Dooley Noted: 5/25/14
Yesterday, I had the honor of working side by side with the amazing Brian Kotoka in Toronto.
My best friend and all around juggernaut, Dr. Monica Chadha, arranged for us to work in her shared space: Majestic Strength Institute, to assess the human movement of 9 open-minded, wonderfully sharing people.
The world of personal training and chiropractic are being revolutionized, and Brian and I share a very similar mindset that includes the following principles:
1. Regress to progress.
2. Never train through pain.
3. Have openness to needs.
4. Compassion trumps sweat.
5. Earn the right to lift heavier or add volume.
Brian is one of the most compassionate, tough, and motivated human beings I have earned the right to know. His clients know exactly how lucky they are. They trust his opinion so much they agreed to let me – a stranger – help assess their movement.
From 7 am to 8 pm, Brian and I performed the jobs we love in a collaborated effort.
We didn’t need food. The work fed us.
The clients accepted our challenges and did hard work. They left different than when they walked in the door.
The clients vocalized their shock in the years that simple things were missed by other practitioners. When others told people what not to do, we looked at what they were already doing. We looked at breathing, shoes, work ergonomics, force distributions, sleep patterns, and swing mechanics. The list kept growing.
Brian summed up our shared paradigm nicely:
“I try to limit what you subtract. I like to see what we can add, like healthy food, fish oils, an extra walk. If people think things are getting taken away, they feel deprived. I like to think, ‘What can we add first, before we delete?'”
I’ve seen very few colleagues with a commitment to clients like Brian’s efforts. And he practices what he preaches, consistently seeking help to make his own life improvements.
You can continue on the path you’ve chosen. But I hope you choose someone like Brian to get you to your goals.
You can demand it, and never settle for less.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley