About

Hi, I'm Gus; questioner, learner, mover.

Life is movement. Movement is how we know life is happening! Without movement, would we even be aware of nature? So what better way to tap into your essential nature than through movement?

Movement is so important to me because of the profound impact that consciously moving my body has had on my health, mind and growth.

But it’s not always been that way. When I was young I was far from athletic.

A bit of backstory

I was born with a musculoskeletal condition called pectus excavatum; a whole-body condition that manifests most obviously as a concaved chest. Not only did this cause me a lot of social anxiety as a young lad, but it made breathing difficult and movement painful. I was racked with injuries as a child, and shied away from sports and physical activity.

My coping strategy was to take drugs… lots of them. So from age 12 to 34 I was either high or trying to figure out how to get high.

After a radical decline in health, back in 2010, I walked away from a lifestyle of all-night parties, drugs, booze and general debauchery. And I started what would become a life-defining journey into movement, health and consciousness.

Decades of escapism left me numb and very disconnected from my body and feelings. Learning to feel again has been an uncomfortable journey at times. But a deep yearning for truth and alignment has keep me committed. That commitment and intent, along with a questioning disposition and an ever-increasing openness has served me in my pursuit for deeper understanding. It’s helped me stay focused through the emotional and energetic ups and downs of the transformation process.

A turning point

Quitting my avoidance strategies was tough, and I went through many years of being highly sensitised and reactive. This has taught how much our moods effect our experience of pain.

My intuition told me that, despite having an instrument that was chronically out of tune, I could still find inner and outer alignment and harmony. That journey continues, with a 1% improvement each day I practice.

My journey with pain and misalignment - and the gradual improvement I’ve seen over the last years - has taught me a deep and profound respect for the human body. And it is my position that fully inhabiting every molecule of our body - on a feeling-sense level - is the foundation of living a truly empowered and embodied life.

Specialised-generalist

Although I’ve studied, practiced and contemplated many disciplines and healing arts - from yoga, taiji, chi gong, calisthenics, mobility, strength training, movement culture and dance, to holistic health, herbal medicine, Ayurveda, various cosmologies and shamanic practices, alongside breathing techniques, meditation and contemplation - I never felt drawn to bed down and establish myself in any of the cultures that surround them. Choosing instead to take what works, master the principles, and disregard the rest. Then moving on to answer the next burning question. Every modality has its value and purpose, but none are whole and complete or work for everyone all the time. This approach has equipped me with a broad, non-dogmatic, multi-disciplined, practical worldview. I encourage the same approach with my students.

Reframing practice

Movement is about more than just getting fit, longevity or preventing illness. It has the potential to be the vehicle through which we awaken the uncognised aspects of our mind; revealing and reversing repressed emotions and dispositions towards self, life and others - landing us square in the centre of being.

As we become more aligned with - and centred in - our being and essential nature we become more confident, competent and graceful - the world begins to open up for us and shit just works right!

I’m passionate about movement; not only as a therapeutic tool, but as vehicle for inner transformation. And it’s my joy to share the revelatory potential of movement to awaken the wisdom of the body.

Testimonials

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