Movement Is Medicine: Ancient Healing Practices for Modern Longevity

Ep 133. A human life is a long journey of learning—how to move, how to nourish the body, how to relate to others socially, and in the modern world, how to function professionally. Survival may be the starting point, but thriving over decades is the real objective. As lifespan has increased in modern times, the question has shifted from how long we live to how well we live.

At the foundation of longevity and quality of life lies one essential pillar: physical health. Our ability to think clearly, regulate emotions, recover from stress, and remain engaged with life is deeply rooted in how well we care for the body. Nutrition, movement, sleep, and recovery practices shape not only healthspan but vitality itself.

Throughout a lifetime, illness and injury are inevitable. When they arise, healing and recovery become priorities. While modern allopathic medicine has made extraordinary advances in treating acute illness and trauma, there is growing recognition of the importance of self-healing skills, recovery modalities, and complementary health practices that support long-term resilience, mobility, and nervous system regulation.

Many of these approaches are not new. For centuries, traditional systems of health in Ancient China and India integrated movement, breath, meditation, manual therapy, and herbal medicine into a unified model of care. Martial arts instructors were often also healers—teaching physical conditioning alongside massage, herbal prescriptions, breathwork, and meditative practices designed to restore balance and vitality. 

Today, these time-tested practices continue to support recovery and performance. Modalities such as acupuncture, shiatsu massage, Rolfing, somatic therapy, float tank therapy, meditation, breathwork, and traditional herbal medicine—both internal and external—are increasingly used to enhance healing, joint recovery, mobility, and nervous system regulation. 

Among all healing strategies, movement stands as one of the most powerful. Intentional, well-designed movement restores circulation, maintains joint health, improves neurological coordination, and reinforces the body’s natural regenerative processes. Movement is not only exercise—it is medicine.

In a world where longevity is increasing, developing skill in recovery, self-regulation, and integrative health is no longer optional. It is essential for living fully, moving well, and sustaining vitality across a lifetime.

I fully endorse and encourage you to seek out kung fu academic online!

Please go to https://www.kungfuacademic.com/onlinekungfucoaching. You will be pleased with the level of care and quality instruction provided by Sifu in Hung Gar Kung Fu Veronika "Verca" Partikova PhD Sport Psychologist. Look her up you will be pleased by the depth of instruction and your results.

 Take care and walk well. 

Transcript

Welcome back folks to episode 133 of the Running Man Self-Regulation Skills Project Podcast with me, your host Dr. Armando Dominguez, Ph.D. in Health Psychology, licensed professional counselor and an adjunct professor at a local community college.

we're going to be discussing today is going to cover a range of different health enhancing methodologies. And what I would also like to point out is that many of these that I'm going to speak of are modalities I've actually had direct experience with as a result of my own health journey. And I will get into the details of that here shortly, but we're going to look at alternative health methods such as Rolfing deep tissue massage.

acupuncture traditional Chinese medical model and movement modalities somatic modalities and also we'll be discussing kung fu because there is a treat that I want to share with you that I think would be an incredible benefit for those that would like to get immersed into a live program and i'm not being endorsed for that program is just something I am incredibly impressed with and believe in because it's also preserving a tradition and we'll discuss that here in a little bit. So let's start this discussion

off with methods of health enhancement and also health protection and recovery for that matter. And I want to start off with discussing Rolfing. Rolfing was developed by this Western medical physiologist and she had her,

big start in Boulder, Colorado, once her practitioner methodology had solidified. But the lady's name, she was a little tiny lady named Ida Rolf and Boulder, Colorado, I believe is where the Rolf Institute is. And she wrote a book and lots of pictures in it where people with extreme scoliosis and, and kyphosis, wherever the curves of the spine were incredibly distorted, were restored.

armando (02:40.398)
to where people had straight backs where they were able to move more effectively and Over time she was able to recover this and this is really highly unusual More often than not people are encouraged to live that way to the best of their abilities and often get stuck taking Opiate medication that is quite addictive and then start developing health problems as a result of the side effects of those meds But Ida Rolfe was an incredible practitioner and I will tell you part of my own personal journey Going through not only as an undergrad

But as a graduate student working for a large big box retail establishment unloading trucks physically unloading trucks the repetitive strain on not only shoulders and knees and backs this sort of thing Is incredible we were talking about tens of thousands of motions within one night much less over years and I don't loaded trucks for about eight years and Moved over into opticianry making glasses within the same establishment luckily, but

still had the leftovers of having injured my back from having been one, a very dedicated worker. And at the time I was a martial artist. I was in my early twenties and I used that as training to train my mind. I would work on a lack of movement and focus, but even good training, no matter how strong you are, once you get beyond a certain level of strain, your body does not have time to recover.

I've been very fortunate. injured my lower back and I will give you the details of that. L4 and L5 initially and then L5 and S1 and also my sacroiliac joints have become quite, I would say interesting to deal with at times because now at my age, now 59, back then 22 till about age 30, I was unloading trucks and I was in incredibly good shape. I had great cardio and I would still have time to go out and

And work out doing my kung fu for several hours sometimes per day several times per week at times sometimes every day just depending on how I felt but It wasn't that I was beating up my bodies just I didn't have enough recovery time for my joints to recover and I became injured I've avoided surgery. I also had them in one case give me injections for my back later on as I got older when I was in my mid 30s, cortisone and

armando (05:08.272)
That was incredibly painful. But luckily I avoided surgery because I had a friend, doctor friend, a psychiatrist friend that had an inversion table and I used that. I was very fortunate and he basically said, Hey, Mondo take this home with you. Cause he had hurt his back and avoided having back surgery and use the inversion table to help decompress the spine. Well, I did that. And within a week I was walking around the block where before my leg was dragging behind me and I had some incredible sciatic pain.

where I even felt burning running down the side of my leg and over the top of my feet and that was really really disconcerting and bad for my own self-efficacy because was young for the most part and not so much that I shouldn't have been suffering this way but rather that I was suffering in a way that I thought was reserved for older people not realizing I had become older in the process but I can look back and laugh at it but that was no laughing matter having incredible pain such that I was having tears not

Boohoo crying my feelings are hurt but rather my body was so beyond its ability to cope anymore that I was having tears shed as a result of the Incredible pain I was experiencing so those aren't pleasant memories But I use that as a teaching point because there are methods out there and once again I've avoided surgery on 59 have not had any spinal surgery The only surgery I've ever had was never Abdominal or in my torso or joints or anything like this, but rather a removal of a tumor on top of my head

that I had done back in 2003. But other than that, that's the only surgery I have ever had. And what is incredibly powerful to me is the fact that the methodologies that I used to recover myself as I'd gotten older were very effective. Whenever I was younger unloading trucks, my retail establishment allowed me to go since I got hurt on the job to physical therapy. And I did that. And that helped me recover motion and get

back to work and that was something I was very grateful for and avoided surgery once again. But they use the TENS unit, they used the infrared on that and usually within six weeks most back injuries if it's like a slipped disc will recover and get back to normal. And that's something that most people didn't know about that within that six week period your body starts healing itself but that's a long painful six weeks of limited mobility and often that can cause somebody their job.

armando (07:36.906)
Not only how you feel inside, there's lot of baggage. There's physical depression.

Emotional depression there's that sense of learning helplessness whenever you lose capacity ability range of motion because in your environment if you are unable to run from consequences circumstances or that creature that sees you as a baloney sandwich that makes you Want to run and you might be looking kind of tasty to them That's a really uncomfortable space to be in and fight flight and curse and that's mostly what I deal with in a large sense with this podcast with self regulatory skills and how to mitigate those

symptoms, that syndrome of stress that comes on. And it doesn't always have to be physical danger, someone's trying to hurt you, but rather it can arise from pain, limited motion and mobility as a result of health conditions. And this is really the area I'm speaking from. Now back to whenever I was in my thirties and I used that inversion table, there were other methods that I used as well. I would

caution you and this is not medical advice this is just my experience that if you decide to use something like an inversion table discuss it with your medical practitioner with your with your physical therapist before you do anything like that because you may or may not be in a position to to benefit from that and if you're particularly obese or weak

in the back wherever that could cause you injury or pain, please don't do that without direction I was very luckily guided by two medical practitioners that were martial arts friends that gave me some guidance and allowed me to do that safely so that is my cautionary tale regarding that but on top of that like to add that also used the float tank of the isolation tanks that were used by Dr. Lilly in the 50s and 60s

armando (09:24.634)
to map out what consciousness was for the most part and how our brain was able to assimilate information whenever there was no perceptual information coming in are incredibly useful tools. And it's not just about psychonaut training and being able to travel into the deepest part of your internal universe, the experience of relaxing whenever you're floating in salinated water that's so salinated that you float like a cork. And it's not deep, literally about six to

8 to 12 inches of water at about body temperature and my experience whenever I went I went to this place called Zen blend in Austin and They're not paying me to give them that but I'm plugging them because they're a phenomenal establishment and I have good friends that go there my first time floating was incredible and here is My experience whenever I was in the float tank you don't have to close the door and be in absolute complete darkness and they Pipe in music that you can listen to and relax to

Your body relaxes in a way that it's very profound. One is that your core stabilizers that fight gravity to keep you upright and keep your skeleton upright when you're walking and standing throughout your day are no longer engaged. And that's a lot of energy that you're using subconsciously, unconsciously more correct. And your body is doing what it's doing to keep you upright. And your mind lights up because your body's no longer in tension. It's not holding itself up.

not holding itself upright, it's not working for the most part. So you have this large surge of energetic extra that your mind starts using and it is really mind brightening in that sense, but also body.

The relaxation is so deep that it's profound beyond belief. But once you get out I was in it for 90 minutes and you Scrape off all the water because it's almost viscous. It's clear beautiful warm

armando (11:26.958)
And then you take a shower afterwards and you walk out and it's hard to walk not necessarily because you're sore but because your profundity relaxation is Recalibrating back to while you're working against gravity But the important thing in it in this experience is that there's an analgesic effect because often pain that is causing the body is because of the tension that we carry because we're always tense and aren't aware of those tense areas and it's almost like we're taking an eraser and

raising all the tension that creates pain from the discomfort of holding your musculature and flex all the time. Now one of the interesting experiences while floating that I want to share too is that the water is at body temperature and at some point you can't tell where the water ends and your body begins and that is an interesting experience but that profundity of relaxation that analgesic effect I was talking about.

lasted more than a week and a half. Literally, I had less pain and I wasn't in chronic pain all the time, but I'd get sore because I was working a sedentary job at the time I was working as a therapist for a state organization having to do with criminal justice and whatnot. So there was a lot of mental tension going on, but I was able to navigate that with a whole lot less tension and pain as a result. And after I experienced

that true believer that it is a beneficial system. Now academics

have done studies on floatation tanks for many years. And the most recent within the last 10 to 12 years that has come out is called FRES technology. And that's the use of the float tank. And they also have isolation and other methods. Wherever you're in a room with quiet, you also use massage in addition to the floatation to be able to manage and also psychotherapy to work a more holistic approach to what it is that ails you, so to speak. And

armando (13:27.312)
And those methodologies of FRS technology that have been studied have been shown with people that have had terminal illnesses.

that have had illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure on high doses of medication. Even those that have struggled with obesity as a result of high cortisol levels have recovered and lessened their need for medication. Some even stopped having to have medication. This was done under medical supervision. And then six months later, many of them had lost weight, had stayed healthier and started health conditioning practices into their lives because they not only

felt better, but it was like a boost of sorts. So it was definitely very, very encouraging to read as a study. Look up F rest, F R E S T rest.

studies and I think you'll be thoroughly impressed at the methods and Might be worth your looking into once again not medical advice But just my experience and also what it is that I've studied as a health psychologist to help people Seek other methods other than just taking a pill or going under the knife unnecessarily whenever things are indeed quite recoverable it was probably in my late 30s early 40s whenever my back I started acting up and I was going through grad school at the time and

Once again, no surgery, but things had gotten so bad I just woke up one day and I had the burning sensation down my leg and I was still training martial arts I was wearing a thick weight belt to help My body work, but I wasn't doing anything heavy other than a lot of arm and stick knife drills and stuff just to stay mobile because I felt that impending sense of fear of losing Efficacy and capacity I didn't want to do that and martial arts not only was a way of life for me, but it was a very

armando (15:17.91)
important part of my life and just being able to maintain mental emotional balance as well as physical health and even during this time I was in pain I was wanting to stay engaged and I was fortunate to have people that work with me so what I want to point out is that I had a friend that drove me to San Antonio from the place that I live to an acupuncturist and this is Alamo acupuncture and Dr. Bill had been at it for about 30 years I think he's still doing that but

one treatment of acupuncture with cupping and some massage. And before when I walked in, I was limping pretty severely and I got off his table and I felt relief. But what was funny is that he told me here, he, he, told me to stick my fingers out. It's like, okay. And he held onto my fingers and he said, okay, now squat. And up until that point, I was like, I'm not going to do that. He said, squat. And I did. And I realized, wow, I had full range of motion.

no pain literally 30 seconds after having gotten off his acupuncture table

He used something called woodluck oil. This is something that's available in herbalist shops in most places in the United States and It has like wintergreen and and that sort of thing. So it's very much like like I see hot and also DMSO where it's very deep penetrating oil but incredibly effective that and cupping and Acupuncture and I tell you what that and the massage that he gave and it wasn't deep tissue but it was around the structures of my spine that

he was working on and it made an incredible difference and he told me 80 % don't come back.

armando (17:01.23)
And honestly, it was better than 80 % and I was able to go back to training over time. gave myself probably about a week and a half to two weeks off of doing any resistance training, but I definitely was back after that. Now there's some somatic methodologies as well that are very useful and effective and massages one. Now you can do sweetest massage for general relaxation or deep tissue. If that's something that needs to work out some knots, doesn't have to be deep tissue for it to be effective and useful. But if you're very

fortunate and have the luxury of doing maybe about once a month that actually does help you mitigate the effects of the tension that we develop over time and just our day-to-day lives and I certainly encourage you to look those up there's also other methods like reiki and that is a generally a non-touch method and if you're feeling that's a little too esoteric for you that's okay it's still very effective one of my mentors in my grad school

she, health psychologist, did studies on clinical level depression with Reiki. And there was significant difference in people's reduction of depression as a result of use of Reiki. So now that we know more about how our minds interact at a quantum level, that tends to make a lot more sense than what it used to back then in the early 2000s, whenever she had submitted her studies to the Journal of

Subtle energies and which is an academic journal not just a run-of-the-mill Mickey Mouse journal it was the real thing and she's very well published and that was an effective support of a method that I was Exposed to but one that academia supported and I was really happy with that now what I'd like to point out is that I've done martial art for a number of years kung fu in particular and there's somebody like to introduce you to and that is Dr. Veronica particova from Czech Republic and

she is someone that has methodology that she does online she teaches kung fu online and basically her her methodology is using kung fu and kung fu of the hung style in particular hungar and that's at least a couple of centuries old and change and it's a traditional methodology but she uses modern coaching methods and also she is

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sports psychologist. On top of that, she is very well versed in coaching people along in developing not only physical skills, but also teaching people how to integrate Kung Fu into their lives, especially in their modern lives currently, to develop greater strength, mobility, health, and these sorts of things. Now you can't learn how to fight online, she says, and that is very true. But I will attest to the fact that the forms that she teaches

are very applicable. And there are times, many times that I practiced only forms myself and was able to use those in self-defense situations. So it's not without carryover. But I will tell you that her focus is on health. And I would like to read to you from her Kung Fu academic

posting because she has a cohort that she'll be starting is called the many cohort for the winter and it's a winter foundations course so allow me to read this I'm really happy to share this because I really believe in what she's doing and I'd to encourage y'all to seek her out if you want to do something along these lines it's not a New Year's resolution thing exclusively but one about how can you live your life better and if it starts as a New Year thing for you go ahead I encourage you and I endorse her

because she is very skilled, but also her students give lots of great feedback as to how she's teaching and the success that they're gaining as a result of her teaching. So let me read you about this two-week cohort, two weeks from now cohort that she's starting. And once again, this is Kung Fu Academic, two weeks to build clarity.

structure and a smart training habit. Foundation's Mini-Cohort 2026 is a gentle but focused entry point into Kung Fu, movement and a smarter way of training whether you're new or returning. This is for you if you're curious about martial arts or Kung Fu but unsure where to start, want to feel how my coaching is different, interested in movement, strength and body awareness, looking for guidance and feedback, not just follow along videos. Why this cohort exists? Structured training instead of guesswork.

armando (21:36.268)
Guided sessions combining Kung Fu technique, theory, mobility and fitness. Personal feedback, not just follow along videos. One private one on one call to get clarity, ask questions and get direction, and also coaching, track or app access, and some of the details it's going to last two weeks. Starts January 19th, believe registration closes on the 18th, and the small group maximum of 12 people she's looking for.

Once again, applications close January 18th and you don't need prior martial arts experience, just curiosity, consistency and willingness to explore movement with attention. The full details can be found at www.kungfuacademic.com, backslash mini cohort. And if you go to her website at Kung Fu Academic, she has a blog. She also tells about her history and her background is that she

trained she's been training about twenty five years in hungar kung fu and she's competed at the highest level not only in forms but also weapons and also she's lived in hong kong for eight years studying at the feet of those at the most the closest

that you can be in a culture by immersion. And she was living that and she's been living that she's currently living in Thailand and she is a professional mixed martial arts practitioner, but also a Thai boxer. But she's been doing that, but she stayed true to Kung Fu. And the reason I am endorsing her and encouraging you to pursue her is that she is preserving Kung Fu in the right way. And Kung Fu is supposed to evolve and we're evolving it by using modern health technologies

but not changing the tradition of the forms of the movements because that's the treasure that in the culture and also the strength that one gains and also learning how to Get beyond motivation motivation comes and goes it's the spark but also how to maintain consistency and how to be motivated through action, but also how to increase your range of motion vitality and also just your joy of life and exploration adventure and wonder

armando (23:49.74)
Those are things we should all share, but this is something that she does share with her students. And if you listen to her student feedback on many continents, please pay attention to it because it's not only motivating, but it's encouraging to me. I was very fortunate to learn Kung Fu and I'm going to protect it and preserve it as much as I can and share it with good people. But also she is doing as much and I am just beside myself and happy seeing that there are other people and she is one.

That is doing it in the right way and making kung fu accessible to this generation and into the next century if she teaches enough people and I certainly hope she does but I'm encouraging you all my listeners to pay attention and Go look her up at kung fu academic

And she's online, easy to find. And she also has a podcast that is on, I believe, Spotify. And I certainly appreciate your time. And it's given me the greatest pleasure to be able to endorse her today. And I was not paid for that endorsement. That's just a gift of love for me to Kung Fu generally, but also to Dr. Veronica Particova. And she'll be going to, I believe, an academic conference here this winter and do some of her sports psychology.

Stuff that she's doing right now and the she was doing something about I guess the animal instinct within and I'm just kind of flying off the cuff at this point But she is she's very well versed in what it is that she does. She's a sports psychologist, but also a great coach and very very Inspiring and I'm inspired by seeing the work that she does and I want to tell you thank you for listening today It is 5 13 in the morning. I was excited about doing this topic today

I've been up since three. We'll see how that pans out this evening. But thank you for your time. Look up Dr. Partikova and Kung Fu Academic and see about joining that cohort that closes on the 18th as far as registration. And even if you don't do the cohort, at least consider her programs and maybe get immersed in that because it is a life changer. And I certainly encourage you to do your best. Take care. Seek out those alternative health methodologies and keep yourself not only healthy,

armando (26:06.068)
but mobile but increase your vitality seek that joy of life and thank you for your time today we'll speak soon take care walk well