Douglas

I became interested in the movement of my body around the age of 12, after an untreated traumatic brain injury was almost immediately followed by an accident that mangled my lower leg and left me in a variety of different casts for around nine months. During that time, I was given heavy doses of narcotics for four months that kept me asleep to prevent me from moving. I remember the moment I received the okay from the doctor to start doing activities again—playing basketball was at the top of my list. As soon as I could, I grabbed a basketball, went outside, and fired off a jump shot, only to realize that nothing about how my body moved was the same anymore. My body was no longer light, nor was movement enjoyable; it felt heavy and burdensome to move. I had become clumsy, and any impact—even from a small jump—caused a sensation that felt like the bones in my joints were colliding. This was the start of a lifelong journey to figure out how to regain my body's structural integrity and strength. I eventually owned a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy and taught others how I perceived movement in the body until, in my late thirties, a conversation with a bodyworker about what I was teaching revealed that what I was describing was called fascia. She gave me a book on the subject, saying it would help me communicate what I was experiencing to others. That moment ultimately changed the trajectory of my life. Now, my goal is to help others become consciously aware of their fascia and learn how to restructure it so they can change how it holds and supports their body—whether to eliminate pain, create more space in their joints for greater and safer mobility, stabilize their spine, correct their posture, improve their quality of life, or apply it to athletic pursuits, among other things.