After experiencing some painful lower back pain I set out to find a way to relieve my back pain once and for all. During my search, I stumbled upon the teachings of Ido Portal, specifically his spinal wave body movement. This spinal wave movement has helped me immensely and I feel more nimble, flexible and all around more mobile. At first, it may appear to be a weird body movement, but trust me, it is one weird body movement you will want to try and then continue doing as you will see and feel the benefits of it almost immediately. As I delved deeper into the teachings of Ido Portal I became entranced and so intrigued by his philosophy of life, movement and strategies to simply move better. I specifically loved his idea that “we should simply play more.” As a 2 year old kid we play all the time and have no notion or idea of competing with someone else, we just play because it’s fun. As adults, we lose that innocence and playfulness so that is why it is so crucial to regain that sense of childlike wonder and just play because that is being human. In fact, this idea of playfulness was also Bruce Lee’s belief in that a fight is merely a serious act, performed playfully. Being that Bruce Lee has been one of my idols since childhood this idea of playfulness has resonated with me even more and one I strive to implement in my daily life. Ido’s other philosophy is that he simply reacts to life and makes it a goal, a practice to embrace chaos. I love this and relate so much with it because I have made it a daily practice to actually “seek discomfort” and “get comfortable with being uncomfortable” as all growth comes after conquering the beast and doing the thing you so fear. As the saying goes “do the thing and you’ll have the power”.

The last bit of advice I love from Ido is on the technical side in that two exercises he recommends every do everyday is none other than 1.) hanging for 7 minutes 2.) And deep squats holding for 10-15 seconds at a time or as long as you can for 7 minutes. Hanging is a tried and true way to relieve back pain and as Ido puts it “allows gravity to align your body”. And deep squats is something I have practiced in my PJF Performance vertical jump training workouts (which we call Deep Squat Ankle Mobility), so this is one I know quite well. This exercise also known as “the Asian squat” is one which I as an Asian American have had trouble with. As Westerners, we lead more sedentary lives compared to Easterners. For example, our toilets were created in a seated position whereas in the East in many areas you have to do a full squat in order to have a bowel movement. But even more so, people are just more active in the East than the West, allowing Easterners to have more mobility in their ankles and overall body. Thankfully, after several months of performing deep ankle squats I can do a decent Asian squat and can hold it for 10-15 seconds at a time. My goal is to get it to where I can sit there for however long I want like a real “Asian Squat”.

So implement Ido’s philosophies and practices into your daily life. In fact, do the spinal wave movements everyday, be more playful, embrace chaos, start hanging 7 minutes a day and Asian Squat for 7 minutes a day. Report in the comment section of your progress, feedback, and lets make this a discussion to provide insights to help each other grow and become the best movers and human beings we can be.

Much love,
Sonam