Movement Matters Membership Intake
Mid-Year Back-To-Basics Foundation
THE 'VITAL' CONNECTION
We are living in one of the most stressful times in human history. Rates of anxiety and burnout are skyrocketing. Our nervous systems are on overload from constant digital noise, global uncertainty, and personal pressures that never seem to let up ... and our taken for granted lonely feet carry the load. We need tools that don't just soothe for a moment, but that shift us at the deepest level.
JUNE ONLY - 'SPECIAL INTRODUCTION' - 8 x 1hr sessions - $99.
(If you are happy with what you discover we would love you to continue on with us, otherwise feel free to unsubscribe anytime)
Perfect for 60, 70, 80yr olds
who long for their body to age well- with strong, flexible, resilient very happy feet.
So yes — we begin with your foundation, your roots, the ground beneath your feet. Because it is never too late to reclaim your birthright- vital aliveness. To enjoy that, you need to reveal and dissolve hidden tension and postural holding patterns, frequently associated with -
lonely
neglected
stiff and tired
desensitised feet,
tight buttocks, belly, back,
tense neck, shoulders, wrists, jaw, eyes,
noisy busy mind / foggy thinking,
shallow breathing,
? sleep.
JUNE ONLY 'FOUNDATION SPECIAL' - 8 x 1hr sessions - $99.
2 live zoom classes each week | $99 AUD/month | Cancel anytime
Mondays & Thursdays. Arrive 5:45pm prompt start 6:00-7:00pm AEST
(Enroll Now Numbers Limited to ensure personalised attention)
Feet are NOT an afterthought. They are 'vital'.
Feet are not just a random bundle of bones hanging off the ends of our legs — thoughtlessly stuffed into fitted, firm, fashionable footwear the moment we get up, then expected to dutifully carry our full body weight throughout the day until we tumble, tired and unappreciative, back into bed at night.
- No wonder they can go quiet.
No wonder they can feel neglected.
No wonder they are so often taken for granted.
And yet, in truth, the human foot is an extraordinary piece of living design.
- Exquisitely made.
- Highly articulate.
- Richly supplied with nerve receptors for sensation.
The rich network of nerves in your feet are designed to inform your brain,
moment by moment, step by step, about the terrain you walk on.
Tactile rich, proprioceptive, sensory information gathered by your feet helps co-ordinate, organise, re-align and regulate everything upstream.
· Posture
· Balance/Recovery
· Breath
· Orientation
· Adaptation
· Gait
· Nervous System Regulation
All of this while navigating:
· uneven ground
· shifting weight
· changing direction
· and living in relationship with the ever-present — and rather unforgiving — downward pull of gravity
That is no small thing.
Your feet are a vital sensory foundation for the whole moving self.
When feet are sensorially enlivened, awake and responsive, the whole body has clearer information to work with.
When that conversation becomes vague, dulled, muffled, or restricted, the whole self pays the price.
That may show up as:
· As chronic anxiety and uncertainty.
· As a busy noisy mind and overall fatigue and poor sleep.
· As a whole-body system that gets stuck in ‘holding on’ mode, day and night ... it's little wonder you wake up feeling tired.
· As less confident balance and cautious walking over unfamiliar territory.
· As a disregulated nervous system requiring greater effort and less ease.
This is why this Happy Feet Membership is not merely about feet.
Your feet may be yearning for attention
Have you noticed that your feet feel kinda dull, quiet or there but not there?
Consider ... Most of the tension your body carries is quietly tolerated, dismissed, normalised - is NOT obvious.
Not necessarily painful.
Not dramatically problematic.
Just dull. Stiff. Less responsive.
Just low grade, background, vague awareness
Frequently presenting as occasional aching feet, tense buttocks, tight belly, tired back, tense neck / shoulders at the end of the day, a tight jaw and eyes that never fully relax, shallow breath, snoring.
A body that stays slightly “on”, even when nothing is happening.
Over time, this can become your new normal.
HOWEVER ... The body quietly keeps score.
Not by shouting for your attention, but by holding on.
Holding patterns, holding reactions, holding stress that was never fully processed.
That’s why rest doesn’t always feel like rest.
And why doing “nothing” doesn’t actually reset you.
Lasting reset starts from the ground up
It is the neglected feet that are one of the brain’s richest sources of sensory information.
Every step you take sends messages upstream to the brain — about pressure, balance, direction, movement, safety, and where you are in space.
When that conversation fades, the brain receives less information.
And when the brain has less to work with, the whole body upstream is forced to 'hold on' and compensate with effort ... that's been normalised.
Hidden stress increases
You may find yourself bracing, tightening, or concentrating far more than you used to.
Many call this ageing.
I’m not so easily convinced.
Hello! I'm Sandy
— my professional experience includes many decades as a neuro-developmental physiotherapist, Feldenkrais practitioner, embodied ageing educator, and founder of Movement Matters.
These days I'm dedicated to introducing the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education to my aging demographic. A versatile, sensory-motor approach, which engages the brain's neuroplasticity to bring about improvement.
A pivotal influence in my work began early.
I lived my childhood as a barefoot bush kid, rock-hopping the red granite mountains of Freycinet National Park in Tasmania.
That lived experience continues to influence everything I teach — my overall awe and wonder for life itself. The wisdom of the nervous system and it's ability to regulate us emotionally, physically and mentally, and extraordinary capacity to change. - no matter our age.
Now, as an octogenarian grandmother of five, my ability to 'walk my talk' is critical.
When we sense and feel a steady, embodied, presence from the ground up ... our natural steadiness becomes a restful biological 'anchor' for those close to us.
What a priceless 'GIFT' that is.
Happy Feet the 'Vital' Connection, brings together the lived wisdom of growing older in a world that is far too fast, far too stressful, and far too disconnected and disregulated.
If there’s one thing I’ve become rather good at with age, it’s this:
making the impossible possible, the possible easy, and the easy elegant.
What makes 'Happy Feet' different
Most approaches to feet treat them as mechanical objects to be stretched, strengthened, corrected, prodded, padded, or bullied into better behaviour.
That is not my approach.
Happy Feet begins with waking-up sensation.
Better awareness through rich sensory feedback from the ground gives the brain better information.
Better information gives the whole-body, whole-brain better chance to function with less tension, tightness, effort and strain, thus resolving chronic hidden stress, body aches and pains.
So what you will learn is not about forcing.
Not about fixing.
Not about pushing through.
It is about helping the nervous system recover sensitivity, responsiveness, and choice.
This is where real embodied change begins.
And that is why this work can have such a powerful effect on self regulation, presence, balance, walking, confidence, connection and overall happy, comfortable well-being.
YES … THIS MAKES SENSE TO ME
JUNE ONLY 'BACK TO BASICS SPECIAL' - 8 x 1hr sessions - $99.
2 live zoom classes each week | Cancel anytime
Mondays & Thursdays. Arrive 5:45pm prompt start 6:00-7:00pm AEST
(Enroll Now Numbers Limited to ensure personalised attention)
Why modern feet need help
For most of human history, people walked on dynamic, ever changing ground surfaces — sand, stones, slopes, bush tracks, twigs and bush logs, grass, slippery riverbanks and rocks.
Foot soles constantly receiving a rich variety of sensory information, second by second.
Modern life has changed that.
· Flat floors.
· Flattened man-made surfaces to walk on.
· Flat expectations.
· And heavily cushioned, overly protective shoe soles that create a barrier.
I’m not suggesting you throw your shoes away.
And I’m certainly NOT suggesting you take up heroic barefoot adventures at this stage of life.
That’s not the point.
The point is that many modern feet are under-informed.
And when the feet are under-informed, the brain is under-informed.
As a direct consequence, feet, ankles, knees, hips, spine, breath, and nervous system all have less critical information to work with.
So the body compensates.
Brilliantly, of course.
But chronic compensation causes wear and tear and is exhausting.
What you may begin to notice
As the feet become more awake and the sensory conversation becomes clearer, you may begin to notice:
easier, more comfortable walking
improved balance and responsiveness
freer, more mobile feet and ankles
less unnecessary strain in knees, hips, and back
a calmer, more settled nervous system
greater trust in your body
more pleasure in movement
These changes do not come from trying harder.
They come from improving the data collection process, the quality of information your whole system depends on.
Join Happy Feet
JUNE ONLY 'SPECIAL BACK TO BASICS' - 8 x 1hr sessions - $99.
2 live zoom classes each week | $99 AUD/month | Cancel anytime
Mondays & Thursdays. Arrive 5:45pm prompt start 6:00-7:00pm AEST
(Enroll Now Numbers Limited to ensure personalised attention)
This membership is right for you if…
walking on soft and uneven ground is challenging eg soft dry sand or irregular firm surfaces
· you hear the thud of a heavy heel strike
· your ankles roll in and your arch looks flat
· you notice shoes wear unevenly
· your ankles, knees, hips, neck or shoulders feel tense or stiff
· your feet feel like a somewhat neglected after thought ... like 'things' on the end of your legs
· you tend to be knock kneed
· you want movement that restores rather than depletes
· you value awareness, curiosity, and real learning
· you feel less steady and resilient than you used to
· walking has become more effortful or uncertain
Tho your body is not screaming for your attention you know deep down that something is not right. You are curious and interested in prevention of serious injury and a playful, gentle, intelligent approach certainly tweeks your interest.
If this sounds like you, welcome.
You are in the right place.
What’s included
Inside the
Happy Feet Membership
Mondays and Thursdays
Arrive at 5:45 pm for a prompt 6:00–7:00 pm AEDT start
WHAT YOU GET:
✅ A unique online zoom access link will be emailed to you on the day
✅ Two 'LIVE' Awareness Through Movement lessons per week. (with a focus on nervous system regulation, musculo-skeletal co-ordination, connection and integration)
✅ Education about simple props to mindfully build (between sessions) flexibility, strength, dynamic resilient balance recovery, easy breathing, heightened sensitivity levels.
✅ Quieten and bring to rest a busy anxious nervous system in a busy, highly distracted 'top heavy' world.
✅ A warm, encouraging small group learning space in the safety and comfort of your own home
✅ 24/7 access and expert guidance from Sandy
✅ Re-cover pain free movement from the feet up, to your knees, hips, back, neck, shoulders and jaw to move and walk with greater freedom, ease, fluidity and grace.
✅ Re- wire your brain and re-program your whole body to walk with greater freedom, ease, fluidity and grace.
✅ Re-discover the joy and confidence of feeling safe and comfortable in your body
✅ Re-claim your 'vital' connection to the ground, yourself and others.
NOT TO BE MISSED JUNE ONLY 'SPECIAL MID-YEAR INTAKE'
8 x 1hr sessions - $99.
2 live zoom classes each week | Cancel anytime
Mondays & Thursdays. Arrive 5:45pm prompt start 6:00-7:00pm AEST
(Enroll Now Numbers Limited to ensure personalised attention)
WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING
“Thanks to Sandy’s clear and supportive teaching style, I can make sense of my overwhelm, anxiety, and noisy busy mind (not to mention my tense, tight body). I’m now able to sleep deeply and bring my exhausted nervous system to rest… a priceless gift during these troubled times.”
— Aimee J. (NSW)
“I now realize in retrospect that i had normalised how tense and disconnected I felt before. Sandy’s guidance has been life-changing. I feel vital, present, and truly connected with myself and those i love”
— Rose (NZ)
“This playful Happy Feet program has given me hope. I now move with ease, feel more connected to myself, and know I can maintain flexibility and vitality as I age.”
— Kate (Melbourne)
