What The Function: The Movement Rehab Specialist

"One of the issues of modern society is hyperventilation, where we breathe in more oxygen than we need and that creates more of an anxious and reactive response." - Ameer Al Dagher


Hello and welcome back to Broadband.

We have a phenomenal episode for you today with Ameer Al Dagher. You might know Ameer as your favorite movement rehabilitation specialist on Instagram, but he's so much more than that, and you'll be finding out on today's episode the insights that he shared which are incomparable.

References mentioned in this episode:
Trigger Point Therapy Workbook
Thera Cane Massager
Ida Pauline Rolf
Tummo breathing technique
Wim Hof Guided Breathing
Andrew Huberman Breathing Technique
4-7-8 Breathing Technique
Cristiano Ronaldo Deep Breath Video
Vivo Barefoot Shoes
Carl Yung
Sigmund Freud
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Leverage - Naval Ravikant
Stacking Habits
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Pliability (aka ROM WOD )
Breathwrk App
Samar Yunis
Fatima Juma
Reem Al Bannaw
Moshé Feldenkrais

Reach out to the guest at:
Instagram @ameer.aldagher
www.ameeraldagher.com

Reach out to broadband at:
Instagram @broadband.podcast
Email aziz@seedsmedia.org
Other Links

Reach out to luucid at:
Instagram @luucidkw
Website luucidkw.com
For guest recommendations Email hello@luucid.co

Transcript

Ameer aldagher 

Rev B

[00:00:00] Intro

Aziz: Hello and welcome back to Broadband. Now, before you say anything, we know it's been a while. We took an unexpected hiatus and it's entirely me, not you. Now to make it up to you, we have a phenomenal episode for you today with Ameer Al Dagher. Now you might know Ameer as your favorite movement rehabilitation specialist on Instagram, but he's so much more than that, and you'll be finding out on today's episode the insights he shared are incomparable 

now. Enjoy the episode, but before you do, I wanna thank you again for tuning in. We really appreciate you and we missed you. I had to say it now. Enjoy. Take care. 

Uh, And, and emit as like Aziza, I said in our pre-interview call uh, you are one of the individuals that has always been on our radar because, 

uh, Functional fitness has always been almost like a buzzword. Everyone uses the term functional For, for, in a lot of cases just to kind of sell things. But it seems like you have found a way to make it so marketable and so easy to absorb. In your Instagram clips, you have like 22nd, 32nd clips where you draw people's attention. You give them exactly what they need to know and you have a call to action. Specifically. That every movement counts. So be be mindful o o of the way you move. 

Uh, And so you're a rehab specialist and also a, a functional trainer at the same time you wear two hats. Is that correct?

[00:01:36] Functional Training vs Fitness

Ameer: It is correct to a certain degree, although I've, I mean, moved into. Injuries and rehab. I mean, for like 90% of of the clients that I see, it's no longer about fitness, more about, let me get you back on track. Let's see how we can, I mean, fix you, fix your life maybe in different levels. Maybe we'll talk about that later on.

But I mean, fitness is. I don't know. It's a buzzword like you said. It can mean a lot of things. I mean, coming to your point, what is functional? What is fitness? I mean, this industry has been what, like maybe 50 top 60 years old people didn't work out back in the day. No gyms, no instructors. .

But I mean, no such thing was, was found back in the twenties. And the tens maybe sports, yes, some form of strength training, but like, that's like the man's pursuit of, you know, finding himself. But nothing like what we see today. 

So, I mean, The industry is gonna take its time to figure out what fitness is and what functional is. And it's, it's very broad and it's very has blurry lines. It's not really set in stone. 

For me, it all goes back to what are you trying to achieve? Somebody who is running marathons can be seen as dysfunctional. Because it takes two, three hours a day to do. So maybe two hard hours of recovery. So how are you working? What are you doing? It's not functional for people who have a job, maybe only a select few who can be dedicated.

So I mean, that term is not clearly defined for the right reasons. It's a, it's a, it's a young industry. We have different gurus saying conflicting stuff, and I think that's okay. When, when when a new industry is, is. It's trying to figure things out. It's okay to have a lot of disagreement. 

[00:03:18] The beginning of Ameer's Journey 

Aziz: Yeah. And, and your personal journey started with a body ache. I mean, it started when you, back in 2010 when your, with your. During her treatment in Houston. And so, how did your functional fitness journey start? And how did that affect the way that you originally saw functional fitness?

Ameer: So, I mean, back in 2010, I mean, during college, freshman year of college, I was pretty fit playing basketball every day, working out. And then I think 2010 I had an, I had an injury to my ankle and that stopped me from playing basketball workload, you know, Was huge. And I discovered burgers, my love for burgers.

So I gain, I gained about maybe 45 kilograms in, in, in about a year and a half. So I felt pretty hopeless after that, that there's like, I can't move, there's this, all the schoolwork that I have to do. And then, I injured both of my shoulders and both my elbows.

Um, Went to traditional physiotherapy. It was just a bunch of injections. TheraBand exercise. , it wasn't anything that was really effective.

Not even the, the injections at the doctor's office did any difference, and it was until 2013. When, like you said, I went with my mom for her treatment. This is when I met a chiropractor who did myofascial release. At that time, I don't think myofascial release was big, but it was myofascial release is basically how do I massage or put pressure on a muscle to quote, unquote release it. To get the muscle function back to normal. And within five sessions I was back to normal. And the, the, the clinic's, the clinic's promise was, was the thing that bought me in was, if we don't get you good in six sessions, you can have your money back. I was like, okay, I'm not losing anything. 

And that, that, that chiropractor. Had a huge role in, in, in how I saw, you know, this journey. Because by the end of like the third, fourth session, he told me, Amir, listen, like you're really into this. Subscribe to this website called Mobility Wad. I don't know if you've heard of it, Kelly Star, he's huge into the CrossFit world. Learn all these stuff about, you know, the, the, your elbow, your shoulder, your hips, all of that. Educate yourself and start applying. And that's actually what. 

And I stumbled upon something called the self fork book for Trigger point therapy. And it's, it is designed for people like you and me with no, you know, background in this. And it's very straightforward. You see a picture, there's. A couple of Xs on muscles where you press with a lacrosse ball, like a massage wall or, or a Thera cane, which is like a therapy cane where you can apply some pressure and you literally see your body change in terms of movement as you do this stuff.

So I started reading it from like cover to cover. Started applying it to all my muscles. I'm like, this is fascinating. Went, went back to Kuwait, applied that stuff with my friends different aches and pains. Started going away and I'm like, oh my God, I'm a wizard. But , but I mean, A few years down the line that stopped working.

It wasn't just about massaging and it wasn't just about releasing the tension. It was more, I mean now more so than before was it's about the nervous system. It's about your, you know, brain's perception of your body and how can you change. 

So, I, I don't like the idea of just sticking to muscle anatomy and that's it. I think there's a bigger governing body in the human body, which is the nervous system, and that's what I'm interested in right now.

Aziz: So that's you, you know, you, you just unpacked a lot and there's a lot to go over here. But you know, in the very beginning you said that functional fitness to you means that it's not one side. Is fits all. Everyone has their own unique bespoke method to healing and to becoming more functional. But then at the same time, you mentioned that it's one's own experience that decides whether or not someone's body will be healthy or, or will be functional and, and so makes your job to me extremely complicated.

[00:07:28] Starting with a new client 

Aziz: How much time do you have to spend at the very beginning with a client or patient? Interview them almost. Do you give them surveys? What are some of the tools that you use to actually understand what's going on with your client specifically, since your client might not even know why they are aching? 

Ameer: So I do online sessions and in-person sessions, and an online sessions are a bit more tricky. So there's usually a survey that is sent beforehand just to get a couple of pieces of information about their history. And when people hear history, they usually think, okay, what happened? Did you fall? Did you lift weights? Like, what is the exact incidence that caused this? 

But I'm more interested in the situation that the person was in when they started, started having. Type of pain. And it's almost 90% of the time if it wasn't something traumatic, if it wasn't something, you know, like a fall, like a really heavy weight.

It is, it is almost always the case that there was something socially emotionally workload stress related that has been going on around that time. 

So the conversation becomes more about, tell me about. At that time and tell me about you right now. And they started talking about their knee or their shoulder. I'm like, no, no. Tell me what was going on. So some of the cases have had a miscarriage and now six months after they started having, you know, unexplainable neck pain. And it's very hard for a client to understand that these are both related. They both impact the nervous system. everything that we are subjected to affect our nervous system. 

 And this is where it's like, okay, what hat do I wear? I'm not a, I'm not a psychotherapist but I'm there to listen. I'm there to understand and I'm there to provide a perspective where, you know, you are a whole human being. You know, these events are not, you cannot just pick and choose what effects you want, doesn't we are. Always under their influence. 

And then it comes down. Let's apply some treatments. Let's change a bit about your life and how you breathe and how you sleep. And apply some different protocols that I, that I've gathered, gathered over the years, and let's see how you change. And in most cases, they are surprised by the, by the changing quality of, of their whole life, not just their injury. So it's more about changing the person as a whole and not just the physical aspects of them.

Aziz: Right. And so from what you're saying to me is that your. Method of rehabilitation is mindful and empathetic because you sit there and you have a conversation. And even though you're not a psychotherapist or licensed in any way, you're there to listen and anyone can listen. 

Now people that are licensed, people that have a medical license, a doctor that are usually the first go-to for a lot of people in pain 

so the, the doctor usually, you know, the fir I, I have a back kick. The first thing I wanna do is go to the doctor. The doctor's gonna gimme a cortisone shot. Very, a passive, very in and out. The doctor's not even gonna ask me about my day, right? He doesn't care. He wants to get the next client in. I've usually seen that through my own experience and through the experience with my family members. 

So, your method seems to be a lot more complicated in the sense that. It's not just one session that's going to fix that client. And, and it seems to be, uh, the treatment process seems to be a, a mixture. Am an amalgamation of both. Passive and active recovery, right? So you have the active recovery of reflection, like that's the emotional aspect of, of recovery that I never actually equated to physical recovery. So that's active as well. But then also you give them, like you mentioned exercises, but then you also mentioned the passive recovery like fascia. 

[00:11:04] Rolfing 

Aziz: Like your, your fa fascia manipulation. I e rolfing. Explain what Rolfing is to people uh, that may not know the.

Ameer: So, uh, Ralph is based on the work of Ida Rolf. She is a biochemist. Who discovered that, you know, by manual manipulation of the human body, you can change the structure of how the body interacts with gravity. She was really into the idea of the body and gravity, and that is a law or a force that we cannot get rid of, you know?

So, with raving, what, what happens is that by the force of hand, like a form of massage, that is pretty painful. A Ralf tries to mold or manipulate the tissue to change the structure of the body. 

And for instance, and this is, she's very famous for this a case of scoliosis where the spine curves to one side or an s scoliosis where there are two curves in the spine. 

So what she goes in to do is actually figure out firstly, why is the spine curving in that direction? Is it because can we start at the feet to get the best results? Is it because of foot imbalance? Is it because of a knee imbalance? Was it, is it because of a hip imbalance? And how can we manipulate the tissues around these structures to straighten the. And the first session for Ida, and this is back in the twenties, would always be about the breath. She always, she would balance the breath. 

So this advantage of. Our ability to inhale air in and inflate our body is the first place that she starts her sessions with. So she balances the breath, balances the ribcage, and then she moves on to the rest of the body in a, something called a 12 session series of ing. So it's actually split up into 12 sessions, and with each session she takes care of different layers of the human body. 

I've tried this in um, this is one of the first few things that really drew me in, into this whole principle of therapy 

where the, the, the, the Rolfer that I visited, Asked me to not say a word for the whole 90 sessions cuz I was so interested. I was like, you know, I wanna become a rocker and whatnot.

And I was hooked right after that cuz. Attention to detail and care and presence within the session was so addicting and so rewarding and so respectful that every minute of the session mattered. And I did it. I did it and, and I, I went and learned from a different type of structural integration school, but it was quite a process.

Aziz: That's amazing that your first experience was almost like a spiritual one. It felt like you were floating not only in body, but also in spirit. Right. I mean, and that's the beautiful thing about, about. Let's say a more, a more holistic approach to recovery. Because the very transactional approach that a lot of people are used to nowadays, the capitalistic go to the go to the doctor approach leaves a lot of of the um, spiritual aspect at the door 

[00:14:05] Spiritual vs transactional healing

Aziz: um, So why do you think there was such a drastic change in the way we heal from the more spiritual to the more I, I guess the more western way of, of healing, which is more transac.

Ameer: I think, I mean, hospitals and doctors for the most part, for non chronic issues. Like if you, if you break your, your arm you're not gonna go to a spiritual healer. You're gonna go to. Get on an ambulance and go there. If you have heart failure, you're gonna do the same. So that jump in in science and, and, and medicine has been great at prolonging our life and fixing stuff that we couldn't fix normally.

You know, cardiac issues, all this stuff. It's very hard to figure out on a, let's say, spiritual. By, by a traditional healer. But I think it's still the case that, you know, Chinese medicine to a huge degree. And, you know, the, the holistic health is, is, you know, having a comeback now, you know, for like diabetes, for chronic issues, for immune diseases, autoimmune diseases.

This is it, it's, it's, it's a holistic approach. I mean, nobody, You know, the modern medicine does not have a solution for these things quite yet. So it, it's back to the, you know, food, relationships, spirituality, and all that kind of stuff. Breath work is a huge uh, part of it. I think it's still there.

It's not the easy way out. I mean with uh, advancement of technology and, you know, we want the quick fix right now. Uh, Medicine is great at it. Popping pills is, is amazing at it. If you want a solution to your problem

right now, this is, this is uh, how you get it. 

[00:15:49] Intermission

Aziz: Hey guys. This is the part of the podcast where people usually tell you to buy this product or subscribe to this service, but we don't have any sponsors yet, so we'll sell ourselves. Instead, we have four simple asks. One, please subscribe if you haven't already. Two. Share the podcast. Share it with your friends, share it with your family, and share it with a stranger. Start a conversation. Three. Check out the show notes. You can find all the references that we've already made and or are about to make on there. And four, engage with us on Instagram and email. Enjoy the rest of the show. 

So. So there, you mentioned something very interesting to me, and, and you've been talking about this, the, the entire episode so far in that the emotions play a huge role on your physical health and. And, and, and so you, you and I grew up hearing that, you know, a healthy mind is a healthy body and vice versa, but we don't all live in safe spaces or bubbles. And I think that's by design and that's for the best. So it is natural that some days one would go to bed crying or you'd have yourself a tragic you know, incident in your life that's really affecting you and manifests physically.

[00:17:02] How to self heal 

Aziz: But how do you teach your clients to be independent and self-reliant and so that they will be able to, one, recognize that their emotions are at play and affecting their, their body, and then take the appropriate steps and measures to fix themselves without coming to you for, for support? What are some of the tools that you give them to almost do a self-analysis?

Ameer: So I think the first step always is, is awareness in creating that kind of aha moment for the client. I try to explain to them what happens to the body when you're under severe stress with no kind of recovery or help. And this is where I go into the nervous system and how it elevates Into a stress response response into a sympathetic type of response where the heart rate increases, the breath rate increases your pupils dilate.

And one of the first few things is that I use actually as an assessment and also as an aha moment, is the simple question is, do you get up? Out of sleep to go to the bathroom at night. And if the question is yes, it's like how many times? And if it's like two times per night, that's a pretty high number. And, and that should not happen when you're resting. 

Another a another question that people, you know, they, they rarely think about is asking them, how many hours per week do you play in quota? They're like, I mean, I, I never play. What do you mean play? I'm like, no. H how many times do you go just to the movies for the sake of watching a movie? How many hours a week do you read? How many hours per week do you do? Just fun stuff for the, for the sake of resting.

How many friends do you have? Do you have genuine friends or not? And these are like serious questions that people rarely ask themselves when they are dealing with. then once they see themselves as, you know, this single individual who is not connected to a huge network and is not getting enough rest, this is where they're like, okay, this, this should be a priority of mine. And, and, and I will try to do that. 

And on multiple clients the usual advice is when you're under stress, try to connect with people. Have, have a support system and usually there are like a few friends, family members they, that they entrust in and try to connect. Just so you can have that connection and that would automatically put you in a parasympathetic safe state. And we're missing that. We are individuals and we're not really a tribe anymore. Which is a, a, a huge, huge deal because we cannot go through this life on our own. And that is really talked about from the pain perspective. 

But then, um, uh, to be honest with you, but it's very, very rare for people to actually take it up because the issues that I'm running in That I'm having issues with right now with clients. It's not the therapy itself, but it's issues like sticking to the therapy, coming to sessions, changing their life, changing who they are, and those stem from very deep places.

So if I have a lot of clients and I'm just treating their symptoms, yes, I'm treating their pain, but I'm not really changing on a deep level who they are as a human, then there's something missing and I want to involve myself in that deeper. Change that is possible rather than just being a clinic.

[00:20:26] Moving Masses 

Aziz: But I'm sure the ones that do take it up are intense about it. They make it a huge priority in their lives. You again, have a very great way of, of pulling people in, whether you do it on an Instagram video or during this interview. Uh, and like I said, I, I can see a lot of people being very intense about this solution. Do you, , do you, uh, do you consider, uh, at all being a cult leader? I think you do a fantastic job,

Ameer: uh, I think Naval talks about this in depth, Naval Lan. If, if you've heard of him, He says, when you have leverage, you have to make sure that's in, it's in the right direct. When you, when you can move masses, or if you have a huge following, then you have to make sure that the things that you're doing are the right things or else you will end up in the wrong spot.

It's good that you can have access to this amount of people, but then again, you have to make sure that what you're doing is a hundred percent. And I've been thinking about the whole, you know, human experience. From childhood to to adulthood. And I think that process needs to change drastically to have functional human beings. I think we are dysfunctional by design of the process around us. 

So I think about now, nowadays, I think, I think my, my focus will eventually shift. It's, it's a hard shift. It's tough to move this, this stone, 

you know, post by post maybe even more so in my stories that this is what I'm more interested in. I'm still hugely interested in movement, of course, and I, and I study movement every single day, just like walking in the mall.

I see people, how they walk, how they, their foot slaps, and I. I can't just walk around. Normally I have to lemme check out. Like if we are at a gathering and there are babies, I just try to check everyone, every baby's feet, how they move. And I just like sometimes give ans uh, advice. But I mean, it's, it's, it, it has taken over my life.

But what I'm, I think the, the key here for this pivot is actually to go after the practitioners. So it's not really to educate on an individual level, but go to the physios, to the trainers, to the holistic practitioners and say, Hey, listen. How do we build up a life-changing experience for the client as opposed to just treating their pain? So it's a long-term process. So, you

Aziz: Yeah, I can see that for. I But, but you also saying that you want to teach the teachers seems to be a goal that is very doable in the sense that you can make enough noise and, and stir up enough action where, where you'll be noticed and, and you can. Give the people in power that have, that, that, that have the ability to change society the, the tools.

[00:23:16] Breathing Techniques 

Aziz: Okay, so, um, 

There's so many breathing techniques from the Timo method to the Wmh H method. They, they, they go you know, Andrew Huberman has one as well, that, that can that can down-regulate your, your central nervous system. So there's so many of them. What breathing techniques should our listeners Google and maybe learn?

Ameer: I think uh, we are at a time where I think um, our perspective of breathing is gonna change. And in the sense of that, yes, breath work as breath work where you just dedicate some time to breathe is, is important and, and, and, and doable. Definitely. But the more the more that we look at breath work from a flow point of view, where it happens spontaneously, the easier it is integrated in our day-to-day life.

For example, one of the issues of modern day is hyperventilation and, and hyperventilation is where when we uh, as a society, breathe in more oxygen than we need. Meaning our breath rate is around 20 breaths per minute as opposed to like 12, which is close to normal.

And in in that response, or because of that behavior, we. Go into more of an anxiety response, not really full on anxiety, but you're more anxious, you're more reactive, you're more fidgety. And, and that is not the best way to be 24 7 and one of the most easier ways to, to. Oppose this pattern is to actually just extend the exhale.

So from a breathwork point of view, you can just do like the 4, 7, 8, if you've heard of it. So four seconds of inhale, seven seconds, hold eight seconds. Exhale. 

They actually used this to treat P T H D, and, and, and that was very close to, to the actual pills of. But from another point of view, we can extend the exhales. And I, I also induce humming, which is a great way to produce nitric oxide in our nose to dilate our vessels and have a lower blood pressure, hence better, better oxygen, CO2 exchange by just For example if you, if you read Koran , if you just do some proper Quran weed or you will get that effect. Or humming or singing or just having that extended exhale by means of like a long chant like the, the, the Buddhist do, or like the opera singers do. Right? And that is more of an activity that you do rather than actual breath work. 

So, the, the, the application of this is huge and that's why I. Is breathwork, you are elongating the, the, the eyes, the, the verses and hence you are extending that exhale. So is that is a great way to do it.

So the higher CO2 you have in your blood, the more oxygen goes to your tissues, which is counterintuitive, right? So if you want to really oxygenate your tissues, the level of CO2 in the blood has to be. And that means holding your breath for longer. So walking a fast walk with nasal breathing, a jog with nasal breathing or any kind of cardio activity, even if you're doing weights, you can just nasally breathe. And that's actually breath work. 

Now, from another point of view, and that's more of a functional integrative way of looking at breathwork from another point of view, there are other forms of breathwork that are designed to get a different response. So tumor breathing and the wmh h. I've actually met Wmh H in in 2017 in London, and I've took his advanced course, but tumor breathing, wom h holotropic breath work.

I think transformational breath work. These are all forms of breathing that. Actually upregulate the nervous system. They take you out of a place of, let's say depression to actually a huge excitation. And, and, and that's when you get all the endorphins, the dopamine, the also the same effect as l s d with hollow tropic breath work. And you get this new sensation in, in your In your brain and in your body. So, 

but this involves the opposite of what I was talking about. This involves hyperventilation and oxygenating the body to levels of much higher than usual. And this is where it induces this type of response. 

So all depends on what the person wants and how to achieve it. 

But I think because of that lingering anxiety in the air that we all can feel. I think the increasing our tolerance for CO2 is, is the way to go first down, regulating the nervous system, getting into that zone throughout the whole day so we can face stressors appropriately and then maybe occasionally get that experience of hyperventilation.

[00:28:19] How to Learn Breathing Teqniques

Aziz: Yeah. Where would we learn where would be the best place to learn these breathing techniques? I know it's online. Anyone can go on YouTube for free and Google this stuff, but then how do you get it more to be more applicable?

Ameer: I think, uh, some app applications are coming up, like open and I think it's called breathe or breath work where you can just have a timer, do a breath practice and get about, get about your day. 

I think the I think the best way is to actually incorporate it where breathing is needed, which is sports. So in a support setting where if you see Christian Ronaldo before. He takes a free kick or a penalty kick, he breathes in and slow out and he repeats it again and it's a very conscious breath and just highlighting that nobody sees right, they're just waiting for the kick. But if you just, the camera's on his face, you can see him really taking a deep breath into the nose and out through the mouth, and he repeats it A couple of. And then he goes for the, for the free kick. 

So if it is tied to performance, if it's tied for a physical and mental mental performance, that would be so much easier to incorporate. I think. The double inhale exhale that you were talking about with Huberman, I apply while, while, while running. Right. So if I wanna improve something that I already do and just add on or stack that breathing practice on top of it, that's the best way to do.

So, go to clubs, go to private gyms all these places at the end of the class. So at the end of a intense hi, hit class. What happens? People just dry off their sweat, drink water and just go, go on about their day while their heart rate is still. Lets incorporate maybe five, 10 minutes of slow breathing with extended exhales by the end of it to just down-regulate your.

And that in that way people will be aware of that kind of practices. 

I think also what is gonna change things a lot if, if high performance are at at school. So before an exam, while while studying, having a 10 minute breath work practice would be a huge deal for them because there's an association with faulty breathing mechanics as kids and iq. So kids who cannot really inhale through the nose, have an obstructed nose, have a difficult time learning. And acquiring new, new behaviors. So, it's actually a huge deal for, for, for everyone. But I think the best way is just to stack it on, on, on your daily habits. Uh,

[00:30:46] Misconceptions in Functional Movement

Aziz: so what are some misconceptions related to functional training or a functional way of life that you have to battle daily, whether it be with friends, family, or with clients?

Ameer: I think number one would be I have to find the appropriate type of shoe. I think that's an obsession, especially in Kuwait. We are obsessed with shoes. I think they, the, it's a, it's a important piece of garment and, you know, the, the color, the, the size, how it fits and whatnot. But it's more about how your foot functions rather than how, what, what, what, what shoes you're in.

I think the. For the most part, for most people, less cushioning, less shoes on, on good surfaces is the best way to go. Hence, like the shoes, like the Vivo, ultra running the limbs, all these companies have come up with this model where you actually can feel your toes wiggle while you're in the shoe. You, you should be able to feel your toes individually while you are in a shoe. 

So, I mean, and, and, and take care of how your f mobilizes and how it moves or how strong it is before really looking at any kind of shoes.

Um, I think another one is like, how do I fix my back pain? And that's like the most. That's the toughest question. It's kind of like, how do I become rich and ? It's, it's like the same approach. Like it's, it's a whole story. We have to assess where you're at. We have to know what to do. There's not no one magical exercise cuz I think um, Because of Instagram.

Instagram, I think the, the general population has been led to believe that there are certain exercises for a certain type of things, but it's not the case, you know? Um, we are so far away from the idea that there's like a mental, physical aspect to exercise where I need to really feel the movement happen at a specific place for me to have counted that rep or for that rep to count or for that effect to stick.

And it's, it's, I mean, I, I have a program out. And it's full of exercises and it's full of explanation. How do I assess my body as a whole and, and execute? And I've, and I've explained to people in those videos that everything should be taken very slow, done very diligently with so much care and consciousness, but yet still a lot of the people who are in this program just want to execute the movement from, you know, like a digital system from zero to 1, 0 1.

I just wanna execute and finish. But it's not about that. Back pain is not about executing a, a. It's not about executing an exercise, it's about, you know, first of all, removing threat to the body, whether that's physical, mental emotional, just so the body can feel safe. And then finding out biomechanically, what's going on with the back. Is it the hip not working? Is it the foot that's really flat that's not allowing the hip? To load? Is it the actual lower back that's not really extending or flexing? There's a lot of layers to it and it's usually multiple layers to one problem. It's never just one muscle. A therapist that can identify one muscle for a problem is not really a therapist. He's a magician cuz it's never one muscle cuz the body never moves. Any, any movement. Even when I move my head like this, I'm gonna involve the neck, the thorax, the, the hands, everything is gonna move. So it's always about layering of issues to contribute to that back pain. And it's, it's tough for people to understand that they think I am being selfish and not sending them the appropriate exercises.

But I mean, this is , this is where like online education, You know, comes in place and I try to expand more on my telegram channel where I take my time with like 10 minutes of explaining just one form of problem and how to go about it. So, so, um, I think these are the top two, like shoes and back pain are, are very hot.

Aziz: And it's, and it sounds like you have to be very patient to almost unteach your clients these biases. But 

uh, what are some of the key points or what's some good advice that you want to give to our listeners that they can apply? You gave them so much already, but what do you wanna close off with?

Ameer: Like we said throughout the whole episode, that the movement is interrelated with your nervous system. So if you wanna have a smoother movement, better performance better functioning joints, just take care of your nervous system.

And the way to do that is to actually. You setting out um, on a piece of paper your relationships with people around you and how can you improve that. And I think, as cheesy as that might sound, but I think the best way to receive love is to give love, and that will regulate your nervous system.

So I think one of the biggest findings for me in 2022 is that always think about what that person in front of you needs and your, your need will will be fulfilled and that will down-regulate your nervous system. 

I think that was one of the biggest findings that I've, that I've seen cuz you know The, the true connection and a true way to really regulate your nervous system is connection with people.

And the better that you connect with people and have quality relationships, the better your nervous system is. The better your performance is, the better your joints are, the longer your life is in a healthy way. 

So I think just like take care of yourself by taking care of the people around you by just loving them and knowing what they need and providing.

And I think that's the simplest way for the nervous system to re react in a parasympathetic, downregulated healthy way. 

And that's, that's applicable right away. So like, if you haven't called your mom, call her up. If you haven't called your sister brother, call them up. You know, gather around with your family in a tel or something.

And I, and I think that's, that's what most people need. They don't need sessions with me. They don't need, you know, to see clinics and whatnot. That's the best kind of therapy.

Aziz: Hmm. Wow. Uh, honestly, that, uh, that answer almost make makes me need to go give uh, my mom and dad a hug right now, . Um, um, uh, So, so thank you that that's actually an aha moment for me.

Uh, Amir, thank you so much for sharing your experience, your insights some of the best advice that I've ever gotten. So thank you so much for doing that and for giving so much of, of, of yourself during our time together. 

Uh, How can we support you?

Ameer: Well, I just, I think, share this podcast. I think this was a very good podcast. This is, I'm, I think, I think listening to two people talk can be really insightful and, and I think some information here that I shared was not shared elsewhere. And it really says a lot about what we need in this world and um, just like share it, listen.

that's, that's the best way to, to, to, to maybe get to know the real me, not on social media. It's, it's quite different. I'll try to make it clear and clearer with time. But I think we need more podcasts, especially locally. So I think supporting this podcast is supporting me and, and getting the message out there.

Aziz: Wonderful. And, and thank you. 

Um, It's all about community and you mentioned that making yourself better is making your loved ones better. 

I, I, I thanked you a million times. I'm gonna thank you one more time. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And uh, and yeah

, uh, we'll be releasing this episode shortly. You're the man.

[00:37:36] Outro

Aziz: This podcast will not be possible without your support. So please subscribe to our podcast, share it with your friends and family. Check out the show notes for any references made and engage with us on Instagram and email. Thank you.