Galo

“I try to embody the creative aspect throughout my life and through my own training,” says Galo, founder and force behind The Movement Project. The Crossfit trainer and former financial analyst’s blog embodies that philosophy, bringing together observations on life, on physicality, on creativity.

Take, for instance, his entry A Beautiful Practice, dated September 27th, where Galo speaks about internalizing the change we want in our lives.

“‘To start’ insinuates ‘to finish’,” he begins. “But what if there was that one thing you committed to everyday?…Something you genuinely knew had no fin.” But beyond that, “What if ‘starting’ is just an illusion? / If something calls to us so strongly, don’t question it. / It’s not about starting whatever that something is, it’s about becoming that person we want to become. / ‘This is what I do,’ ceases to exist and makes way for ‘This is who I am.’”

As a trainer in a Crossfit gym, Galo understands that the strength and conditioning program is designed to optimize a person’s ability across a number of fitness disciplines. His approach takes this one step further, considering the physical as just one approach among many in changing a person’s life.

“Most of my clients are looking for more of a traditional fitness perspective. But what I’ve found is that when we cover everything that happens outside of the gym we start to really see major changes.” And so Galo uses The movement Project to share ideas related to health from a different, fuller perspective, pushing beyond a client’s time at the gym “For me, what I’ve found is that most of the people I work with find that their productivity and their ability to get through the work day flows much smoother after they’ve ‘worked out,’ and so I really try to emphasize that the gym isn’t the only place to find that release/relief.” This is where ingenuity – and silliness – come into play. “If we can just find ways to incorporate more movement into our lives and get away from labels and any preconceived ideas, that is ‘fitness’ – we can begin to really see the world around us in a completely different perspective.”

Galo well understands how preconceived notions can influence outcome. When he himself was younger, he wanted to become an athlete, an artist, an architect. But negative perceptions held him back – he didn’t think he was strong enough, big enough, creative enough. So what changed? “There came a point where I realized that reconnecting back with my body and readapting a ‘play’ mentality brought me a huge sense of creative confidence,” he thought. “A lot of this, really, is about breaking psychological barriers – introducing play back into people’s lives…” and while that may seem silly to many adults, Galo knows closing that mind-body disconnect, however it is done, is important to embodying and internalizing change.

“I’m realizing now how important it’s always been to bridge that gap between mind and body and how much confidence you build from taking control of our bodies.” In fact, “Building that kinesthetic awareness,” he continues, “unlocks the confidence and courage that ripples out to every other aspect of life.”

Wendy Kalman attended the 2009 TEDxPeachtree event and became hooked, volunteering each year ever since. By day, she works as a Proposal Manager, and by night, her alter ego as involved parent, engaged volunteer, music lover, and Facebook addict emerges.