December 15, 2022

In the articles “How I “Turned On” My Butt: Why My Posture Completely Sucked And How I Fixed It Fast” and “How To Turn On Your Butt, Activate Deep Breathing & Decompress Your Spine (And Why I’ve Completely Changed My Morning Routine)” and also throughout my book Boundless, I describe how I have for several years now sprinkled into my daily movement snacks a very effective way to “turn on” my butt, decompress my spine, activate deep diaphragmatic breathing, and much more.

It all starts with gravity.

Just think about all the different things that happen when gravity hits your body: specifically when it comes to the ability of gravity to adversely affect processes in some or all of the following physiological systems:

• Your respiratory system. A compressed rib cage limits the lungs' ability to expand and diminishes your breathing capacity.
• Your digestive system. Squashed organs don't function nearly as well as they should, and that burdens the body's ability to gain nourishment from food.
• Your circulatory system. Constricted blood vessels are not as efficient or as effective in transporting nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hormones, and blood cells to where they need to be in order for your body to perform or fight disease.
• Your nervous system. A compressed spinal cord and pinched neural pathways slow the progress of all those neurotransmitters trying to communicate from the periphery to the central nervous system–and back again–and can undermine the brain's ability to coordinate and influence all the activities of your body.

Hunching all day at a keyboard, tilting your head forward over your phone, commuting long hours, and slouching on the couch simply magnify and aggravate these problems, resulting in poor posture that throws your body out of balance, causing unnecessary stress and strain that compromises your joints, restricts organ function, and weakens your force output.

So the reasoning goes something like this: if you can wake up in the morning and do something that fights all the effects of gravity and restores your body to a decompressed state that theoretically allows you to feel better and stands taller all day long, with better digestion, no low back pain, and enhanced circulation……why not try it?

My guest on today's podcast, Dr. Eric Goodman–founder of Foundation Training–has taught me and millions of others how to do just that.

I interviewed Dr. Goodman way back in 2011 in the episode “Episode #172: Why Your Back Is The Most Important Part Of Your Core Workout, And What You Can Do About It.”, but a lot has obviously happened with his practice and techniques since then, so he recently flew up to my house (along with his guest expert and coach Jessie Salas) to take me through his latest training modalities, discuss his new book Foundations of Health: Harnessing the Restorative Power of Movement, Heat, Breath, and the Endocannabinoid System to Heal Pain and Actively Adapt for a Healthy Life and teach you how to banish low back pain and build a bulletproof core forever.

Dr. Eric Goodman's work is focused on pain management, patient advocacy, and athlete development. It's known as Foundation Training, and it's creating a sea change in injury rehabilitation and breathing protocols around the world. Eric has published three books on the subject: Foundation, True To Form, and Foundations Of Health. He is also the lead instructor of the FT Certification Course. Eric shares his love for healthy living with his wife Jen and their two daughters.

Coach Jessie Salas operates as the Program Director of Foundation Training. He left a 17-year career as a Special Operations firefighter to focus on bringing FT to the world. Jessie has a background in strength and conditioning and now blends FT for both injury correction and prevention, as well as optimizing strength and performance. Jessie has worked closely with varying injuries, performers, and athletes, from the likes of martial arts Icon Rickson Gracie to the pop artist icon Madonna.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-What is Foundation Training?…05:42

• What is Foundation Training?
• Foundation Training app on Google Play and the App Store
• Dr. Eric Goodman's books:
  • Foundation
  • True To Form
  • Foundations Of Health
• Coach Jessie Salas 
  • Working with MMA fighters 

-Decompression breathing…08:26  

• Eric and Jessie teach Ben and his family about Foundation Training 
• Decompression breathing explained 
• Coach Jessie leads through the basic decompression drill

-Identifying the right way to get into a hip hinge…18:32 

• Dr. Eric explains the hip hinge
• Eccentric training 
  • The most important thing is to train the frame to endure 

-Five hinges…21:32

• Movement is a language 
• Mimicking bad movement patterns 
• Once you learn the movement language, it becomes easy 
  • Foundation training is the most detailed movement system 
  • Details can feel overwhelming but are very important 

-How to open your nerve pathway…28:06

• Opening of a nerve pathway 
  • Great for people with sciatica, people with SI joint dysfunction, or lower back herniations 

-Shoulder tracing…35:21

• The importance of the solar plexus 
• 360-degree breathing 

-Adding layers of foundation training…43:43 

• Setting the base for decompression 
• It’s important to see if the pain comes from joints or muscles 
• You have to pull yourself apart into accurate biomechanics 

-The evolution of Foundation Training…49:38 

• Dr. Eric started with back pain 
• Foundation by Dr. Eric Goodman
• People start with structural breakdown and end with metabolic breakdown 
• Through treating the structure, patients get stability and structural integrity 
• Traditional sauna great for chronic pain
• Endogenous cannabinoid system 
  • Brings back the balance 
• The body is a factory that makes chemicals
  • Your body is a pharmacy 
• Medicine requires nature 
  • Natural movement 
  • Natural breathing
• Make sure to get Foundational Training at the right place 
• Wellness Tree

-8 Point Plank…1:16:29

• Somatic sensation on steroids 
• Humming nasal inhale-exhale 
• 8 Point Plank – the repositioning of a ribcage 
• Test with LA County Fire Department 
  • 10 minutes a day 
  • Improvements in strength, flexibility, grip strength, lung volume 

-Daily Starter and exercise for geriatric population…1:31:14 

• Basic training for beginners on the app 
• Exercise for older patients 
  • Making connections and building the strength patterns 

-Flow format to conclude routine…1:30:41 

• Details about the flow format
• Gather details, give them focus, make it a subconscious habit 
• ARX

-And much more…

• Foundation Training Assorted Workouts

Upcoming Events:

• Six Senses Retreat: February 27, 2023 – March 3, 2023

Join me for my “Boundless Retreat” at Six Senses from February 27th, 2023 to March 3rd, 2023, to improve your functional fitness, nutrition, longevity, and the delicate balance between productivity and wellness. Complete with a healthy farmhouse breakfast, yoga spa sessions, and sound healing, you will learn how to live a boundless life just like me, and I'd love to see you there. Learn more here.

• Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar!

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

– Dr. Eric Goodman:

• Foundation Training
• Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move with Confidence
• True To Form
• Foundations Of Health
• Foundation Training App on Google Play and the App Store

– Jessie Salas:

• FT Certification Course

– Podcasts And Articles:

• Why Your Back Is The Most Important Part Of Your Core Workout, And What You Can Do About It.
• How I “Turned On” My Butt: Why My Posture Completely Sucked And How I Fixed It Fast.“
• How To Turn On Your Butt, Activate Deep Breathing & Decompress Your Spine (And Why I’ve Completely Changed My Morning Routine).

– Other Resources:

• ARX
• Wellness Tree

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