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FITNESS
MOVING NATURALLY
with Erwan Le Corre
This month, Parvati Magazine spoke with Erwan Le Corre, founder and master instructor of
MovNat, a fitness practice which emphasizes natural movement.
Parvati Magazine: What is MovNat and what inspired you to create it?
Erwan Le Corre: MovNat is the method for practicing, or coaching, Natural Movement
fitness. We define Natural Movement as the overall practice of human natural movement
skills such as crawling, walking, running, jumping, climbing, swimming, lifting, carrying,
throwing, catching, and defensive skills.
This concept was inspired by my own childhood growing up and moving a lot in nature,
my study of the history of physical education, and my experience in diverse specialized
sports and disciplines. Years ago I realized that no fitness program out there was based on
the full range of human natural movements. I decided that I would design a new method
combining ancient and modern approach, and spread it to the world.
PMAG: Why do you feel MovNat may be more appropriate or effective than going to a
typical gym?
ELC: A typical gym is filled with machines that dictate, limit, and artificially shape your
movement. It is not only absurdly artificial, it is unhealthy and boring. MovNat, on the other
hand, inspires you to move naturally and often, and also teaches you how to move competently, efficiently, and safely.
MovNat can be done in indoor gym environments as well as out in nature. However, a
MovNat gym never resembles your typical machine-equipped gym. Rather, it recreates
natural environmental demands to enable all types of natural movements in a way that
is scalable, progressive, and safe. For instance, we balance on beams instead of fallen
trees, climb poles instead of tree branches, and we lift, carry, throw and catch medicine
balls or kettlebells rather than rocks or logs. We replicate evolutionarily natural, practical
and adaptable movement patterns within the safety of a controlled environment.
FITNESS
PMAG: What might a
typical MovNat session
look like?
ELC: A typical MovNat
session involves a warmup made of a variety of
natural movement patterns done at a low intensity, for instance kneeling, crawling, squatting,
get-up and get-down
variations. This is followed
by skill practice such
as learning a particular jumping, balancing,
lifting or climbing technique. A session usually
ends with a “combo”,
a circuit combining several techniques and
movement variations; for
instance a crawl technique, then a broad
jump, then a hanging
side swing traverse, then
a rotational throw and
catch with a partner. The
combo is repeated several times in a row, with
varied emphasis such as
efficiency, or strength,
metabolic conditioning,
etc. It is never too easy
or too hard, always engaging and challenging,
simply because all these
movements are natural,
but you need to be always mindfully efficient.
PMAG: Your website lists
a number of principles on
which MovNat operates
- practical, adaptable,
efficient, vital, instinctual,
cooperative, environmental, evolutionary,
unspecialized, universal.
Why are these so important?
ELC: These principles are
important because they
explain why your movements and efforts matter,
beyond just thinking of
how they’re supposed
to make you look. Such
principles create a shift in
how you perceive physical exercise. Instead of a
physical chore or punishment, it becomes something much deeper and
meaningful, a mindful
movement practice that
empowers your human
nature, your whole being.
The best way to never
find yourself physically
helpless is to learn to become physically helpful.
with MovNat, what would
you recommend they
do?
ELC: First visit us at
movnat.com of course,
subscribe to our newsletter so you can get movements explained with
photos twice a month.
Connect with us on
Facebook, especially our
60/60 Natural Movement
challenge group, with
a community of people
dedicated to practice
their natural movements
every day. If you want
to learn first-hand, the
best is to attend one of
our workshops or retreat,
they’re all listed on the
website at different dates
and locations, or get in
touch with one of our
certified trainers (there’s
a locator on the website).
I also have a book coming next year ,“The Practice Of Natural Movement”, and instructional
DVDs will be available
before the end of the
year.
PMAG: For someone considering getting started
Erwan Le Corre is the founder of “MovNat”, a synthesis of his long-term
passion for real-world physical competency, his love of movement in
nature, his extensive knowledge of Physical Education history, and his
personal philosophy of life. He believes it is everyone’s universal and
biological birthright to be strong, healthy, happy and free. He calls this
state of being our “True Nature”.
For more about Erwan and MovNat, please visit movnat.com.