The School of Greatness - 532 The Power of Movement with Ido Portal

Episode Date: September 4, 2017

"Sometimes undoing is more important than doing." - Ido Portal If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes, video, and more at http://lewishowes.com/532

This is episode number 532 with movement teacher Ido Portal. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Jerry Seinfeld said,

To me, if life boils down to one thing, it's movement. To live is to keep moving. Welcome to a very special episode. an interview with Ido Portal, who is a world-renowned movement teacher who has traveled the world both teaching and studying from a variety of teachers, from osteopaths to manual therapists and medical doctors to professional dancers, yogis, athletes, circus performers, and fighters. He has studied movement from all angles, from nutritional approaches to movement and health, to functional anatomy and physiology, to methodology of the training process, to mental aspects of movement practice, and so much more. His workshops

are wildly popular and he travels the world teaching them as well as training top level athletes like world-class Conor McGregor. And in this interview, we dive in deep. We talk about how he's trained Conor McGregor and what he has over every other athlete. Also, why you must upgrade your passion into an obsession if you want to become one of the best. The importance of being a good student and having an amazing teacher. What it's like training with Conor McGregor and some of the top athletes in the world. Why athletes shouldn't stop practicing their sport when they stop getting paid. The problem with generic working out and so much more. I think you guys are going to love this one. And

before we dive in, I want to give a quick shout out to the fan of the week. This is from Kim in Bethlehem who said, Lewis, I've been listening to your podcast every single day since seeing you during your last appearance on Ellen. Your podcast has created a fire inside of me that has caused me to realize what it is I want and how to trust myself to make it happen. I absolutely love hearing everyone's story and applying their words of wisdom to my own life. It has given me the confidence to move forward in a way that I've never been able to. Thank you. So Kim, thank you so much for your review over on iTunes. And if you want to get a shout out as a review of the week, make sure to leave us a review over on iTunes. Just type in School of Greatness. Movement is the key. If we stop moving, we start slowly dying. This is a powerful one. Make sure to share it with your friends. Tag me on your Instagram

story. Take a screenshot of the podcast app right now, wherever you're listening to it, and at portal.ido, and let us know what you thought about this episode. It's a powerful one. We get into some deep stuff, especially in the 15 to 30 minute mark. And without further ado, let me introduce to you the one, the only Ido Portal. Welcome everyone back to the School of Greatness podcast. Very excited about our guest. Ido Portal is in the house. My man. Very excited. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you very much. Now you are based in Israel, is that right?

Not really. Not really? No. Yeah, I'm moving around. You travel all over the world. Yes. But you have a facility there, is that correct? No, it's not my facility. Really? It's my student's facility, but those students are very close and almost like family and we own and kind of operate facilities all over the world. Okay. That's one of them. All right. Amazing. I just watched the documentary that Brian did from London real about your story and,

you know, kind of this movement that you're creating and that you've been a part of. So it was really fascinating to watch and we'll have it linked up in the show notes. Make sure you guys check this out. Really cool. But you've been doing movement your entire life, right?

You started in Capoeira when you were a teenager and I saw the videos of you, you were like a little ninja doing all the stuff you were doing. And then in the documentary it talks about you traveling the world, seeking movement, learning how to move from different experts all over the world, is that correct? Yes. Who were some of the practices that you practiced in and where did you travel to learn these styles? Originally, it was within martial arts,

just looking for different perspective inside martial arts. And then in Capoeira, kind of more pinpointed, I traveled many, many years to Brazil and brought also teachers from Brazil and learned from them. And then it kind of broadened out into other fields of movement, yoga, somatics, gymnastics, anatomy, physiology, training methodology, nutrition, and on and on and on and on. Yeah, wow.

When did you, why did you get into Capoeira in the first place? What was it about that art or movement style that made you fascinated and wanted to just master it it was kind of a weird thing where i didn't really i wasn't really attracted to it so much really i was kind of dragged there by a friend and i was into the the eastern martial arts and it all this drumming and singing in Portuguese and the weird instruments. It wasn't really my thing. And I went there and did the first lesson. I didn't think I would come back.

But then I came back and tried again, tried again. Little by little, I just fell in love with the whole thing. Originally, it was the acrobatics, which was adding into the martial arts side, which I was already familiar with. And then I stayed because of other things. I came because of certain things, but I stayed because of other things.

What were those other things? Capoeira is very deep um has very deep roots and it touches yeah it touches something inside very connected to tribes and and tribal feeling and belonging and um musicality and certain energy it It has a name in Portuguese. It's called axé. That once it's felt, there is, yeah, it's just a new type of experience

that you keep on seeking a lot. And that was kind of the thing that left me inside Capoeira. What was the greatest lesson you learned about yourself through the art of Capoeira and the training you did? Yeah, I learned many great lessons about community, about my physicality, rhythm, music, which were things that I had inside of me, but I didn't really realize and wasn't exposed to it before.

realize and wasn't exposed to it before and of course I be I am being a teacher and sharing making the cycle complete being a student that learns and a teacher that teaches and it's kind of feeding it feeding both roles feed each other mm-hmm yeah yeah and what were some of the arts that you went and studied you went all over the world, and what were some of those practices? So I started in... Martial arts. Yeah, Chinese martial arts. Started in Hong Kong, type of Kung Fu.

It was just available in my hometown, and trained there from a very young age. And then, yeah, I did karate and judo for a while, and got into some other things, went into capoeira. And then after capoeira, I did boxing. Really? Yeah, I researched some other things. What makes you fascinated with learning about movement

and wanting to continue to grow and master these different modalities and practices and awareness about the body? What makes you so intrigued consistently the question that should be asked is what makes people not realize like we're all living in a body how can you not how can you not like you're living in this temple you have a a physical existence. So how can you ignore it? How can you not have the curiosity to unpack some of that? And how can we not realize that everything that we want is connected to that body?

Like there is no other existence. This Cartesian state of mind is not working. It's not working for us. The existence from the head up, you know, it's over. It's gone. It was a mistake. Yeah. What's more powerful, the mind or the body?

First, the act of separating them by asking the question is already a problem because there is no separation. They are somewhat one. And we keep on discovering that the mind is comprised from the body and the body is comprised from the mind. And there is no isolated existence of each. We keep discovering more pieces in this puzzle. But it's enough already, all that we know, to understand that there is no separation. Yeah.

What do you think is your greatest gift to the world? I don't view myself as a gift to the world. The thing you have to offer to the world. Yeah. I'm a teacher. I have some gifts as a teacher. Not so much as a practitioner. I'm a hard worker and I built myself up and developed skills, but I'm not much of a practitioner.

Yeah. But I'm a good teacher. I've been obsessed with sharing with people. I've been obsessed with unpacking the process and trying to facilitate it and bringing this to people. What's it take to be a great teacher in your mind? The need,

the absolute obsession with sharing, getting the students there, somewhere. the absolute obsession with sharing, getting the students there, somewhere. And that really has to be an obsession. It's not something that you're kind of passionate about. I say sometimes, upgrade your passion to obsession. A lot of people are teaching because life brought them to teach. So they finished a career as practitioners and they just became teachers or coaches.

But it's not really their inclination from the start. I started to teach very, very young. And it was something that was screaming from outside of my DNA. Just teaching, sharing, bringing people there. It's like, how can you not get it? And just be totally involved with helping people understand, get better. Yeah. Do you believe you have to become a master student

before you can become a teacher? Or can you become a great teacher without becoming a master student? No, you don't have to become a master practitioner. You have to be a student. A good student is another skill set that is, by the way, more missing than good teachers. Sometimes I see all these training programs for teachers and a good friend of mine, Martin Kilvady, says we need a student training program, not a teacher's training program. That's more necessary.

How to be a good student is a skill that is rarely displayed. And I've been working with a lot of people over the last 20 plus years. So being a good student helps to become a good teacher. Being a good practitioner also helps, but it's not one-to-one correlation here. How do we become better students?

Yeah, so that's about education. It's about being involved with a community. It's about being taught how to be a student and that's separated from being taught the subject matter for example if I'm teaching movement that's one thing but I also teach people how to be students install the basic communication and ethics and understanding

something that we're very much missing in the age of misinformation. We're kind of information brokers. We move information around. But when was the last time you met someone who told you, like, I've been a student of this person for the last 15 or 20 years.

It's not so common. And I'm kind of, I'm that guy. I've been with my teachers for many many years and and my students um have been with me for years yeah it's something that you you must practice and you must learn from someone it's more common right in martial arts or in some ancient traditions you will see less of this ethics displayed in the world of athletic athletics or team sports but it should be there a boxing coach is not often regarded as a teacher but he must be a teacher actually and should be respected as a teacher sometimes you know some

some eastern martial art master is being given the title of a master, but an old boxing coach is a huge master or a handball coach. There are masters walking around us and they're so humble, they don't even present it as that. Yeah. What would you say is the thing

you're most proud of that you've either learned or mastered what's the thing that maybe you didn't think you're going to be able to conquer that you've conquered or mastered that you're proud of and there is a certain humility that comes with the subject matter and that i'm involved with and the movement it is And that humility is the understanding. That there is no. Mastery of that. There is no. There is just another layer.

Another. Jump in the ladder. Another layer of understanding. An increase in complexity. But there will be no. Mastery whatsoever. And that's why master of movement, a title that sometimes people use with me,

it's like so far from the truth. It's not even funny. So there's no such thing as mastery. It's only a new layer of... There is no mastery of movement, of such a complex subject. It's like mastery of life. So many elements.

And there is no black and white thing there anyways. There is no end to the process. And that's why I chose it also as a lifetime obsession or being involved with it. Because you can't master it. So it's good news, you know? Yeah, yeah. You can always bring on something new. What's the next thing you want to try to get better at

that you haven't, I guess, acquired some type of level of mastery or excellence at it? Is there a new type of modality that you haven't done that you're really looking to step into next? I'm always involved with research all the time. And that's what I mostly do. I research subjects and dive into them. It can be sports or disciplines or ideas within movement,

concepts, challenges. So I've been like, for example, in the last few years, I've done a lot of work in the field of speed, coordination, rhythm, rhythmicality within movement and how um how to attack that how to approach that i've done a lot of work on a relaxation connection and interconnectivity of the body yeah these are just some some subjects i'm still unfolding some of them i've done a lot of work within the martial perspective, fighting, combat. I'm not a fighter, but I have a lot of interest in the movement side of it.

Right, right. You know, I think I first heard about you maybe a year ago, a year and a half ago, from someone talking about them. They were like, I'm doing some type of training. I think they remember there's video lessons online or some type of course maybe someone had where they were talking about you. And that was the first time I heard about you. I think it was some like handstand combinations and some other movements they were working

on and they'd mentioned you. That's the first time I heard about you. I think I saw a video of you shortly after with Conor McGregor. And I was like, oh, that's interesting. I wonder what he's doing with him. And then the more I watched your Instagram, I saw the videos of him working with you on his agility, his coordination, his reaction time,

all the different things you guys are working on. How did that come about? Did he find you? Did you find him? And what's that partnership been like and experience with him? Yeah, Conor has been following me a few years before we met yeah he's some someone gave him a video and he started to started to play with that he was listening to some of the

interviews and he was quoting me using and people kept sending me like hey check out this up-and-coming fighter is mentioning you and before he was really that big yeah yeah yeah way before yeah and I had a look and it looked very interesting and then after a while

I did the London Real interview and there there was some connection through Brian and I was shortly after in Dublin and we met for the first time. Brian made the connection or the introduction? Yeah, he made the introduction. We met shortly after I was in Dublin and there was an opportunity. I went in there and we had a session and it was an immediate click.

Really? What was the first session? What did you do with him the first time? Was it some simple things or what was it? Yeah, it was him and another UFC fighter, Gunnar Nelson, an amazing fighter as well. And we had a session in SPG. They never really did a movement session. And like other people, they thought I would come in there and give them some fitness workout or a training. And we went into a practice.

And it was, I think, yeah, they liked it. Connor especially and also Guni. And we shared some time and I stayed over. And we did some work together. And then we just have been doing that over the last two years and five fights together. Five fights. So you would come to like his training camp for a few days or for the whole time or how would that work? So I'm the weirdo.

I'm the outsider there. I'm not really like… You're not part of the team to come in as like the… Yeah, I'm part of the team, but I'm not i'm not really like you're not part of the team yeah and come in as like the yeah i'm part of the team but i'm not really part of the team it's something that is often kind of misunderstood by the general public um i i'm not a trainer i haven't been a trainer in in a while in a decade so i don't have time really to i can't be there. I have a big business and I have my passions. And so I come in and I sprinkle and attack some ideas with people who are actually willing

to continue to unpack them further when I'm gone. And then I give this potent stimulus and I leave and I let evolution growth happen. Yeah. And it works extremely well with Connor because he's the obsessed type. And once he hears something and it clicks in his head, he will just keep digging at it. And that's what we've been doing. So I've been coming in for a week, 10 days, giving a few sessions within the big schedule and picture.

Sure, sure. Kind of at the beginning of the training camp, and then you'll leave and he'll keep doing the sessions with his coach or whoever else is implementing your teachings, right? Yeah. Right, that's powerful. What's that like working with him? With someone who's as obsessed as you are it

sounds like with digging in i mean it sounds like exactly like you're you've been your whole life what's that like being around someone who's at the top you know he just finished the the mayweather fight um which you were at i'm assuming right yeah i saw a photo with you there and it was unbelievable to watch here i just i watched in the other room and it was amazing to see him you know winning for the first three rounds and be with the greatest of all time until obviously fatigued sit in but he was you know he took a massive risk to take on a new skill without really never doing it before against the best in the world and stayed with him which i thought was fascinating

and i was pulling from the whole time um but what's it like being around that what's it like being around someone who's such a risk taker but also obsessed with his training and a massive personality you know very uh polarizing personality yeah so there is so many layers to it. First, it's a lot of fun. There is a lot of fun involved. It's not stressful or heavy, even in very stressful times. He keeps it fun and light? He keeps it fun and light? He keeps it fun and I keep it fun

and there is a lot of lightness. Things are heavy as it is, but learning to lighten them up and to keep it playful is so important, right? Especially on that high level. As things are already on your shoulders. A lot of pressure. A lot of pressure.

Stakes, yeah. So he keeps it fun, he keeps it light. He keeps it fun, he keeps it light. He tries to go for it, he tries to improve, he tries to listen, to take those things. And then there is like a lot of other things around the media and the lack of time and the stress of so many different factors you're involved with. And this is less my cup of tea. Like, yeah, I'm there to support him.

like yeah i'm i'm i'm there to support him i'm there on a personal level as a friend to support him and as a teacher and someone who shared with him and i also learn a shitload from him from the scenario um yeah so there is all these different layers yeah what's the big lessons you've learned from him he's a unique character right like everybody first what you see is what you get with Connor

like he's he's that guy there is nothing there is nothing play it's not acted or it's not played and at the same time

you don't get to meet that persona on when you are close all the time. It's real. It's part of him.

But there are other parts of him. The martial artist, the student, the friend. So you get to meet other layers. You don't get to meet that personality all the time. But you definitely know that it's there, it's real, it's him. There is no act, there is no script, there is no... Yeah, it just unfolds in real time, in reality. And what is there is what you're going to see.

You can have glimpses of that after a loss. And then you can have glimpses of that after a loss and then you can really see it for me it's you know it's a it's actually an incredibly powerful moment and inspiring moment to hear

Connor talk after a loss and I've been in two losses it's amazing actually when he's got this huge personality, this confidence, ego, whatever you want to call it, this outgoing personality for months leading up to it. Some would have, say, obnoxious at times or whatever they want to say, right?

Or unprofessional or whatever they're saying. But the way he loses is what inspires me about him because he has such respect and humility. And this is part of the game and this, this happens and I'm going to win like a champion, lose like a champion and move forward and working. And that's what I love to see.

Because if he didn't lose, well, I don't know if I would like him as much, but the fact that he's like, has so much respect and for the respect for the person, the sport, the craft, the fans, everything, and his lessons or whatever, or what he learned in that moment, is, for me, inspiring. What would you say is the biggest thing you've learned that he's taught you personally? It's been, what, two, three years now?

Yeah, two years what two three years now or has it been yeah two years two plus years two years what do you think is how have you grown personally from that interaction um yeah there is all this thing about self-belief blah blah blah everybody yeah everybody talks about this and Yeah, he definitely believes. And there is power to it. I don't think it's that fundamental to what Conor is doing and how he's doing it. The same with the trash talk. People give it too much credit. Yeah, he's a good trash talker. And yeah, it can play into people's heads.

But a lot of people who are close by and are like involved, they know that even if he wasn't a trash talker, he would have done similar things, you know, in very similar ways. For me, the warrior side of it is interesting. Like, Conor has that side to him. Like, he looks at difficulty in a different way. And even nowadays when comforts are there, offered and available.

Private flights. Yeah, private flights and all this. But he will still say something like, you know, this is a great facility this is an amazing facility but there is also power in some

you know poor dripping facility and he would all the time kind of reconnect with that and with the past

and with the ability because as fighters you are constantly faced with that and with the past and with the ability because as fighters you are constantly faced with that discomfort you know you know somewhat some 220 pound 100 kilo guy sweating into your eyeballs you know drip drip you know just just this. It's such a raw scenario. And then at the same time, you drive around in Rolls Royce. Right.

Just comfort, this niceness. I actually think there is something very healthy about this combination. Where in other sports, maybe it's easier to lose perspective. You're making so much money. You're getting everything taken care of. First class everywhere. Everyone giving you everything. You don't have to work for it anymore.

So I think this is an inspiring side and something that is powerful and important and how to deal with the altercation with someone wants to kill you on the other side. You know, a loss, what is a loss?

You know, I've said it before, looking from outside, you lose in basketball, it's hard, you lose in basketball. You lose in MMA, somebody, if there was no referee... They could have killed you. Yeah, you would have been dead.

And to move on from that, it's a different thing. And actually, maybe there is no moving on from that. Maybe that's a wound that you'll keep digging into for the rest of your life. And I truly believe there is some angle to that within fighters. You never overcome the losses. It's more patches and

it's a tricky game the self when the self-worth is is connected to fighting and winning in fighting it's very hard to feel self-worth from other things it's so potent. I see it. Retiring is difficult. It's maybe impossible. So hard. Because you get all of your self-worth wrapped around in this sport or this craft, right? And now it's no longer there. Where do you find joy and happiness? I see this with a lot of football players.

When they retire, they go through extreme depression. It doesn't matter how big they were. In the U.S., American football players have committed many suicides within a few years after retirement just because they don't know what to do with the rest of their life. And they were 100,000 screaming fans and now no one cares.

Yeah. To move on from the craft, you're pointing at one thing that's very hard, but here there is another layer. Like first, why would you move on from the craft? That's already a problematic practice. So it means like you play football. Why did you even start to play football?

For money? Wrong reason. So why do you stop when the money stops? Shitty practice. shitty practice well actually shitty environment to conduct yourself in as a practitioner then dancers you dance until you can't make money off of it or you keep dancing until the day you die i was like what's what's the right thing? Martial artist. Okay, you stop fighting, but why would you stop to be a martial artist? It's not a good life practice.

It's not a human practice. It's professional sports. They take it to the extreme. And then what you see afterwards is like some ex-gymnasts becoming a businessman. And stop moving or whatever. Yeah, and stop moving. And then he tries to transform the lessons

that he learned there. But it's very problematic because those lessons were not about craftsmanship. They were about winning. They were about, and winning is a shitty orientation. Right. It's not,

because ultimately in this game we all lose like this game you're going in one direction right now you're moving there on this rotating rock yeah you're moving to death you're gonna lose you're gonna lose everything you're gonna lose everything even yourself you're gonna lose it so how can winning be really you know an orientation to unpack ourselves and to to explore so i think in fighting um the act of like winning losing is is the problematic side and actually the practice the craftsmanship to go into battle And actually the practice, the craftsmanship to go into battle as a practice, to test, to try, to put yourself in front of hardship. That's the good stuff. And I'm trying to kind of be focused on that because I'm less about that side of winning and losing.

Sure. Where do you find your fulfillment and happiness the most? Curiosity, discovery, yeah, demystifying to face a mystery

and to understand something about it and to make it mundane again. Yeah. You know? And that's what I'm passionate about. Do you have any fears?

A lot, yeah. What are the biggest? Fear of everything. Everything that I do is like oriented from fear, you know? Really? Yeah, I did like from young age. I went into capoeira and I started to do acrobatics. I did like from young age, I went into capoeira and I started to do acrobatics. I was very afraid to fall where other acrobats kind of same level next to me.

They had a lot less fear. Everybody got fear, but mine were disproportionately big for my practice. And then like fighting, fear of fighting fear of heights fear of fear of water fear like yeah i'm just like i have a lot of fears really what would you say is the greatest fear if you had to choose one a fear of maybe exposure fear of weak of exposing weakness you know being exposed as a weak person. Really? Yeah.

In what ways? Weak mentally, emotionally, physically? Oh, yeah, just generally, yeah,

weak, incapable, you know, I've worked hard at those things from fear of being exposed in that way and try to improve upon it and yeah why

do you think you're afraid of those things sure it's may related maybe to something in childhood maybe some experiences of some things I'm not sure it was something that was always kind of in me and it's like this fear yeah this fear be careful like you're weaker so don't first hard hide it and second like work hard at it the master it or overcome it or yet to to try to get better at it yeah and be stronger what do you think it's gonna take for you to let go of that fear there is no letting go

like there is yeah over here in Cali there is a lot of there is a lot of like black and white simplifications oversimplifications

there is no letting go you'll never overcome fears like it's you will maybe develop simplifications, oversimplifications. There is no letting go. You'll never overcome fears. You will maybe develop a healthier relationship. The dosages, the how much. Yeah, but less. But it will always be there because if it's not there, something is wrong and you can't operate.

Fear is part of the basic mechanism of how you deal with everything around you. I have a friend who is a stuntman and a rigger in australia and he has questionnaires regularly when he goes to get a job and they ask do you have fear of heights and he is the only one who writes yes and then they're kind of like they come afterwards they take the papers and they ask him like how can you have fear of heights you're you're you're stuntman you're a rigger you work in heights all the time he says yeah and the fact that i'm still here and successful

is because i have fear of heights yeah like i have a certain fear of height um so i think that's that's more honest and bravery and like this courage is really not the absence of fear, but it is the management of fear. It is available because or else what is courageous about it? You know, there is no fear. Just do it. No courage. Yeah. There is no courage then.

You just go. But to master yourself, to, you know, to shit your pants and yet go out there and do things and act. So the doing is the actual bravery here. It's not the feeling of fear. Yeah. What do you think Connor's fear is? Because it seems like he loses with grace. What do you think his fear might be?

what do you think his fear might be? He also manages himself within those perspectives. He also attacks it. He also doesn't want to be exposed. He also wants to, he feels the pit in his stomach, you know, like everyone. And he tries to control it. He talked with me about it many times in a very honest way. It's very powerful to hear

it from from him and not not as a you know superstar but more as a guy who deals with it regularly you know we talked about it in interviews how he used to come in and and um he used to be you know bullied in the street and uh used to feel that pit in the stomach. And he said, I don't want to feel it anymore. How do I deal with it? And then he went to martial art. And he had sparring days, days where you spar. And then he felt it again.

And he said, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Here it is. Now I have a process how to deal with it and then used to go into those sparring days as if they were real you know fights and then the sparring days don't deliver that same fear again so then you go into competition and then it's scary and then it's scary again and then you go beyond it. You go bigger competitors. Yeah. And you keep pushing that envelope and you become courageous by your act.

You know, sometimes I'm baffled by the talk that people just comment, you know, comment online, talk about things. about these people who are, they are doing such, they are attacking their fears so regularly, like how can people even begin to write such words about these people, you know? People, people who don't sit behind a keyboard, you know, and write shit about people, if they meet them behind the keyboard you know and write shit that they about people if they meet them in person you know it's just it's ridiculous the situation is ridiculous there

are no for there are no experts in this forum the forum has become open everybody's an expert so it's like it completely disregarded the act of receiving any feedback from it. Online feedback, talkbacks, comments is done, is gone. I have no use of it. I don't use it. I don't read it. Who are these people? They have nothing.

They have no skin in the game. No skin in the game. No involvement. As Nassim Taleb calls it, skin in the game. No skin in the game. No involvement. As Nassim Taleb calls it, skin in the game. The first thing that you need to have, if you even want to comment or talk about a subject, if you don't. Don't say to me. Something stinks. Like politicians without skin in the game.

They're actually not affected by their acts. Many of their acts, because they're rich, they're out of the game. So there is a problem. And then the game goes rotten. Yeah. Well, what's the question you've always wanted answered that you haven't figured out yet? The question that I always wanted, well, one of those questions is,

what are the fundamentals, the basics of a movement? What are they? No one knows. There are no, there are some ideas. There are some steps I took at it and others over history. But no one really knows.

If somebody presents fundamentals of it, he is a bullshitter. He's not a real practitioner. What are the fundamentals of living a good life? You know, there are articles, the seven things, the five things, the 11 things. Wisdom is not there. There is some instantaneous realizations

and maybe it can help certain people in certain places, but it will also harm them. The oversimplification will also create a problem. But with the attention spans of people, you just keep feeding them that thing because they don't pay attention. It's hard to grasp and they move on.

So there is this snowball of the whole thing. So the fundamentals of a good life, fundamentals of how to live our lives, how to move better, not to box better, not to play handball better, not to play basketball. What are the fundamentals, the basics

that will enable me to control everything to a good level? And that's something that I've been obsessed with over the last decade. For the general human being, let's say in America, who most of the time sits at a desk most of the day, on average, what would you say they should be focusing on, the basics, every single day?

If they had 15 minutes a day to do certain things of movement, and obviously, and they weren't able to come to one of your classes or anything like that, but you just said, okay, here's what you should be focusing on. What would be kind of the basic principles that you would share to anyone listening or watching online? Yeah, the most common question I'm always asked. The real answer is education. So you can do one thing, devote in education,

because this is the only way to even get you in the right direction. You know, like first is like, don't ask me that question. That's the first thing. And it's true. What should I be asking you? Yeah, so actually you have to,

it starts from the realization we live in a body it's done it's given you can't change it you can't change it your existence is within a body that's what we know that's what we have right now okay second question a second thing second realization you're in a body you must. You don't have a choice. I like to move, I don't like... No, it's how well you move. But move, you shall move. Whether it's moving in a chair, breathing, pumping blood,

moving lymph, moving words, moving ideas, moving fingers, moving the spine. So third realization, better learn how to do it well, because it's such a big piece of your life. And it affects the quality of your life. It's the most underrated factor in quality of life nowadays. Movement. Physical movement. It's like, it's money, relationships, good sleep, good food. Those are important things in the right balance.

Too much money, we know that you move away. You have a problem. Too much, too many relationships, it's hard to juggle. There is a problem. There is a certain amount

that each of us should... Can manage. Yeah, can manage and operate with and movement too much movement is also problematic and too little is problematic and what type of movement and so it's like educating yourself about that so that's the real answer but now let's also give something yeah Yeah. Give something physical. So, I've been actually teaching people non-fitness related things, recommendations. First, I don't tell them to work out or to train. Because if you're training with the wrong movements, that's not going to help you either, right?

That's also true, but it's not what I mean. The training idea, the training concept the workout i'm gonna work out now it has a problem it's uh because you are not now in relationship with your body constant 24 7 you're kind of like okay i'm gonna do this three times a week yeah and and that's not actually the redefinition of our physicality the paradigm shift that i'm aspiring to have it's like we are living in this body that's like so within this chair these constraints and within my daily life and my workstation and my relationships and my children and my dog and and the way that i go to to the bank i want to redefine physicality and experience it in a different way so what i what i help people

with i i've been promoting one one is a squat to squat regularly to fold the legs it's just like so simple you have these joints most people they never fold it all the way so they never fold this joint never this joint never this joint yeah so what happens is shit happens yeah you literally literally also like you're gonna have problem with digestive issues because you don't fold this we are we are We have evolved to eliminate in this position, to spend large portions of our day in this position. We have knee problems. We have back problems.

We have ankle problems. We have digestive issues. And some of it is like huge related to it. You think it's because we're not bending and folding? We're not. There is this foldability to the body. You're not working it so you don't use it so you lose it so like sitting in a chair and having my legs in even in 90 degrees

no good like i need to i need to squat i need to bend my legs deep and i need to kneel i need to do all these things and to keep my legs even healthy, functional, just like basic. So this is one thing I started to recommend people years ago. And it made its wings and it became very popular. A lot of people became involved. I got received like thousands and thousands of thank you notes. People pre-surgery that never ended up doing the surgery or just stories of people just like improving

the quality of their lives. Just folding their legs. Yeah, but instead of again recommending like do these squats three times a week. No,

I said no, no, no, no, no. Go down into the squat and just spend time. Five minutes at a time.

Yeah, five minutes is a lot. No, start with 30 seconds. But do it throughout the day. So you start to kind of condition those tissues. And that's, again, not a training concept because it's throughout the day. When you're talking on the phone and when you're waiting for someone.

Every couple hours, just go down for 30 seconds. Every couple of hours. Do it five, 10 times a day, 30 seconds for a month. And what do you think that would do for someone? Yeah, it would do a lot of things, especially it can go to many different directions. It can affect like neck problems that you've had years and it's so far from the neck, of course.

But everything's connected. Yeah, so like we say it a lot, like everything's connected, but we don't really think about it. Like I'm pulling on the shirt here. Every atom on the shirt is affected. You understand? So when I'm squatting, it's everything. Yeah.

And we like to kind of hang on to the current trend. For example, fascia. So yeah, the fascia is affected but everything else neural nerve tissue blood blood vessels you know since you're constricting certain vascularity there you would get adaptation so being in a deep squat for long periods of time would improve the endurance of the legs the clearing really yeah i don't i don't i don't have any research to back it up right besides my own experience yeah my own personal experience and that of my students but it makes sense because you're limiting

you're restricting blood flow so the body must clear the byproducts i've spent up to four hours in the squat four hours in that position. Yeah. Heels to the ground or toes up a little bit? No, no, no. Flat foot. It's hard to be flat foot in that position for me. Yeah, yeah.

It will improve. It will improve. I've done all kinds of experiments and it's definitely not necessary nor healthy. But I've spent up to four hours there. Four hours? Yeah. I went down with 90 kilograms, 200 pounds,

and spent like five minutes there. You're like a ninja, man. No, I'm just obsessed and regular. There is no real gifts involved. It's just hard. Practicing it over and over. Practicing and being curious about where is this going? What does it give me?

Yeah. So that's one thing we can do is to squat for 30 seconds. That's one thing. Every few hours throughout the day. Yeah. And start with like 30 days where you commit. We usually tell people like 30 minutes a day, total time in the squat for 30 days. So it's like potent.

60 times for 30 seconds. Yeah. So it's potent. 30-. So it's like potent. 60 times for 30 seconds. Yeah, yeah. So it's potent. 30-30 squat challenge, we say. And usually people work with like a minute, a minute and a half. But because you have to do 30 minutes,

it's quite intense. But I did it for a reason. I did it for a reason. Because I know after even a week, the changes would baffle most people. Really? Throughout the whole body? Not just the legs, but everything? Yeah, well, it depends on your issues and your condition,

but it baffles people just like because if they are truly, like if you open a timer on your phone, 30 minutes, and every time you go to the squat, you start it and then you stop it and then you have to feel it throughout the day. You don't go to sleep before you do it

and you commit for 30 days, then you will see what it gives you. I'm to feel it throughout the day. You don't go to sleep before you do it. And you commit for 30 days. Then you will see what it gives you. I'm going to try this, Sean. 30 minutes, 30 days. 30 minutes a day. 30 days. 30 days. Yeah, and not in one go, but broken up throughout the day.

Maybe it's a minute, two minutes, whatever you can do. If you need to elevate the heels, put some books below them. And little by little, probably by the end of the challenge, or even after a week, most people will not need any more elevation. Wow. I'm going to try this. What else is something that we can do? Another challenge that I started is hanging, a hanging challenge. And that's another perspective.

It's also very, very common. All of a sudden, it became a trend And I kind of reinitiated this trend. It was always there. Of course, primates always hung. And there is even a doctor who popularized hanging. An orthopedic surgeon here in the US, Dr. Kirsch. He wrote a book. He refused actually to perform shoulder surgeries before his patient were willing to try hanging for a while.

And we're talking about slap tears. We're talking about all kinds of like rotator cuff issues and stuff like this. And hanging is so potent. Really? If enough time is devoted, it would even reshape bone structure. So the acromion shape changes and he writes about

it in his book i i linked into his book a few years ago started this hanging challenge 20 000 people from around the world went went online it became much bigger than that it went everywhere you hear a lot of fitness authorities mention it. Some of them don't even know where it came from. And I hear it like some people who really dislike me and my work, but they kind of recommend it from another perspective. But it's all good as long as it works for people. And that will do huge things for shoulders, elbows, wrists. It would do a lot of stuff for the lower back.

It would do a lot of stuff for ribs lower back. It would do a lot of stuff for ribs, all kinds of issues with the ribs. You just, you take gravity and you tell her, okay, align me. It's so simple. Like just hang, relaxed. And you tell gravity like, okay, forget about the chiropractor.

Chiropractor doesn't know as much as gravity. Like we're living on this earth. So just allowing gravity to do its thing, it's huge. Of course, it's much harder than to squat. Harder to hold. So then we start from seven minutes a day for 30 days. And that's extremely potent. And you start in 30 seconds, 45 seconds.

Some people cannot. If you have unstable shoulders, you have to engage in a different hang, more of an active hang. If you have stable shoulders, you can go more passive. Some people need to start with partial hangs. So with the heel still on the floor, touching the floor.

But again, it's huge. And again, it's not working out. It's not doing pull-ups. Pull-ups will not... Just hanging. Yeah, because pull-ups will not condition those tissues. The adaptation will not go into those specific places that we want it to go. It will not reshape your structure in the same way.

It will work the muscular tissue. What about being upside down? What about it? Being upside down, is that it? Being upside down. Is that something that people should practice or learn to master? No. It's more of a fun thing. Well, you know.

It's not as important. It's not as important. We've been inverting ourselves for a while. And some animals do it. And it's such an ancient concept. Like, can I? Yeah. You know? Just like a kid.

They all try it, right? They place their hands on the floor and it's like, put the head down. Can I? It's a beautiful concept. You know, some people say natural movement. I'm not into natural movement. I'm into all movement. And a handstand is regarded by some not as a natural movement.

But let me tell you, there is nothing on this planet that you can do that is not natural movement it's like everything is natural we're living in a body for god's sake everything is carbon-based shit on on stardust planet you know so it's like we have created these things yeah and and we are natur. Hence, the word natural doesn't mean shit to me. I don't use it. Oftentimes, it's being used to describe what I'm doing. It's not. It's not.

And handstand is a great movement to do. It's maybe not so basic, and it has some benefits. You can develop some nice strength with it. You can develop the proprioceptive capacity vestibular system is challenged like the inner ear balance yeah um it's not it's a nice thing you can play with it and it's definitely if it's available why not sure so we got the squat we got the hang is there anything else you'd recommend that's enough those two things if we do those two things seven minutes a day and 30 minutes a

day for 30 days, you can do both at the same time, I think, or do one challenge and the next. I wouldn't, and that's why I'm saying that's enough.

I can keep going, but just like these books on the bookshelf, people don't read them. They want five book recommendations, and no, you get one.

Do one. Do it, and then let me know when you're done. Do it. First do it. Once you? No, you get one. Do one. Yeah. Do it and then let me know when you're done. Do it. First do it. Once you do it, you feel benefits or something. You will continue to unpack. You will continue to go after it.

It's like, this is the modern problem. That's how I deal with it. Too much information. Too much information. So don't add more into the, like, be simple. Simple. Be accurate. Even like giving two of these challenges is a lot.

It's a lot. We'll delete that part. So if you have more issues with your shoulders, then I would go more with the hanging. If it's more with the lower body, digestive issues, then I would go more with the squat. And if it's somewhere in the lower back both can benefit and but i wouldn't do both together and definitely like go go for one

and then go for the other and see what it gives you what would you say is your vision and your dream to redefine physicality in this way and to have people start to talk about their physicality and exchange about it and develop it. Movement. Yeah. In a new way. Not as a sportsman. Not, you know, like you're a handball player, football player. What do I have?

I'm a martial artist. Like, what do we have in common? Actually, we have a lot in common, but we never end up, like there is no forum for us to exchange. And like, I look at your neck and I say, oh, there's something, what's going on there? Like, why is the neck so thick?

Like, what's the practice that maybe I can benefit from it? Maybe I have a bad neck and I can benefit from some of the practices you've been involved with. Maybe I can benefit from it. Maybe I have a bad neck and I can benefit from some of the practices you've been involved with. Maybe I can help with that problem that you have in the knee by sharing with you something from ballet, classical ballet.

But this is not done because we've been separating ourselves. I'm a fighter. You're a dancer. He's an athlete. And we've been separating ourselves. I'm a fighter. You're a dancer. He's an athlete. And we're all human beings. We sit next to each other in the subway without exchanging a word. And the same way in our physical practice, we don't take time to engage, to exchange.

exchange. So my vision was, let's use one terminology, not just different terminologies, one terminology, one language that everybody can talk. Let's create forums of mutual interest. Let's practice in an open way. So all the specialists can exchange, but then there was a new thing created, these hybrid practitioners who are interested in movement, and that's the movement culture. Those are just people who don't want to be athletes, dancers, fighters. They want to experience movement as a concept, as a general concept, and it means that they would be they would suck at all these different subjects yeah but they just want the more wholesome bigger perspective yeah just like conor mcgregor is a lot more has a much wider perspective on the field of combat and fighting than Floyd Mayweather, who is an amazing master and specialist in what he does,

but he does not have the big map. And that's why when the game is open, he would not do the same as what Conor did to challenge himself. It would not happen, never happen. Yeah, yeah. So movement culture, what are the fundamentals of the culture that you guys teach? It would not happen, never happen. Yeah, yeah. So movement culture, what are the fundamentals of the culture that you guys teach?

Well, we don't, there are no fundamentals. Like I said, nobody knows. We are, I'm using. And how does the class or the workshops, how are they designed then? Do you just come up with what you want whenever or you're just off the top of your head? No, no, no.

Everything is very directed and we attack and we go at certain things, but without any definite result at hand or success specifically. We try to unpack, to demystify, to go into subject and share some informations about it

and make some clarity but there is no big conclusions I got it you know I got it no you got nothing yeah

got nothing there's always another layer yeah forget about it like how many times do you need to play the game to understand

no you didn't get shit didn't get it nobody gets it. This game, this reality, what the fuck is this? What is this reality? What's going on here? What are we doing here?

You know, like, we don't get it. So stop saying it because that's only showing me how much you didn't get it, you know, in a way. Whenever I hear it, it's like, yeah, I got it, I know, I know. You know, shit, you know, jack shit. The people who really know, they'll tell you,

it's complicated, it's complicated. And there is some understanding involved with it. So what we are doing is we are attacking different subjects. And we go into a place inside the big cloud of movement because there is no one entry door. So we just step into the cloud and we attack specific subjects. Like for example,

we go at the subject like coordination and I expose some drills, exercises, scenarios, games, challenges, and we try to see what can we learn about this weird concept. Or we go with a tactical game, like a fighting game. Or we can go with strength development. Strength is a concept, you know,

not defined by one specific practice, like'm strong one moment you're strong another moment you're the weakest person there you know it's like you you will meet the gymnast you will feel extremely weak in the perspective of gymnastics but the gymnast will meet you in collision oh that's a bad day yeah it's a bad day so like the strength is not one entity and we keep on kind of simplifying oh you're really strong people tell me you're really strong you don't know what i am and you don't know in which scenario and i'm also extremely weak in all kinds of areas you know so um we just detect some some of these subjects and we go at it and we discover some things and we really practice hard.

Like, it's not just an open thing where you're just like floating around in a hippie way and, you know, it's actually...

We create a context, we create a container, a challenge, attack it for a period of time and then you move to the next challenge. Exactly. And that thing

is like the beautiful part of this practice. Like, okay, let's dig at this subject. You really go at it. You're fully involved. And then you kind of disconnect from it and you go to a different perspective. When someone takes on a training method in this way,

as opposed to a 30-minute run or a HIIT workout or a lift or whatever, what's available for them on the other side? Taking on all these different things of coordination to stick games and tennis ball games and all these other things you guys do, strength games, whatever it may be, balance games. What's available in their lives that's different than just a normal type of training that we usually see at a gym? First, there is no better or worse here.

There is just like, I think you can bake bread and you can be happy. So like happiness is not the orientation of the practice, nor is it an attempt to be better at something besides the understanding of the general concept of movement. And that's what you will get from the practice. You would get more of a bird's eye understanding who's who, what's what, when, where, how much. And that would give you something. So it means that would give you something. So it means I can work with fighters one day, one week, and I have an understanding of what's going on there immediately.

I'm not good at it. I can't fight like them. I can't fight with them. But I have an understanding of what's going on, what is needed, where is missing. And then the next week, I'll be with contemporary dancers. Next week, I will be with contemporary dancers. Next week, I will be with professional acrobats. Next week, I would be with tennis players, soccer players, etc. So there is a

general understanding of physicality and movement and how the body operates in all kinds of different subjects. And then there is a lot of humility that comes with it on the level of a practitioner and as a teacher. I'm sure, yeah. Who would you say is the most influential person that you've had in your life? My mother. What's the big thing?

Which is a very common answer by many people, like they would tell you their mother, but my mother is something else. What is it about her that has influenced you or the greatest lessons you've learned from her my mother is a very unique person she's everyone that ever met her knows and she's practicing with us in the movement culture she comes to events she's 67 wow that's cool. approaching because nobody really masters but in the way that she lives life this is what she taught me her ability to view reality both in a very real and honest way and at the same time very

positive and happy way but it's not the happy peppy way which is like sometimes disengaged from suffering problems complexity of the situations at hand. So I think she's taught me a lot about that. She taught me the power of narrative in our lives. She works with narrative therapy. What's the story? Actually, Lewis is basically... Lewis is a construct.

You understand? There is no Lewis. Lewis is a construct you understand there is no Lewis Lewis is a construct is a story you keep telling yourself and others constructed a story called Lewis

it's a drawer filled with meaningless thing alone but together somehow it works it's an invisible loop as hofstetter calls it it's it's a weird self-referential entity you keep referring to yourself but there is no other

references you know it's like you're and this is very powerful to understand. We're just stories. We're just like, so if we are stories, what happened to you, truly, doesn't matter. What you tell yourself happened to you. That's the story. That's the narrative. That's the powerful thing.

And by changing the narrative, you change the reality of what happened to you. It doesn't matter what happened it's like it disappears and it is replaced and so actually this is a very powerful lesson for my mother and that took me many many years to point of view. And she allowed me to realize it, but it took many years. And the more time I spent with her, the more time passes, the more I understand how much ahead she was. She is in front of me.

Yeah. Wow. So she taught you, from what I'm hearing, that it doesn't matter what happened to you in your life, but it matters the story you tell yourself about what happened? Yeah, it's hard for people to maybe understand. I get that. It doesn't matter what actually happens. It can be a bad experience or a good experience. It's the story you tell yourself.

Yes, but it's tricky, right? Because you already kind of put a tag on it. It can be a bad experience or a good experience. It's the story you tell yourself. Yes. But it's tricky, right? Because you already kind of put a tag on it. But by observing the narrative and focusing on the narrative, you have more powerful tools at your disposal to deal with it. Instead of like digging into the past, what happened when you were six years old? And what happened in that room? What?

I don't know. You know, like, and then you dig at it, you know, traditional psychotherapy. You go there and you, you know, you scratch at those doors and that doesn't matter. What actually, what did I tell myself? And what started to unfold from there, how it affected my narrative. This is something I can work with because it leads to the present moment.

So I can retrace the story better than the actual occurrence, which is like a leap. It's a jump. I can retrace the story that I told myself. It's like a breadcrumb trail back to the origin. Wow. So what's the story you want people

to know about you? To know? I don't want people to know. It's not something I orient myself towards. It's the wrong search in my eyes. I'm not trying to portray myself. I'm trying to discover. I'm trying to be. I'm not trying to portray myself. I'm trying to discover.

I'm trying to be. I'm trying to be. To be, to become, to become. What are you trying to become? I'm still working on that. Figuring it out?

Figuring out, yeah want who i want to become existing is a kind of a weird thing where it's like it's a given but then it's not a passive thing so it's it's kind of a given but it's not just you have a lot of say in it, you know? And I think it's very powerful to go towards who you wish to be instead of who you are today. Like who I am today, I'm weak. I'm, you know, I'm afraid. I have this, I have that.

I'm old, I'm, you know, all these ideas. That's who I am. But who do I want to be? I want to be that person who doesn't mind this, this and that, who goes for this. And yeah, I'm just like all these ideas that's who I am but who do I want to be I want to be that person who doesn't mind this this and that who goes for this and yeah I'm just like I orient myself towards there I discover who I want to become and I work on becoming and by doing by handling myself in certain ways and I fail and I make the the weak decisions and just keep going at it. Do you have any routines or practices throughout your day, the morning, whether a mental practice, a physical practice,

that is kind of like a non-negotiable or something you like to do on a daily basis? Yeah, it's all one big practice, man. Constant. Yeah, that's who I am. I'm the practitioner so i know you meet a lot of people who are have certain practices but i'm a truly obsessed and unique practitioner in that way like i've been practicing more than anyone i ever met

i worked with top-level athletes. They don't even scratch the surface of how much I practice, how much I am involved with the practice, how much I sacrifice for the sake of the practice. This is a huge entity in my life. It's every moment. So there are things on the level of mind,

more mind-oriented things like meditation. I've been involved with over a decade. And there is my physical practice, movement practice and research and other human practices. All kinds of practices. Where does your mind go during meditation? I'm always curious about this,

where people allow their mind to go. Do you think about something specific? Do you visualize something? Do you see yourself outside of your body? Are you mastering a certain discipline or focusing on a discipline? Or what is the mind going during meditation for you? First, what does it matter where my mind goes maybe a better question would be like what's what's the orientation what what what or what orientations are do we want to go after

um you know the you probably been involved with people coming from kind of the field of mindfulness. So let's unpack that. Let's look at it for a moment. Like mindfulness, mindfulness is ridiculous. The problem is that the mind is full. We want to empty the mind. We don't want to feel it.

The word itself is already like, what? What are you talking about? It's something that people keep on like repeating. They don't even think about it. Like that's the problem. The mind is too full. We want to empty it, clean. Just like, you know, there are soaps for every part of your body.

Yeah. Especially women. Yeah. They have this soap, that soap, behind the ear soap this soap the left eye so so what about cleaning the mind most people just are not engaged with it they they scrub every piece of their body but so how do we empty a little bit how do you empty it yeah so Yeah. So that's a practice. That's a serious practice. And comes thoughts. Our mind is filled with thoughts and ideas.

And then you don't think. Don't think of a pink elephant. So that doesn't work, right? Like stop doing doesn't work. It's not stop doing. It's undoing. It's something else. And that requires observation and respect of those thoughts.

A thought comes in, you say hello, you observe it, and you let it go. And then it goes away. Another thought would come. This is the process of observing your thoughts. And little by little, there would appear a little bit more

space there, in between thoughts, a little bit more time. in between thoughts, a little bit more time. And this is one orientation, very kind of Zen orientation. Then there are other ways, other access points, like breath and also action, like very active stuff. So that's another misconception,

like flow states or risk or danger or adrenaline. It's like, I'm here. I'm one, you know. Yeah, you're one because you don't have a choice. You'll die if you're not. So, but that's not the technology for meditation. That's an anti-technology for meditation. It's like I climbed the rocks.

If I make one mistake, I fall to my death. So I'm here. I'm one. That's an anti-technology for meditation. It's like I climbed the rocks. If I make one mistake, I fall to my death. So I'm here. I'm one. That's easy. Try to be one sitting quiet in your room. That's a different level of practice. That's a different orientation of practice. So actually the two should not be confused together.

Like I don't meditate. I do handstands. No. You know, when I do a one-arm handstand, you know, I can tell you, I can do the Kali thing. I can tell you. The Kali thing.

Yeah, I can tell you. One hand reaching into the future and the other is still stuck in the past while I'm in the middle observing. What? When I'm doing a one-arm handstand, I can think of whatever, Games of Thrones.

And that's why I can do a one-arm handstand. So the actual achievement, the ability to practice it, allows you to be automatic. So is it a technology for meditation? Or is it an anti-technology for meditation? You tell me. It became an anti-technology for meditation.

So when I'm doing one-arm handstand, my mind races. When you play football, you might be involved to such a level so you are involved but that forces you to be involved so that's also an anti-technology for meditation but we are searching for something else and that requires stillness that requires stopping stop movement so my movement practice is supported by my no movement practice. How often are you still or not moving throughout the day? Every day.

Every day. How long or how often? Sometimes I've went as far as 15 hours a day. Where you didn't move. Isn't your life about movement? It is. And in order to understand anything, you have to experience its exact opposite. To any high level. Like you want to master war, you have to experience its exact opposite

to any high level. Like you want to master war, you have to be a master of peace as well. It's like that's another basic requirement or else how do you know the boundaries? How do you know, you know, how much you really know the subject matter? If you're not much of a lover how can you be a fighter

you know like it's it's required it's required it's it's the that's what they meant when they say yin and yang they didn't mean for you to crash against the wall with your practice with your life and then realize oh i need the exact opposite they meant from the beginning, install both of them, one side by side. Don't do power lifting for 15 years and then say, oh, I really need to stretch. 15 years it took you, not much of a genius. Should be installed from the beginning. The opposites should be present from the beginning. And a good practice is not a monochromatic practice. It is a practice that brings in all these realities from the beginning.

And that's why the movement practice is such a powerful orientation because it includes everything. People think it's like it's strength training. I do your workout. Which workout? I don't have any workouts. You don't do my stuff for sure. You don't know nothing about me.

It immediately hints that because there is no workout. It's an attempt to connect, but it shows me the distance in concept and understanding. Because there is no workout actually. There is some... What's it called? Programming or... No, no, no. There is no program.

There is perspective. It's a perspective. It's a way to look at our physicality. It's a way... It's not a way to train. It's a way to look at our physicality. What's the Zen workout? Tell me. Yeah, there is no. There is no.

So what is the Zen training? Tell me. Yeah. There is no. There is no. So what is the Zen training? It's training how do I approach reality around me? And the movement practice is very similar. It's more involved with the body and it contains all these different layers. But what's your connection with this, with who you are? You are this big thing thing you're not just this brain there because the brain alone cannot be sustained and also you existed before there was a brain on an embryonic level you existed before there was a brain so who was there before

you had a brain who was there was there lewis who is there so this unfolding from one point of maximal simplicity to ultimate complexity and its reversal back to the source what is the source what is this who you are who am i this is a very much related to the movement practice through the body to experience who we are. That's what I am about. That's what I'm doing. And then there are all these methods, systems, training, movements. They are there.

Challenges. Challenges. But they are just tools to unlock this relationship and this discovery. And people just cling on to them because they just simply did not dig hard enough to discover. And it's okay as long as it brings them in. How did I get here? I needed to do in one-arm handstands

and have a six-pack for you to invite. What's going on? But now I'm here. And I'll say my truth. And that's what I've been doing for many years I've been using all kinds of things my connection with elite level athletes and how my body can

perform and what skill sets I constructed but it was all very cunningly done to really portray something deeper which is maybe difficult to understand, but we come to an age where it's necessary and people are willing to listen.

And they come to podcasts like this and to people like you who are facilitators and they are searching for meaning in their lives and in their existence, in their physical practice, in their relationships. And they just, we need physical practice, in their relationships. And they just, we need a way. We need a way in.

And it's difficult. It's difficult to understand. There is nothing quick about it. There is no instant. There is no microwave here. So that's why we lure them in first and then we sit them down. Tear them down to the basics. Yeah.

Yes. How important is, and how much have you studied the breath and mastering breathing and how important is that in terms in terms of all movement yeah it's a very very important very important and there is a lot of there is a lot there and there is also i like to as you already noticed, to break down some things. So one thing that is important to break down is like breathing. It's not necessarily should be taught. No animal learns how to breathe. You know, anything that you do well, never learned from anyone including the act of walking

you didn't learn how to walk from your parents you taught yourself you never learned how to breathe and if you never get a single lesson like my father he never learned anything about breath he's been breathing for 70 years and he's fine right this is one perspective sometimes undoing is more important than doing right um another perspective after we break the eggs and again the black and white people say oh wrong there is so much in breath and you can learn then you can of course there is there is the y yang. Yeah. But let's present the other side. The breath is a gate and you can get a lot through it.

You can affect your chemistry, your experience, your state of mind. You can fine-tune your reaction, your emotional content, your activation of your body, motor unit recruitment.

You can affect your relationships with breathing. If you learn, if you have a breathing practice, you have a gate towards things that you think they're out of our control. But actually we have certain control, we can affect them. And I've learned a lot about it from the ancient yogic methods, pranayama,

and into the Slavic methods, the Russian orientations, and the Western points of view, and the martial arts, and the therapeutics, and the somatic practices. I've devoted... You've studied all of it. I've studied, I wouldn't say all. It's never all. A lot. I've devoted a lot of time to it, yes.

To the breath. To the breath. And to other, like other subjects. Sure. I'm obsessed. I'm an obsessed reader. I've been reading three, four books a week for the last 20 plus years.

I'm an obsessed practitioner. I've sacrificed a lot of things. I'm not a family person. You're not a family person. No. So I've sacrificed a lot of things to understand more, to discover more. And that's why I know some things about the subject of movement.

And breath is a big one. So there is a lot there. There is a lot of discoveries. Breath is a big one. So there is a lot there. There is a lot of discoveries. I've had a lot of crazy experience through breath on many different vectors, orientations, like from ecstasy into out-of-body experiences,

into visual effects, into proprioceptive distortions how like the body is perceiving itself to um connection to death to connection to birth like a lot of different things and breath is is big wow yeah you You played with breath? A little bit with Wim Hof. Do you know Wim? Yeah, I've heard of course. Have you studied

this stuff or no? No, I haven't studied this stuff. I haven't met him. I met some people and they showed me some things. You would like him.

He's obsessed like you. So I think you would appreciate his obsession with mastering his craft and I think you could learn something you know just like with anyone. you could learn something you know just like with anyone you can learn something powerful from that practice but it's you know i'm assuming

you've already done a lot of the breath work but i think if you ever want that introduction let me know i'm happy to connect you to him but he's definitely a one-of-a-kind human being interesting character who is looks like a character you know it looks like he is a character but he has a a massive desire to support a lot of people through this his practice his breathing method and it's helped a lot of people heal it's helped a lot of people you know relax have control over certain areas of their mind or a sense of control and freedom you know what i mean yeah um very cool man i'm gonna ask you a few final questions actually i'm gonna let jen ask a and freedom. You know what I mean? Yeah. Very cool, man. I'm going to ask you a few final questions. Actually, I'm going to let Jen

ask a question first. Do you have any questions you want to ask? I'm putting her on the spot, but she asks, what books are you reading right now? Yeah. I'm reading some literature things.

I'm rereading a few old books. Reading a text on neurology. And what else am I reading? I have like my toilet book. I have my before go to sleep book. I have my traveling book, my airplane book. So I'm thinking. Yeah. Before go to sleep book, I have my traveling book, my airplane book. So I'm thinking.

If you could only... This is going to be hard. But if you could only recommend three books to people forever, if there's only three books, you said, here are the three books you're going to recommend. These are the only ones you could ever give to someone. What would those three be? About anything. Yeah, no way to start to answer that if if they if i know something about that person i might be able to recommend like for example with many of the fighters i work with i give them meditations by marcos arelius which is very powerful book for someone who is confronted by challenges,

big, big challenges. Or if somebody is, let's see. There is a very excellent read by Viktor Frankl. Man's Search for Meaning. Yes. It's a very excellent read by Viktor Frankl. Mansfield Shemin. Yes. Yeah. It's a very powerful book. Very close to our hearts, Israelis and Jews.

Very powerful. And it's a book I can recommend to anyone. Anyone. Yeah. Like most people can benefit from it. The final one. The final one. can benefit from it. The final one.

The final one. There is an excellent book for people who are interested with movement and it's related to the word play and culture. I've been recommending it a lot and it's the classic Homo Ludens,

Playing Man. Playing Man. Playing Man, Homo Ludens. Yeah. It's an excellent read about how play and culture

are actually so interrelated they can't be separated like there is no decision whether you like

to play or not you are play you are a product of play like there is a necessity to approach things in a playful manner

and it's directly interlaced into our being. And that's something very powerful. We talked about play and games. Sometimes people hear it and they have this idea of like, oh, this is play, game, whatever. No, there is nothing else. Actually, any form of training is a play.

It's a play. Animals play before humans were here. Like, so it's like interlaced into nature. So maybe you can relate to it as a sports person, as a player, as a jock. When people meet you, they categorize you. Yeah, he likes to play. They have all these ideas,

preconceived ideas about you. Actually, businessman, what is the world of business? It's all one big play. And if you try to shove it down, you disregard it, like it would rear its ugly head in all kinds of ways.

So like we must play. Sure, sure. This is a couple of questions left for you you we're going a little longer than normal but i love the conversation um this is called the three truths i ask this at the end of every interview three truths uh you've studied with some great masters teachers all around the world, many different practices, modalities, from your mother to other masters all over the world. And let's imagine that this is the last day for you, for whatever reason, it's over.

And you got to share, you had a piece of paper and a pen, you got to write down three truths, three lessons or truths that the world would have from you, and that's all they would have to remember you by. These three things. They wouldn't have any videos or anything else you've ever said. This is it. Piece of paper.

Write it down. What would be your three truths? One, it is what it is. Two, it doesn't really matter. Three, disregard everything that is written here. There you go. I like that. Where can we connect with you online? If someone wants to learn more,

if they want to get training from you or video content or come to workshops, what can they do? How can they get access to more of you and your information? We have an online presence and we're an educational body. We offer educational services. We have events all over the world and there are camps held, all kinds of different subjects. Some of them are more experience-based or other. And then we have also online support. You can always hit us for that.

Very soon we will be launching a very big revolutionary platform for that that we've been working for many, many years now. Yeah. So everything, www.idoportal.com. Portal.com. Yeah, idoportal.com everything, www.idoportal.com. Portal.com. Yeah, idoportal.com, one word. Anyways, if you know, on the day of Google, like you just put the word in, you will find it.

Yeah, we are on Facebook, on Instagram. Any help that you need from us, you can email our office, info at idoportal.com, and we will try to help. Very cool, very cool very cool before i ask the final question i want to acknowledge you for a moment edo for your incredible ability to be a master student you're constantly searching to master new things and to become a master of your mind your breath your body movement life in general and i feel like

you're you have this great mindset approach to living a good life, even though you're still trying to figure out what that means. So I want to acknowledge you for constantly doing things that maybe most people are unwilling to do, for making the sacrifices you do that aren't popular in normal day society, to be such a giver of information and a student of life so that we can learn how to become better, healthier human beings in this crazy world that we're living in. So I want to acknowledge you for all you're doing, man. It means a lot. Thank you so much. Make sure you guys go check him out, edoportal.com. Instagram, you've got a lot of great videos,

photos there. I'm always inspired by what you're posting there. I don't know if you're posting that or if it's your team, but it's all really cool stuff. If you want to see him doing crazy one-arm handstands and have a six-pack, you can check him out there too. Is there any question you wish people would ask you that they don't ask you? Yeah, the entry questions I think we tackled somehow. And then, you you know like any researcher

you always are inspired by specific you know peaks that you are attacking and those are more reserved for more involved practitioners and people who and that's that's really the true passion for for any researcher so i think um it's hard to tackle on such an occasion. Yeah, I just would love people to have a thought about, you know, their body and their existence and, you know, acknowledging that there is a need to address our physicality in a day and age where a lot of people are moving into the, you know,

almost like uploading into some virtual, you know, existence. And we're discovering that it doesn't work actually. Like there is a problem that we discovered in the gut. There is all these things happening and on our skin, like there is this, you know, biome, this, all these discoveries and the breath and blahabababa so I think and just would like to leave people with with that need and awareness that a lot of their issues and search and and needs really the most internal needs that we all have, this mystery, this big mystery is related to the body

and to discovering the body and to work with the body to get deeper somehow. Yeah, yeah. All right, my final question then is, what is your definition of greatness? Probably that would be originality in the purest and the deepest sense to be an original person to be genuine and not creative mind you creativity can be used sometimes it's sometimes it's a little bit wankery I want to be creative

I want to create I want to be remembered but to be in the purest sense is an original task and that's for me greatness thank you so much thank you very much thank you

there you have it my friends if you enjoyed this make sure to share it with your friends over on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Tag me on your Instagram post or your Instagram story at lewishouse and at portal.edo. Let us know what you thought about this one. Share it with your friends. I try to reply to almost every tag that I get over on Instagram stories. So let me know what you thought about this. Let's start a conversation over there and connect with Ido as well and let him know what

you thought by just tagging him or leaving a comment over on his page and send me a message letting me know if you think you are doing everything you can to move more, that you're moving your body, that you're stretching, that you're flexible, that you're bendy? Are you doing squats? Are you stretching out? Are you walking? Are you climbing? Are you putting your body in unique situations to continue to be bendable and flexible with all of life's challenges and adversities that come your way? Let me know if you think you're doing everything you can. And if not, do the 30-day challenge that Ido talked about.

Start squatting every hour for 30 to 60 seconds, and let's see what that does. I'd love to hear your guys' feedback over the next few weeks, how that has impacted your life. Just get up out of the chair, squat, and let me know what you think. I hope you guys enjoyed this one. For me, the older I get, the more I realize I must move. Even though I stopped playing professional football a decade ago,

when I stopped moving and adjusting and putting my body through different exercises and constantly tweaking and trying new things, I realized my body started to break down. Since I've been training and trying different workouts and mobilities and stretches and just always being open to moving my body, I feel like I've gotten stronger than ever. So continue to move. And in the words of the funny Jerry Seinfeld, he said, to me, if life boils down to one thing, it's movement. To live is to keep moving. I hope you guys enjoyed this and you remember to move today. And you know what time it is.

It's time to go out there and do something great. Thank you.