Restoring Your Physical Well-Being and Health – A Guide for Movement Therapists & Clients
- Brainz Magazine
- Dec 2
- 8 min read
Updated: Dec 5
Luther has over 27 years of experience educating and treating the public, elite athletes, & pain management clients with chronic musculoskeletal and soft-tissue alignment and postural issues.
In my last article, I discussed the need for practitioners in the movement therapy fields and their clients to change their mindsets about what is really required for physical healing and wellbeing to occur. The mindset change I am referring to is this. If you, as the movement therapist or professional, have positioned your business model to imply (directly or indirectly/intentionally or unintentionally) that your practice is going to repair, fix, heal, or otherwise correct your client’s chief complaints, then you are setting your clients up for a possible disappointment in expected outcomes from your Modality’s experience with the clients. I am not applying that whatever your movement model is not valid, or are you just setting up false expectations?
If you as the client or user of a modality are expecting that the modality itself, regardless of training, expertise, certifications, or credentials of the modality and/ or their practitioner’s credentials involved, are expecting to produce outcomes and results from the practitioner or modality involved without your active involvement and without realization that is it "you" as the client that will produce the desired outcomes, then you are most likely going to spend a lot of effort, time and money, moving from modality to modality or use multiple modalities simultaneously without collaborations with the practitioners from the various modalities that you are using. Does this sound like something you have experienced before? Or, practitioners, have you been frustrated by the lack of response and outcomes from your efforts with your clients? Then read this article in its entirety.
Now, I know this is a very strong opening statement, and there are examples and exceptions to everything, as they say. However, in my opinion, the reasons for the lack of expected or desired outcomes stem from “Locked in Mindsets and False Expectations” from both practitioners and clients.
So what’s the solution
In the rest of this article, I will outline some suggestions and ideas for both practitioners and clients as to how to begin the “mindset change”. This will not be a recipe or organized list of “to-do” activities, but rather a general overview and discussion of some of the things to consider as both practitioners and clients. It will be up to you, as a reader of this material, to decide how you will or will not integrate this information into your lifestyle.
Clients – decide to take personal responsibility for yourself
Discontinue running to people to get “fixed”. Stop only using generic exercise, stretching, personal training, and health routines to fully restore and resolve your alignment and wellbeing as a human consciousness. Now, before everyone gets up in an uproar about this statement, let me clarify that this is not a statement for not using the many fine practices and therapists out in the movement profession. I made this statement to shock you into realizing that you need more than this, you need customization of the routines that you participate in to fit your unique situation. The therapist and/or the modality is not the complete answer.
So I will now role-play as both practitioners and clients through some of the thought processes that should be occurring when using movement modalities or being the provider of a modality practice. I will start from the client’s perspective first.
Client expectations from movement professionals
Clients, please do self-study and exploration on the modality you are choosing to help you with your health and well-being needs. Don’t just rely on reputation, friends and family recommendations, Media ads, referring practitioners, etc.
Complete some research so that you can make intelligent choices about who you decide to see and be ready to thoroughly interview your practitioner either before and/or during your initial consultation or appointment. Don’t go in blind!
Come prepared with specific and precise goals, objectives, and expectations of what you are looking for from the service. For example, here is a list of some things (not a comprehensive list) to consider:
What are the practitioner’s or therapist’s education, training, and cross-training? What are their certification/license credentials, and are they current? How long have they been in practice? Now, let me make a point here, having certain credentials or more does not automatically make a practitioner or therapist superior in the application of their craft. Although it is an important criteria, don’t make it the only criteria in your selection.
What is their treatment philosophy, and how does it differ from others within the same fields? What are their assessment techniques, if any? (Note, if a movement practice does not fully assess and evaluate your physical posture before they begin their treatment, then this is one significant factor to consider when making your decision on which therapy or therapist to choose). This statement will receive a lot of reaction and possible pushback from other therapists because of the mindset lock that was mentioned earlier, and that it is their modality that will give you the outcomes you are seeking.
I really feel very strongly about this, and I will give you just one rational for my thinking. Let’s say you choose Pilates, Massage, Yoga, Personal Training, etc, to help you with your wellness goals and physical well-being complaints. Most sessions last anywhere from 30 to 50 to 60 minutes in length. A lot of the movement modalities are taught in group sessions, but even if it is a one-on-one session, most of the movement modality therapists’ time is spent providing the therapy, not assessing and evaluating how the therapy can be best applied to your personal situation. Now, to be fair, some modalities' business practices have some type of structured consultation and organizing process that is a prelude to becoming a client, so I am not talking about these practices (unless there is no true full body assessment occurring at some point before the first application of their modality).
Here is another critical consideration. How will outcomes be measured? Is the therapist or modality of choice known for producing the outcomes you expect? Can the results of assessments and evaluations be documented and exported for the client’s use? Without violating “HIPAA” regulations, can they give your specific examples on how they have helped other clients in your situation, circumstance, conditions, etc.? Do they have specific reviews to point you to that verify their claims?
Ask the therapist if they have experience in working and coordinating with other therapists from different fields. Also, be willing to share your experiences with all the former and current movement modalities and therapists you have tried, and what the outcomes were.
Please, clients, come prepared with a comprehensive list of your medical history as far back as you can remember. Everything is relevant, no matter how small or inconsequential you may think it is.
Finally, be willing to be point-blank honest about how effective the therapy is going if you choose a particular therapeutic modality or therapist. Be willing to state what is or is not working as expected. Please give the therapist a chance to reassess and modify therapy before you give up on the process.
Movement therapists – audit your practice
If you are a movement professional, you should have some type of audit process to continuously monitor the effectiveness of your practice. I am not talking about financial audits, but assessment and evaluation of whether you can answer all of the questions in the above section, honestly, completely, and with complete confidence and authenticity (not pretentiousness or arrogance)? If not, you have some work to do, if you choose to be able to survive in the new, sophisticated age of AI & technology we are in today. This age is here now and rapidly developing, so do not get left behind. I am not saying that you need to hire professionals for this, but if you don’t have the necessary skills or time to do so, you may want to consider hiring a professional to do so.
Here are some audit questions as starters:
Are you claiming your practice fixes or heals people, solely on the basis of your modality? Are you in the mindset that technique or technology alone is the solution to your clients' issues they are seeking from you, “Without” a comprehensive assessment approach or system?
Are you claiming to be an “Expert” in your craft? If so, I would caution you to use other adjectives to sell your services. Many consumers are wary of such claims and have been disappointed by the so-called experts in their field. You can be confident in your craft without calling yourself an expert. There is always someone else with superior knowledge, training, or perspectives that you can learn from. Are you current in your licensing and or certifications, or up to date on the latest trends within your industry?
Do you have a clear, articulated philosophy of your therapy and treatment approach, and do your credentials support this? Is your articulated philosophy documented on your website, marketing materials, network groups, online directories, etc.? Is there a source that potential clients can access for a review of your services that adds credibility to your practice?
Can you document the results of the outcomes of your treatment techniques that can be used as a baseline for future treatment progress updates, and are these documented outcomes exportable to their healthcare professionals and/or clients?
Are you part of a network (or have access to) of specialists, providers, or therapists within the movement therapy industry that are outside your specific expertise and/ or specialties? LinkedIn is a source I like, as I am not a big fan of the other social media platforms, which seem to always be trying to sell you something, just a personal opinion.
Are you willing to refer a client elsewhere if they are presenting you with a situation that is outside your skill set or licensing rules? Are you clear to clients what they should and/or should not expect from your services?
Do you have a HIPAA compliance documentation system for recording your clients’ confidential medical history and outcomes that is automated, or are you still relying on manual recording and storage methods for client documentation?
What is your continuous improvement education program? Do you take courses only to stay current in your field due to CE/licensing requirements, or are you studying any and all relevant subjects to your field that can help you expand your knowledge database from which to enhance your practice?
Finally, do you practice what you preach? Do you personally do the things and therapies you tell your clients to do?
Conclusions
Hopefully, this article has given you, as a client or practitioner, motivation to assess your current approach and “mindset” as to how you receive or provide movement therapies that can help extend health span and vitality through the many excellent movement therapies that exist. This article is not a complete treatise on this subject, just a means to get clients and providers on the same page and thinking about what can be reasonably achieved without expecting miracles or implying miracles.
The human body is very complex and includes more than just a physical structure. Our essence and consciousness require cooperation from mind/body/spirit practices to achieve coherence. Remember, movement professionals and clients alike, this article addresses only the physical aspect of wellness. There should be an equal focus on the mind/spirit aspects of how the physical body functions, and that is beyond the scope of this article. I trust that this has been enlightening and useful for you. As with my last article, this has been written without any input from AI technologies. The information presented here comes from over 27 years of experience within the movement therapy industry.
Read more from Luther Lockard
Luther Lockard, Posture & Movement Coach, LMT
Luther Lockard is a professional bodyworker with 27 years of experience, which includes the services of Posture & Alignment Coaching, flexibility training, personal training, medical massage, reflexology, craniosacral, Reiki, therapeutic touch, healing touch, and other energy-based modalities. Luther has over 2000 hours of professional training in bodywork, which includes Brain-Based & Corrective Exercise Movement Coaching.
