Here’s a text that one of my students shared in the mentorship group:
” Hey dudes. A quick win on my life-changing sesh (no kidding) just now with Sam. I've been having pain in my upper right QL (low back) attachment for quite some time, and even with some very good improvements overall, I still had pain, so we had to get very specific on a few things.
And when everything came into place, there it was. No pain whatsoever, and even distribution of tension through my whole body (trunk, hips, legs). It was the most satisfying experience I think I've ever had bc it showed me this:
THERE IS NO MAGIC.
I mean it did feel magical, lol, but in reality, no part of it is accidental.
It's simply a process of pulling back the layers to see what (action/motion) was driving what (where the issue was coming from). And when something (my hips/left trunk/left leg) was out of order (either in alignment or role), something else had to pick up the slack. And it was my upper R QL attachment.
I've totally been doing the work too, obsessing over this daily for a month. I've had good progress, but I see now, even more importantly, doing the work helped pull back the veil to see the next/deeper layer ready to be fixed. And when everything came into its right place, there it was. EVERYTHING WORKING TOGETHER TO DRIVE MOTION. And it was amazing. So satisfying”
Now, here’s the thing:
Almost everyone agrees with the fact that “there is no magic.”
But it’s something entirely different to agree with it and do something about it.
I’m saying that because almost everyone I’m having a call with lately is basically lost in doing a bunch of stuff and somehow hoping that things stick. In fact, our discussions go like this:
They tell me they feel/see a certain problem they’re trying to fix.
Then, they explain to me what they did to try and solve the problem.
But when I ask them to explain to me how what they’re doing is supposed to have an impact on their problem… I get no answer.
Basically, this is the equivalent of trying to do magic.
(And this is what I also call “doing random shit.”)
Not criticizing anyone, and I really want to help if I can, but there’s something you must understand:
The Functional Patterns techniques are very good…
But they’re only as good as your capacity to analyze and dissect a problem.
If you do “the techniques” but you’re clueless as to why you’re doing them and can’t fundamentally understand how the human body mechanically works…
Then what you’re doing is almost as wishful thinking as anything else out there, no matter how you want to brand it or spin it.
Before you start raging or criticizing me on that last part I said, do take a moment to really think it through.
I’m not bashing on anyone or anything. I’m just saying what needs to be said.
What will dictate if you get your problems sorted out or not is your capacity to dissect your problems and clearly understand them FIRST… And THEN apply exercises to correct them.
If you’re “executing” but still don’t understand your problems and you feel like this is going nowhere…Then it’s probably because you’re not executing the right things and that it is in fact actually going nowhere.
___________________________________
If you’re stuck trying to do magic and then hoping things stick, I suggest you go have a look at The Mentorship Program. This program is specifically designed to help people think and build a better structure to solve their issues, so this might interest you. Alternatively, I’m also sporadically hosting a workshop called the Problem-Solving Workshop. This workshop is the mental framework that I’ve been using to dissect a problem and efficiently solve it as quickly as possible.