'Foreword by Eero Westerberg: I remember when Matthew first joined my coaching 4 years ago. Like many others, he had feverishly searched for training information online from videos and articles for a variety of problems and pains he was facing in his body. I wasn\'t the first teacher or therapist he had worked with. But if anything, this information had distanced him even further from the real source of knowledge – the body. Mainstream fitness often offers superficial and restrictive ideas about training. What\'s good, what\'s bad, what\'s dangerous, what\'s safe etc.? These are bandaids and arbitrary rules that never address the real issues and keep you in blindness. However, Matthew came to my coaching with an open mind as he knew something was missing. Matthew\'s real strength was his curiosity. He was filled with questions and absorbed knowledge like a sponge right from the start. Any exercise or a piece of knowledge I gave him, he went on, experimented and studied and learned from it. It was marvellous to follow Matthew\'s progress as his mind, body and physical abilities unlocked bit by bit. Every week he would report to me his discoveries, breakthroughs and challenges and we\'d take it further from there. Matthew didn\'t just want to know a bit of this and that, he wanted to embody the knowledge and his transformation speaks for itself. Matt went from a locked up and pain-ridden body to a highly functional, strong and capable physique. Along with the coaching, Matthew introduced many different martial arts, gymnastics and dancing to his repertoire expressing his growing confidence in his abilities. As the years went by and we went further and deeper so did our conversations. As a teacher, I always learn from my students and especially with Matthew I learned a lot. All the ingenious questions and complex issues he brought to the table tested my knowledge and developed my skills in the process. It\'s one of the best parts of having a great student. I often preach about physical independence, how amazing it is and how our methods aim towards it. I believe Matthew achieved this. It radiates in everything he does, his posture, gestures and movement. It\'s not some vague enlightenment in the end of the rainbow. It\'s a real tangible reality that anyone can experience in their bodies. It\'s also not an endpoint, but a beginning and I know Matthew\'s abilities will only grow from this point onwards as he\'s able to rely on himself and in his turn, teach and help other people to grow. And so the cycle goes on. Just know that even if you\'ve searched for over a decade without solutions, there is hope and Matthew is living proof of this. You just need to go to the right source. This source was within Matthew all along and all I did was guide him there. Stay strong, keep searching and never stop training. Eero Westerberg Head Coach of VAHVA Fitness'
Tags: movement , strength training , coaching , back pain , Rehab , physiotherapy , therapy , rehabilitation , hip pain , pain relief , shoulder pain , movement culture , Vahva Fitness , Eero Westerberg , fixing pain , Matt Cook
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