Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicola Geismar.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Free Your Spine was born out of personal injury, back problems like scoliosis, and my absolute passion for movement to lighten and brighten our physical and emotional well-being, having experienced over the years depressive episodes alongside great physical dis-ease and distress.
It is the very movement tools I share via the Free Your Spine method that helped me shift these energies and support me in breaking free and through these challenging times.
A creative rebel at heart, I have always had a panache for being ahead of the curve in my industries and found myself organically walking left field of the main. I am also the founder of a well-being business, City is my Playground which is all about using our cities as a training ground to stretch, strengthen and express our physicality.
My background is an eclectic one, if not unconventional. From London’s Hip Hop clubs of the 90s to grainy dance throwdowns in Brooklyn to dusty old Latin tracks sampled for their grooves, my influences span decades and cultures.
These influences blend with my experiences as a Londoner, dancer, Pilates trainer, movement practitioner, educator and expert.
In 2011 after many recurring dance injuries and subsequent operations, coupled with scoliosis (aka known as a wonky spine) I was forced into period of rehabilitation where I took the time to think about all the attributes of holistic conditioning principles paired with functional spinal and body movements, and experimented with how I could blend them into a new style of physical pre-care, that would future proof people’s backs especially in connection to our heavily doused sedentary lifestyles.
As our lives have got busier and busier, we’ve fallen into roles we think we should fit into to conform to society. We’ve forgotten how to express ourselves and release the playfulness within all of us. We have become increasingly stagnant and tense in our bodies, and many of us fall prey to the mind cave of overwhelm, stress, depression and anxiety.
My mission is to support people to free their spine from unhealthy positions and postures whilst having fun and helping them to connect back into their true creative/empowered self.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road! The journey continues with consistent stumbling blocks. However, I take the biggest inspiration from my personal well-being challenges as they have been the fuel for creating both City is my Playground and Free Your Spine. The learnings from my lived experience have acted as a powerful catalyst in shaping my offerings and influence all that I share in helping others overcome their individual challenges.
Some of the most recent struggles have included when I put my back out last year, completely unexpectedly! I was in a fair bit of physical pain and couldn’t really move, sneeze or laugh without spasms trawling through my body for around ten days. Oh the irony! This for me was a massive sign to slow down, go easy and reflect on lifestyle/work ways that best serve me so that I can best serve others and live a life that is more about the being and less about the doing.
Other struggles have come directly as a result of being ahead of the curve with regards to what currently is out there with mind/body practices and being in a space where very much I have and continue to do A LOT of educating as to why IT IS SO CRITICAL we look after our back health BEFORE injury strikes, or we fall out with our bodies.
Being a trailblazer and sitting left field of centre is a whole other job unto itself. Patience is a virtue and it’s very much a case of waiting for folk to catch on and catch up with the importance of musculoskeletal health and the preventative mission that Free Your spine embodies via the practice.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am movement leader and creator of a movement methodology called Free Your Spine. I specialize in elevating people’s mental well-being and transforming their back health via a playful spinal and hip movement experience.
I am known for trailblazing new and innovative movement strategies and ways of moving to support people’s physical and emotional well-being.
I am most proud of Free Your Spine having been selected out of 3000 proposals to lead the “Free Your Spine to Free Your Mind” movement experience at this years SXSW in Austin, Texas. I am also proud of supporting many people on a 1-2-1 basis out of pain through to living a life that is full of lightness, brightness and freedom in their back and bodies.
What sets me apart from others is the energy, playfulness, spirit and VIBES that I embody as a movement leader and that Free Your Spine invites folk to feel when experiencing the method.
I believe Free Your Spine bridges the gap- of what I felt and observed from many years of going to classes and events- that was waiting to be filled- a movement method that specifically focuses on holistic spinal movements AND playful vibes. It’s this unique combo of getting playful with it, combined with the back and hip centric focused movements that I believe is the secret sauce and know can help so many people around the world, especially in these chaotic and sedentary tech-based times that we live in.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Passion is one piece of the pie. Perseverance, resiliency and self-belief with your product or service will push you along your journey, especially in challenging and problematic moments.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.freeyourspinepilates.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreeyourspinemethod/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FreeSpine
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/geismar30/featured
- Other: https://vimeo.com/freeyourspine?embedded=false&source=owner_name&owner=7776047
