Welcome to the bodyguide.
My name is Yoav. I am a body-mind professional based in Tel-Aviv, Israel.
I teach and treat with the Alexander Technique, Qigong, Pilates, Gym, Traditional Chinese Medicine and more.
Since 2004, I’ve been teaching people how to use their body, mostly one on one. I’ve seen hundreds of people, all sorts of conditions, problems and pains – and successfully guided many of those people towards better health through better connection with their body.
In the following guide I would like to tell you why and how the bodyguide can help you with your body and your life.
You use the same habits, across everything you do.
We all have patterns and habits of posture and movement that live within our body all day long.
These habits control everything we do, anywhere. While driving, sitting, working, exercising, walking – in movement or not – there’s a living pattern of forces working within us.
Our habits are first and foremost simple. They create health conditions, for better or worse. Understanding the upside and downside of habits can help us better ourselves dramatically.
Your habits create your condition.
If you have any sort of pain, discomfort or health issue – your bodily habits brought you there, or influenced it heavily, along with other life circumstances and factors.
To simply put it, “bad” habits create problems, and “good” habits can relieve you from your problems, and bring you to better health.
But do you know your habits?
You might. But do you understand how they manifest all across your body? do you know how your habits serve you in every single action or movement you do?
Do you know how your legs or arms create back problems? How your knees and elbows inter-relate? How your arms create your neck and shoulder tension? What to do with your knees when you walk or run?
Most people know a small thing or two about their physical habits, but don’t see the complete picture clearly enough to create a change.
That’s what I do for a living.
See the whole picture. And provide people a better alternative that improves their condition, dramatically.
Computers make us similar.
Back in the day, different professions meant different physical activities. Nowadays, most of us do the same thing with our body, regardless of occupation: Sit by a computer. And that makes our bodies similar.
In the clinic, I see the same patterns and habits in people’s bodies over and over again, with the same problems rising. So similar problems create similar solutions to everyone.
Seeing only a handful of people every day, online teaching allows me to spread common solutions from my private practice across the globe. I believe this knowledge can make a big change to many people.
Find the right knowledge.
I have a 50 year old patient that had a stroke 25 years ago. She’s been through professional rehab, yet developed a significant limp ever since.
After a series of lessons we had, she was able to eliminate the limp and walk smoothly like she never knew she could. And this isn’t magic. She just didn’t have the proper knowledge. Isn’t it absurd? I think so.
An 80 year old man with knee and back problems that improved his gait to relieve pain, a 38 year old mom that can lift her daughter and go shopping without throwing out her back, a 42 year old weight lifter that can squat deeper without pain and clicking joints… the list goes on.
This is just knowledge you should have and apply.
To sum things up – there is a much better way to use your body, that will make you feel better and take control over your own piece of nature – the human body.
Shifting to the good habit
Here’s the simple process of improving yourself:
- Learning about your long time habit – the one creating your problems. Being aware of your habit: when, where, how and why it happens.
- The critical moment: notice the habit in real time and stop doing it.
- Applying the better alternative within your body: doing things in a better way.
Throughout this site, I will show you how to go through this process in a variety of different environments, positions, exercises and situations.
What’s holistic in here?
Whatever you do – you should go back to the same basic core knowledge, every time. This knowledge lies within your vertical line: your head and torso as they oppose the ground below us. Gravity and anti-gravity.
It doesn’t matter what’s the topic or activity involved, we will use that same core knowledge as an anchor for improvement.
Our physical existence, our body, connects us to the simple and clear laws of nature. That clarity allows us to keep the mental, emotional or spiritual realms – grounded.
No matter what happens in our lives, there is a better way to use our physical body – and following this way influences our inner self, in time.
Results will come.
Reading these lines, you want to develop a better communication and understanding of your body. This means you consciously receive information from your body, and consciously send more information to your body.
In time, everything tones out better, your muscles readapt and change, your structure improves, blood flow improves, and the consequence of all that goodness is less alarm bells – less pain and discomfort.
You should feel better in your body if this process works well, and feeling better only begins with less pain.
Time and mindset make the difference.
All the above sounds lovely, right? But don’t forget one critical thing: you don’t have to “succeed” right here and now. You don’t have to “do it right”.
Mindset is so important. People think they can “fix” their body by pushing a button, instantly. I remind people time and time again, that we are not machines to be fixed, but natural beings. We cannot “fix” ourselves.
We can change currents within us, take control of these currents, and allow the texture of our tissues to change in time. We have to be consistent about it, on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
This is deep work. You’re aiming at changing a lifelong system of habits, so be patient and persistent about it – and leave perfectionism behind, as this is nature in process.
If you can enjoy this journey – you’ll reap the most benefits.
Next up: take the Body Parts Guide to understand your anatomy in a dynamic, simple and practical way – all for your well-being journey.