - 00:26:41:15
And then that creates another whole other
problematic pattern that a dancer has to.


00:26:41:15 - 00:26:43:15
Or a gymnast or athlete.


00:26:43:15 - 00:26:45:28
A mom stepping off a curb, right.


00:26:45:28 - 00:26:51:03
Has to work through,
and if you never one recover those ranges.


00:26:51:15 - 00:26:51:27
Right.


00:26:51:27 - 00:26:57:05
Or two ever train
that faulty, I guess, faulty pattern,


00:26:58:10 - 00:26:59:25
it's always going to be upset


00:26:59:25 - 00:27:02:25
every time you go into that range.


00:27:04:04 - 00:27:06:14
You're
so you're building the body's capacity.


00:27:06:14 - 00:27:09:12
Yeah. Just making it as.


00:27:09:12 - 00:27:10:24
Yes. Tolerant.


00:27:10:24 - 00:27:13:24
Flexible. Resilient. Right.


00:27:14:08 - 00:27:17:08
building up capacity.


00:27:17:20 - 00:27:20:20
especially with athletes,


00:27:21:02 - 00:27:22:05
healthy.


00:27:22:05 - 00:27:23:07
Let me correct that.


00:27:23:07 - 00:27:26:04
Healthy athletes. Right.


00:27:26:04 - 00:27:29:01
But dancers are always, as I say.
externally rotated,


00:27:29:01 - 00:27:32:01
so I'm trying to get them rotate the,


00:27:32:13 - 00:27:36:19
the hip in because you're, you're
spending all that time this way.


00:27:36:22 - 00:27:39:22
Well,
what about all the inner capsule stuff?


00:27:41:09 - 00:27:43:13
you know, each sport


00:27:43:13 - 00:27:47:12
athlete has their own thing.


00:27:47:12 - 00:27:51:09
Right, their own, their history,
their physiology.


00:27:51:16 - 00:27:54:16
Fear. Fear is a huge one.


00:27:54:16 - 00:27:57:26
with chronic pain,
chronic pain people, neuro people,


00:27:57:26 - 00:28:02:11
and even athletes like this dancer
who I've been working with and


00:28:03:16 - 00:28:05:00
she just. She's like


00:28:05:00 - 00:28:08:17
It makes me sick to my stomach
seeing you do that with your ankle.


00:28:09:01 - 00:28:13:12
And I'm like, well, we got to get
you there because you, you need you can't


00:28:14:11 - 00:28:16:13
keep spraining it, right?


00:28:16:13 - 00:28:22:00
You you you you need to build up that
ankle's capacity to tolerate being rolled.


00:28:22:18 - 00:28:22:28
Well.


00:28:22:28 - 00:28:25:22
And if you start with somebody
young enough,


00:28:25:22 - 00:28:28:22
you can really increase their mobility
and their strength,


00:28:29:05 - 00:28:34:02
and their tolerance for, you know,
being kind of out of a, sort of a range.


00:28:34:13 - 00:28:36:16
Yeah, I mean, so that’s amazing.


00:28:36:16 - 00:28:39:22
I mean, yes,
now that I think back, I'm like, oh,


00:28:39:22 - 00:28:43:27
they should have been doing other things
besides those exercises.


00:28:44:08 - 00:28:47:08
It's never that they're I, I


00:28:47:22 - 00:28:53:02
definitely which I feel Pilates
people can tend to do is demonize


00:28:53:13 - 00:28:58:06
certain positions
or quote faulty patterns or


00:28:59:07 - 00:29:02:08
and I don't like to
I've really steered clear of that.


00:29:02:19 - 00:29:05:19
And that has been really freeing,


00:29:05:27 - 00:29:08:21
being able to like,


00:29:08:21 - 00:29:11:21
recognize that all movement is good.


00:29:12:11 - 00:29:16:18
Joint specific movement
will give you the capacity to kind of do


00:29:16:27 - 00:29:18:01
anything awesome.


00:29:19:02 - 00:29:21:16
but definitely it's been freeing


00:29:21:16 - 00:29:26:24
to not demonize, like a bad position
or call it bad or,


00:29:27:25 - 00:29:32:11
you know, I still think things are naughty
in the sense that, like, they're not, my pelvis


00:29:32:26 - 00:29:36:18
you know, like a segment that's naughty.


00:29:36:18 - 00:29:40:17
It doesn't want to move or it's grumpy,
you know, I'll say things like that


00:29:40:17 - 00:29:42:16
still, but, I love it.


00:29:42:16 - 00:29:45:18
Well, we will get naughty in the next


00:29:45:22 - 00:29:46:29
section


00:29:46:29 - 00:29:50:01
of this podcast,
but right now we're out of time.


00:29:50:07 - 00:29:53:07
But we are so thrilled to have


00:29:53:08 - 00:29:56:08
the amazing Kim Spencer here with us.


00:29:56:26 - 00:30:00:21
please join us next week for the second
half of this amazing episode.


00:30:01:17 - 00:30:04:12
and we look forward to seeing you soon.


00:30:04:12 - 00:30:07:12
Thank you so much.


00:30:09:27 - 00:30:13:24
Thanks for tuning into the ANEW Body Insight podcast.


00:30:14:03 - 00:30:17:17
Please remember, the content shared on this podcast is for entertainment


00:30:17:17 - 00:30:20:20
purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice.


00:30:21:01 - 00:30:22:05
You can find us anywhere


00:30:22:05 - 00:30:26:05
podcasts are streaming on YouTube @my.anew.nsight


00:30:26:12 - 00:30:30:19
and at anew-insight.com under the ANEW Body Insight Podcast tap.


00:30:31:01 - 00:30:34:21
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00:30:34:21 - 00:30:36:14
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00:30:36:14 - 00:30:40:20
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