Natural Mobility
How to live a balanced lifestyle & enjoy vibrant health & real-world fitness through natural movement.
Natural Mobility explores self-healing, injury prevention, & practical fitness through movement & breathing, but also basic universal principles of mental health, diet, & environment.
My name is Alex Shenker, & I come from a background of healing arts & martial arts. I have been maintaining a professional Shiatsu & Sotai (Movement Therapy) practice since completing a 2 year diploma program that started in 2005. I have been seriously training traditional Japanese martial arts since 2004, & focusing heavily on natural movement training since 2015.
Through my training journey, I have most notably explored Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, MovNat Natural Movement, FRC, Shinrin Yoku, Parkour, & Taisha Ryu Kenjutsu.
My vision is to help people transform their lives by connecting with their bodies & understanding the principles of health & maintaining our innate human movement capabilities.
Natural Mobility
Our Feet Demand Mobility
There are 206 bones in the average adult’s body, and there are 52 bones in the feet (and 54 in the hands), that’s more than half the bones in our bodies in our hands and feet. When it comes to our feet, this is because they are meant to constantly adapt to the complexity of the surface we are standing on. When we wear stiff, padded shoes all of the time, we stop demanding this constant adaptation from our feet, the result is a foot that has lost its ability to do what a foot does.
Our Feet Demand Complexity
It goes beyond the kind of shoes we wear, walking on varying terrains with different shapes and angles require different muscles of the feet, so walking on flat hard ground all day weakens a lot of our balance muscles and overworks the specific chains of tension that are working when walking on the same surface with every step.
So essentially, we need to allow the foot to do its thing freely, uninterrupted by the technology of the shoe, and we need to give it some variety in the kind of surfaces we are walking on. This can be as simple as walking on grass instead of sidewalk when possible, or having fun and balancing on a curb or jumping up onto some rocks along the road if the opportunity arises. Think about finding little opportunities for variety everywhere you go, your feet will thank you, and it makes life a little more interesting!
1 month ago | [YT] | 6
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Natural Mobility
The Science of Footwear 👣
Minimalist footwear isn’t a hippie thing. It’s a return to the biomechanics our feet were designed for.
📖 Studies show:
• 60% stronger feet in 6 months with minimalist shoes
• Wide toe boxes = better balance + less joint stress
• Zero drop soles = improved posture + less back pain
👟 What most modern shoes do wrong:
• 10–12mm heel drops shorten your Achilles tendon
• Narrow toe boxes cut toe splay by up to 40%, leading to weak arches & bunions
• Cushioned “supportive” shoes deactivate intrinsic foot muscles by 60%
Your shoes should make you stronger, not weaker. Check out my full article digging into the science of minimalist footwear and why making the transition can have a downstream effect on so many stubborn little issues that people can't seem to shake.
4 months ago | [YT] | 5
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Natural Mobility
In case you missed it, here's the recording for today's YT Live:
8 months ago | [YT] | 0
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Natural Mobility
Join me this Sunday April 12th at 10am EST for a YouTube Live where I introduce the 5 elements of Natural Attunement; the simple things we do in our daily life that impact our health and well-being. If these habitual patterns are adopted, our health is improved, but if they are ignored, our health is compromised.
The 5 elements are Breathing, Movement, Thinking, Consumption, and Nature Immersion. It's not about what you do as much as how you do it. Tune in and learn more. There will be a chance to ask some questions about the principles, and about our upcoming cohort and online courses.
8 months ago | [YT] | 6
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Natural Mobility
Join me Live this Sunday at 10 am EST to discuss Natural Attunement--the 5 elements of control we have to influence our health, and how to live more naturally in the modern world with simple principles rather than complex prescriptions. We will end with a Q&A where you can ask me anything about what we talked about, mobility, online courses, and our upcoming cohort:
8 months ago | [YT] | 0
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Natural Mobility
If you've missed the YT Live this morning, check out the recording: youtube.com/live/e30Wf2585cg?si=DyGB0MGW5xAYqUVZ
9 months ago | [YT] | 1
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Natural Mobility
YT Live starts in 30 minutes. Learn about Ukemi Foundations, Meridian Stretching, and my upcoming cohort. Take the opportunity to ask me anything about mobility training! See you soon.
9 months ago | [YT] | 1
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Natural Mobility
I'm hosting a Live Q&A session this Sunday (March 30th) at 10am.
We'll cover details about:
○ The Meridian Stretching online course
○ The Ukemi Foundations online course
○ The upcoming 6-week cohort
○ Any mobility questions you may have
If you have any questions that you would like answered in the session, please drop them in the comments or join in this weekend!
9 months ago | [YT] | 2
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Natural Mobility
Read the full article here: www.naturalmobility.net/post/buteyko-breathing
9 months ago | [YT] | 3
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Natural Mobility
As I prepare for an upcoming YouTube Live Q&A Session on March 30th, I'd like to invite you to submit any questions you might have on anything Natural Mobility related, and I'll address it live. Please just leave your questions here in the comments.
9 months ago | [YT] | 2
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