On Saturday I’ll be participating in a one-day Movnat workshop. I’ve been attending the NYC Movnat meetups for about a year, but this is my first official session. I’m ridiculously excited.

Despite exploring the ideas and emulating the practice of Movnat for the past year, I still find it difficult to talk about. But there will apparently be news media covering the session, so I thought I should figure out something to say, quick.

I first learned about Movnat through Erwan Le Corre’s original videos a few years ago. They seemed slightly preposterous at first, but something about them got stuck in the back of my mind and I couldn’t stop thinking about them. When I was a child pretending to be an adult, this was everything I imagined an adult should be able do.

Several of my interests converged here. I’ve been running barefoot and following a paleo-ancestral diet for a couple of years. There’s a philosophical thread that runs through these: People are exceptionally capable, adaptable, amazing creatures. When we choose to be. The idea of recognizing our inherent human capacity and reclaiming those abilities as our common birthright fascinates me. I’ve heard this described as both rehabilitation and prehabilitation.

The fitness aspect seems almost secondary. One of Erwan’s original inspirations for Movnat, Georges Hébert, said “Être fort pour être utile” (“Being strong to be useful”). This works both ways, strength comes from use as much as use requires strength.

It’s also just plain fun. I sometimes joke that the weekend Meetups are my “grown-up playgroup”. My daughters think I’m crazy but they love that I’m always up for climbing trees and rocks with them.

Watching Movnat’s influence spread over the past few years has been great. I’m looking forward to seeing how the formal principles of Movnat fit together with my own evolving philosophy.

I’ll be sure to post a followup after the workshop.