Movement is who he is – and what he does.
Midgette, 37, is owner and operator of Body Knowledge in the True North building on Rte. 1 in Falmouth. He’s been in motion since he began martial arts training as a teen. He also discovered rolfing at an early age and never considered another career besides the one he’s in. Since taking over his current space last spring, he has offered clients rolfing, movement and body work, and systema, a form of Russian martial arts.
“What I’m looking at in a larger sense is helping people move better,” says Midgette, a married father of three who lives in Brunswick. He is quick to point out that he’s not a physical therapist or personal trainer. Using breath work and structural and postural awareness he can help people overcome chronic pain and movement issues by teaching the body all the different — and sometimes unusual — ways it can move.
“We make assumptions about our shapes,” he says. “People say ‘I’ve always carried myself this way.’ Yes, but you don’t have to.”
According to Midgette, who studied exercise science in college and then earned his certification from the Rolf Institute of Structural Training, there’s never a time in your life when you use just one muscle. Even while simply standing, our body’s muscles are constantly adjusting. For this reason, he’d rather see clients teach their legs to find their strength and range of motion rather than simply try to stretch out a hamstring.
The movement classes are physical and participants often leave feeling sore from using muscles they never noticed before. Through rolfing he helps people learn how to move their structural pieces correctly. Some may have joint issues, scarring or overcompensate from past injuries. He helps to manipulate not just the bone or muscle but also the connective tissues.
“Rolfing changes you,” he says, “if you’re stuck in a pattern, have chronic pain or have a bad body.”
He first opened a practice in Portland in 2003 and was the only rolfer in the city for a while. Then he took his work to Brunswick before realizing he needed a space to pursue all three of his passions.
Systema, Midgette says, “embodies the freedom I always aspired to as a rolfer.” The principles include freedom from patterns and no techniques or forms are used. The martial art helps students with their ability to adapt to different situations under stress. For example, rather than feeling fear when falling, the practice can teach how to go to the ground and avoid injury.
“Our bodies are designed to move,” says the native of New Mexico, “how we do that effects how we feel.”
If you want to see him move, check out www.body-knowledge.com or attend his open house and demo session on Nov. 10. Midgette also offers free clinics on Thursday afternoons.