Gary Stockdale

1. How would you define your personal practice? I have a playful, yet trying relationship with gravity. I have an obsessive, analytical thirst to understand and enhance the relationships of my body. And I am enamoured with the Water.

2. What turning points have you encountered on your movement journey? I was Fat, didn’t like that, so I started moving better. Liked movement enough to consider a career in it, got a degree. With that degree, worked in rehab for a few years, gained more perspective.

3. What role has injury played in cultivating your current niche? So damn much. Reconstructive ankle surgery at the age of 16, shit posture leading to chronic back pain during those years, 7 ipsilateral rib fractures from a car accident 3 years back. I have become empowered to understand and respect my body, through injury.

4. Do you consider yourself a teacher? Why or why not? I love my role as a teacher. 50+ Hours a week I am teaching people about movement. Whether in an aquatic, rehabilitative or fitness/health context, I love sharing my passion for movement.

5. What has been your experience with physical education, both in the schooling system and sought out knowledge/ know-how elsewhere? The physical education system failed me as a young mover. It didn’t motivate me towards a certain sport and it didn’t empower me to understand my body. As an overweight youth, the only thing it did, was reinforce the notion of my inferiority. My extracurricular physical education, in the acquisition of my degree and through personal study, has been a process of advancement and enlightenment. A process which I seek to provide to the movement community broadly.

6. How do you involve your mind/ emotions into your physical routines? The mindset of a mover, shapes the entire experience of their movement. If one feels frail while engaging in ANY movement, that is how movement is conducted. Like things could fall apart at any moment. That is why I seek to educate myself and my clients/students/patients on the nuances of the human body. The mindset/emotional state of a mover is sent into a tail spin, whenever the mover is surprised by or unsure about a movement outcome. Education about the body empowers people to understand movement outcomes and removes the unknowns. With less emotional stress, comes more physical progress.

7. What are your personal aspirations regarding movement? How do you hope to find purpose and use in the skills you have built? I want to create a system and systems of movement, that empowers children to explore and understand a wide array of movement variety, through a better understanding of their human bodies. Movement education should be a top priority of all education systems. I seek to make it worthy.

8. How can people find/ contact you? Do you have a site or social media handle to share?

instagram @Gfunctional