Why Efficient Movement Matters for You and Your Animals #114

Discover why movement efficiency is crucial for humans, horses, and dogs alike. Learn how maladaptive movement patterns create wear and tear, while efficient movement reduces joint damage, increases power, and simply feels better—leading to more vitality and range of motion for all species.

When we develop maladaptive habits of chronically tensing certain muscles, we create a situation where opposing muscle groups must fight against this unnecessary tension. This not only leads to physical damage and restriction but also robs us of power when we need it most.

The episode highlights the transformative benefits of learning to move efficiently: reduced joint damage, greater flexibility, increased power, more youthful movement, and the simple pleasure that comes from moving with ease. Through specific examples, Mary explains how coordinating different body parts takes strain off problem areas like the hips.

This principle applies equally to our animals—helping horses with hock issues or dogs with joint pain by promoting whole-body coordination through gentle, specific hands-on work. 

Whether you're dealing with your own movement limitations or trying to help your animals move more comfortably, this episode offers valuable insights into why movement efficiency should be a priority for all species.

Key Takeaways

• Inefficient movement creates unnecessary wear and tear on joints and muscles
• Chronic muscle tension forces opposing muscles to work harder, causing fatigue and restriction
• Efficient movement feels better, creating a positive feedback loop for continued activity
• Coordinating body parts properly can relieve strain on problem areas like hips
• The same principles apply to horses and dogs—whole-body coordination reduces strain on specific joints
• Efficient movement leads to greater power, flexibility, range of motion, and vitality
• Resources available: Smart Supple Hips Feldenkrais series and Move with Your Horse Foundations program

Resources:

Want freer, more comfortable hips? Check out our Smart, Supple Hips Feldenkrais series. 

Want to improve movement efficiency, comfort, and connection for both you and your horse? 

Check out our Move with Your Horse Foundations group coaching program. 💥 Use coupon code EARLYSTART to get the bonus hips series AND save $200 with early enrollment! 🥳 This is a limited-time offer. 💥

Interested in improving movement efficiency, comfort, and connection for you and your dog? Get Mary’s bestselling, award-winning book, “Grow Young with Your Dog,” for a super low price at: https://tinyurl.com/growyoungwithyourdog. Demonstration videos are included at no extra cost.


All information is for general educational purposes ONLY and does not constitute medical or veterinary advice or professional training advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider if you, your horse, or your dog are unwell or injured.  Always use extreme caution when interacting with horses and dogs.

TRANSCRIPT:

Hi. Have you ever wondered why I go on and on about moving efficiently? Whether that's for you, your horses, your dogs, what's the big deal? Why bother to move more efficiently? Well, I'll tell you why. When we don't move efficiently, which, by the way, is often the case, we create more wear and tear on our bodies. So joints have more damage, muscles get sore and tight, and we, like, literally work against ourselves.

So, for example, when you're not moving efficiently, so when you have what we call maladaptive habits, like you have habits of tensing and tightening certain muscles, and even when they're not. Not being used, it's like we just have this chronic tightening in certain places. Well, then the muscles that work opposite them are having to fight against those muscles that won't let go. So, again, this creates lots of wear and tear, damage, fatigue, soreness, and lots of restriction.

So that's why both on my. On this podcast and in my programs, we really dive into this idea of learning to move in a more efficient way. Another really wonderful thing about moving more efficiently is that it feels so much better. You get pleasure from moving. Like, it just. It feels easy and light, and you feel more confident. It really does affect your emotional state as well. It's like just things become easier.

So I'll give you an example. This morning, I was teaching in my smart supple hips program. And by the way, if you don't know about that, I'll make sure there's a link in the description because so many of us have issues with our hips. And this is a great little series of classes that will really, really help you have more supple hips. The other thing is, I just want to point out real quick, is that if you sign up for my move with your horse foundations program, you get the hip series as a bonus.

So there'll be a link for that as well if you're interested in checking that out. Okay, so in the class I was teaching this morning, I was talking about that, because I was the focus is on improving hips, but yet I was putting so much attention on how the students were moving their spine, their ribs, you know, the pelvis, all these other parts besides the hips. And the reason for that is I was helping them learn how to coordinate their movement in a way that took the strain off their hips.

So the hips then could become freer. They could lose that habit of constantly contracting around their hip, you know, the muscles around their hips, for example, and to get all the parts that could be helpful to work with them. Instead of against them. So it was really fun to see, it's always fun to see how people are improving in the classes and to see the change in their ability to, to tilt their legs.

That's what we were doing today, different ways of tilting the legs and involving different parts. It was really fascinating. And so, so again, I just want to, this is just a quickie episode. I just want to kind of spark a little, a little curiosity in you that when you're moving, when you're walking, when you're running, when you're riding, when you're hiking with your dog, whatever you're doing is to think about where you can let go of unnecessary tension.

And by the way, you can do this also lying on the floor, sitting in a chair or whatever. Just check in every once in a while and see where you can let go of unnecessary tension. And then of course, that's just the very, very basic, that's like the first step from there, and this involves attending the classes, is that then you learn how to coordinate the different parts.

So we think about this with the horses and the dogs as well. And this is what I teach in the hands on work that I teach for horses and dogs. It's, we can use our hands to help our animals coordinate their parts more easily too, so their movement becomes more efficient. Like I'll give you an example with horses. It's very common for horses to have arthritis and different things in their hocks, for example.

And we find that when we help them use their whole body more efficiently. So in other words, there's more swing in the ribs. The individual ribs can move, the sternum can move, the back becomes freer. Well, that means the pelvis can move more easily. Well, now suddenly there isn't as much strain on the hocks. Okay. And again, the same thing works for dogs. It's, we can reduce the, the, the strain on those individual structures like individual joints or particular muscles by inviting more harmonious movement through the body.

And we do this through gentle hands on work with the horses and the dogs. Very specific, very gentle. And then with the humans, I guide you through specific Feldenkrais awareness through movement lessons to help you reduce your tension and coordinate your parts better. So just to wrap up this short episode, yes, there is a really clear, important reason or many reasons actually why movement efficiency is so important.

It's going to help you stay more youthful. Okay. It's going to give you more vitality. You'll have greater flexibility and range of motion. You'll have more power. That's a big one. Because when we're constantly tensing certain muscles, like habitually, then they're not available when we need them. Like they're not available to really contract powerfully when we need them. It's like they're always kind of partially contracted. That's not good.

So in addition to getting sore and tired, you also have less power. And again, this also applies to your animals, to your horses and your dogs. So that's why it's so important. And then again as to recap, it also just feels so much better. So for example, your horse wants to move out because it feels better, right? They're more quote unquote cooperative under saddle because again, if they feel better in their body and then in their mind and also your do, your dog will want to do more because they feel better.

So this is super, super important. And especially as we get older, it gets even more important to make sure that we're moving in a healthy, efficient way. Our movement becomes more balanced and again less wear and tear and we just feel so much better. So that's what I wish for you. Easier movement and a happier life for you, your horses and your dogs. So let me know what you're dealing with.

Maybe there's a particular with yourself or your animal and I'd love to help you out with it. So don't forget, check the links in the description wherever you're listening or watching this to check out the hip series. It's called Smart Supple Hips that I'm offering. And also my if you're a horse person, my move with your Horse Foundations program because you also get the HIPS program as a bonus along with lots of other things.

So thank you so much and I look forward to talking to you again real soon. Bye for now.