About
move with Vivek
Meet Vivek
My Mission
Promote physical & mental fitness thru Functional Movement, Yoga, Exercise, and Mind Training Practices.
My Story
Background
My passion for Fitness took off after an injury – I pinched a nerve in my foot, making it difficult to walk or wear shoes. The constant pain forced a lot of introspection as to the causes. Stress played a key role in that injury. I’ve spent most of life in a state of elevated stress – I grew up in an alcoholic family where things were quite chaotic. With no way to escape that, I adapted by disconnecting from the experience of stress itself – though I embodied that stress in the way I moved, sat, walked.
As an adult, I was often unaware of my experience of stress. That changed in a doctors office where I went to learn about Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) Therapy, but instead got a 15-minute speech on the Nervous System. I was confused as to why I was getting a lesson on the Sympathetic Nervous System, thinking ‘my nervous system is fine, when are we going to get to the foot…’. Truth is, I wasn’t fine. That was a wakeup call. I was so desensitized to stress I didn’t even notice it. Being stuck in Fight or Flight was my normal.
I felt disillusioned, realizing PRP probably wouldn’t solve anything. As I tried to make sense of the daily pain I was in, it became a reminder of the environment I grew up in and what I was holding onto. There wasn’t a single area of my life that I felt good about. It was an empty experience that led to a deepening decline over the next 6 months before hitting a low point.
In that time I learned stress, and constant physical tension, played a role in developing bodily imbalances – I had what’s called a Left AIC pattern. My hips were stuck in anterior tilt, more so on the left, which over time was a contributor to improper foot function, and eventual injury. Inactivity played a role – both as a kid, and as an adult. But it was chronic stress that led to tightness in the hip flexors – the PSOAS muscle, sometimes called the ‘fight or flight’ muscle because it tenses up and readies us to spring into action under threat. That muscle just kept contracting and contracting, locking my body down, limiting my range of motion, forming imbalances, and leading various compensations and injury.
Facing Adversity
I made the conscious decision that I’m going to fix this. I’m going to fix my foot. I’m going to fix my hips. I’m going to fix every bodily imbalance. I didn’t care how long it took. It wasn’t about looking perfect, because we all have our natural asymmetries. It was about facing what those imbalances represented – my family, my childhood, disconnection, and constant stress.
I became obsessed with movement. Fitness, functional movement, and mobility became a way of life. I did corrective exercises multiple times per day – sometimes 3+ hours consecutively of corrective exercise. Completely focused. No distractions. After a couple months of this, I felt like something shifted in my brain that I couldn’t quite explain. By moving in new ways, maybe I was activating different parts of my brain. I also had intense emotional experiences after 3 hours of continuous movement. I would experience emotion that I hadn’t felt before, like I had gained access to it somehow thru movement. And thru that awareness I could make sense of those emotions that were previously trapped. I felt this release of shame, for example – a letting go of this previously sub-conscious feeling that I was never good enough, or something was wrong with me.
I came to learn how we embody the experiences we have in life. Movement is not just about the physical body – yes our body is designed to move and we should move often. Movement also represents the Mind… for me it became about finding balance, connecting body with brain with nervous system, optimizing my mental state, and improving my experience of life – including the impact in my own life and the lives of those around me.
The physical pain I experienced comes back from time to time. I came to learn that chronic pain, after primary causes have been dealt with, lives in the brain (and the nervous system). As I learned, for anyone in long term pain – psychological distress can trigger physical pain even without any of the physical precursors to that pain. It’s why some people never get out of chronic pain. That’s part of the challenge, on top of the physical component. So, the work never ends.
Shortly after starting Physical Therapy I completed a 6 month Yoga Teacher Training Certification – which helped me focus more on Movement, Breathing, and Meditation. I also completed a 2 month Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program which deepened my focus on Meditation and Breathing. I have a Certification in Deep Stretching thru Yogabody Teachers College, which is great not just for those passionate about yoga, but athletes as well, and anyone with bodily imbalances they are trying to improve range of motion. I’ve become an Interpersonal Neurobiology Trained Coach thru the MindSight Institute – completing 7 courses which focus on Mind, Brain, Body & Interpersonal Relationships. I’m currently working towards my Personal Trainer Certification.
All of these experiences and trainings have helped me connect with my body, experience feelings I had previously suppressed, make sense of the things I’ve been thru in life, and find balance as much as I can. Movement, exercise, personal growth – these aren’t just passions, they are a way of life! We have one body, one life.
I’m here to share my passion with others. The goal is to help you live a healthier, happier, more satisfying life. No matter who you are, no matter what your life circumstance, no matter what your past, what is holding you back, what you’re holding onto, or what your beliefs – change is 100% possible! Movement (including Mind Training Practices) is that change – do it consistently and it will change your life!
Background & Certifications
- Certified Yoga Instructor (200 HR YTT YACEP)
- Certified Stretching Coach (30 HR YACEP)
- Interpersonal Neurobiology Trained Coach (Mindsight Institute)
- Meditation Practitioner & Completed 8-Week MBSR (Umass)
- Personal Trainer (Coming Soon!)