Walk (like a dog) to success

A few years back I got obsessed with Israeli movement guru Ido Portal.

What do I mean by "movement guru"?

Well, I wish I had an easy definition. Or even a better word to describe him. But I don't.

Because he goes way beyond just a "physical trainer"... or a "athletic achievement specialist"... or some of the other titles I've heard.

Basically, he's taken martial arts, gymnastics, hand balancing, boxing, olympic weight lifting, and any other discipline that involves moving the body... and combined them all into a single methodology that transcends each individual component completely.

As such, his methodology goes way, way beyond the "realm" of physical activity.

Because to Ido, movement is a spiritual practice.

It's a vehicle to get at the deeper aspect of what it means to be human:

Self-Discovery

One of the things Ido teaches is "Animal Locomotion" (which is a fancy way of saying walk like an animal).

There's nothing really new about that idea.

Moving like animals is prevalent in tai-chi, yoga, and many other movement practices (it's why in yoga you have poses like "downward dog").

But the way Ido teaches it, is way more fun.

So on any given day you might find me horse walking (pretty tough tbh), crawling across the ground like a lizard, squat-waddling like a pigeon, and more and more.

In fact, when I'm out and about in the wild world, you can catch me mimicking any old animal I see for fun.

Like a while back when I was at the park and saw a crane hunting lizards. So I started doing the "crane walk".

Or more recently when I've been copying some of the stretches my dog does.

Or a few years ago in Hawaii, when I started mimicking a pigeon (by squat-waddling and bobbing my head) to the glee of a few youngsters near by (and mocking taunts from their parents — the praise of toddlers washes away the shame of adults any day).

Sure I do these movements because they're healthy and make me stronger. But the real reason I've incorporated them into my life is much deeper than that.

It's the same reason those youngsters were giggling at my pigeon-antics.

They're fun!

And my feeling is that the more we (as adults) can learn to play and have fun, with nothing but out bodies and minds (no booze, cell phones, gossiping, drama, or any of the other things that magnetize the adult mind), the richer and more compelling life is.

Sure you gotta be serious sometimes and head to the stock market to do a business.

Of course you have to P&L the investors for maximum sixth quarter growth.

Yes you have to bottomeline the spreadsheets from time to time.

(see, that's me having fun)

But if you forget how to play, you're missing out on a lot of what it means to be human.

Alritey den — Tomorrow I have something special for you. But for now, you can join my client waiting list here:

www.copybymccune.com/waitlist

Tyler McCune



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