Chronic pain can hit at any age, and when it does, your lifestyle becomes limited. Many people believe chronic pain is just part of life, the aging process, or an active lifestyle, and is something they can’t change, but thats not true. Whether you are suffering with pain and muscle tightness, recovering from an injury, surgery, want to improve athletic performance or are just interested in improving how you feel, move, and look, “Healing Movement” can help.  

I utilize Postural Therapy as a foundational method through which to help clients overcome posture and movement patterns that create chronic muscle tightness, pain and restricted movement. I incorporate Somatic Movement methods and principles in my practice to assist in this process and utilize key principles from my background and training in Tai Chi to assist in the process of restoring healthy, functional movement that feels good.

I teach Tai Chi as method through which to learn, strengthen and reinforce functional posture and movement, and as a whole human being health maintenance practice.

Somatic Movement

Somatic Movement as a therapeutic practice includes a variety of methods, and techniques that focus on the connection between the inner experience and the body as it is moved within the gravitational field, or what is sometimes referred to simply as the “felt-sense”.  Somatic movement can be focused on particular areas of the body and/or on the body as a whole and is characterized by slow movement, that contains exploratory awareness, without concern for the outward appearance of how movement looks.   Its focus, is to engage the nervous system in order to free up the body by correcting faulty postural and movement patterns that inhibit movement and create pain.

Tai Chi

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese movement practice originally created for health and self-defense.  In modern times Tai Chi is primarily practiced as a form of exercise that involves a series of slow circular movements accompanied by deep-relaxed breathing.  Tai Chi has proven to provide a myriad of health benefits including but not limited to improved circulation, relaxation, respiration, balance, strength, cardio-vascular efficiency.  It is a whole-body, whole being exercise and practice.  As a movement discipline, its slow, meditative nature makes it an ideal Somatic practice while its focus on correct posture and movement makes it near perfect practice through which to learn, strengthen and reinforce functional human movement.

Improve your posture

Improve your Life

Office Location

Minnetonka, MN (Open By Appointment Only)

11621 Live Oak Drive

Minnetonka, MN 55305

612-760-9935

Bayfield, WI (Open By Appointment Only)

10 South 5th Street

Bayfield, WI 54814

612-760-9935

 About Marty

Marty’s interest in human movement and healing began in 1980, when he began to study the martial arts. He continued to study and practice several styles of martial arts through high-school and college then embarked on a career in federal law enforcement. Over the next 20 years he added Ashtanga and Yin Yoga to his studies, and was drawn to interest in massage therapy as a result of injuries and chronic hip and shoulder pain. In addition to exploring many different forms of bodywork for his own health, he earned a basic certification in Swedish massage.

However, the defining moment that led him to intensify his studies came when he sustained a serious knee injury while practicing Aikido in 2004. After an initial surgical procedure, he was referred to a prominent sports medicine surgeon who recommended additional surgery, but he found no strong evidence in any of the studies that had been done on the procedure to support the risks involved and he decided to look for another answer.

Soon thereafter he discovered the Egoscue Method of Postural Therapy and within only a few sessions with a certified therapist he began to notice significant improvement in the chronic pain with which he had suffered for many years. In late 2004, he began to explore Chinese Medicine and after begin treated by an MD from China, he started to study Tai Chi, Qigong and other Taoist healing arts. Over the next year his knee healed, all of his chronic pain cleared up he noticed significant improvements in sleep, digestion, and his overall sense of well-being.

In 2008 he returned to school to earn a Masters Degree in Human Development, began to explore a variety of Somatic Movement methods including the Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method, Kinetic Awareness, and Hanna Somatic’s, then became certified in the Egoscue Method.

In 2018 he retired from federal law enforcement and founded “Healing Movement”with the intention of helping those suffer with chronic pain, or who simply want to improve the quality of their lives through movement and other natural practices.

Marty draws on his background and training in the Egoscue Method, Tai Chi Chuan, Qigong, Yoga, as well as his studies in Somatic’s and other eastern and western healing and wellness methods in his practice. He teaches Tai Chi and Qigong both within his therapy practice and independently, as a method through which to heal, maintain health and longevity.

Marty is certified as a Postural Alignment Specialist (PAS) with the Egoscue Method, holds an M.A. in Human Development- Holistic Health and Wellness, from St. Mary’s University in Minneapolis, and has been studying and practicing movement arts including Aikido, Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga, and a variety of Somatic methods for over 40 years.

In addition to his work in human movement, he is the co-founder of Wild Rice Retreat, a year-round respite on the shores of Lake Superior in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Founded on the pillars of expression, movement, and nourishment, Wild Rice Retreat offers resort stays for guests looking to curate their own getaway and guided retreats for those looking for an instructor led experience. The retreat offers a safe and vibrant space for grounding the mind, body and spirit through integrative artistic and holistic life experiences that support creativity and human development.