StarBarre Harmony Holistic Philosophy

 

StarBarre Harmony is novel holistic lifestyle and rehabilitation exercise method that harmonizes natural human movements of daily life. The purpose is to look and feel good and be healthy, enhance athletic performance, rehabilitate from injury or disorder and prevent recurrence.

All this is achieved by learning a sequence of currently relevant exercises, practicing the sequence daily at home for a few minutes in front of a video clip (no equipment required) and progressing from level to level. Because the sequences simulate a wide and balanced variety of normal functional movements required for daily life, progression from sequence to sequence makes life itself easier. This is the healing power StarBarre Harmony.

 

The principles discussed in this section (and others) are further discussed in detail in the relevant theory sections in the Information Center.

• This holistic philosophy applies to all practical aspects of the method, from the video based sequence system to every movement element of every exercise.

• For StarBarre Harmony exercise principles, see the following section in this module.

• To learn how the video clip system works and start exercising now - visit 'Start exercising now'.

 

One method for lifestyle and rehabilitation

According to holistic philosophy, nobody alive is either 'completely' healthy or 'completely' unhealthy. And there is no line that differentiates between the people. Furthermore, people might be healthy today and injured tomorrow so the current situation is always dynamic.

People who might be currently suffering from a specific movement disorder might need to initially focus on their specific issues which might require special focus on an anatomical area. However, whether generally healthy or not, people aspire to the same goal of a pain-free healthy active lifestyle.

For this reason the StarBarre Harmony method has two main segments which lead from one to the other: 'Training for Rehabilitation' and 'Training for Lifestyle'.

People who might need physical therapy or a movement-based rehabilitation program start 'Training for Rehabilitation' and progress to 'Training for Lifestyle'. People who are generally healthy start with 'Training for Lifestyle', but in the case of an accident or mishap they might resort to the structured 'Training for Rehabilitation' segment of the method in order to return to 'Training for Lifestyle' (and pain-free normal life) - as quickly and as positively as possible.

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Pain-free exercises

All StarBarre Harmony exercises are designed to be pain free at the suitable level of training. This is an important principle because the exercises train harmonious functional movements which are physically impossible (and undesirable) to be achieved in the presence of pain or discomfort.

To enable pain free training at all levels, the basic exercise sequences include exercise which are designed to feel good rather than evoke pain.

For example, a client who suffers from low back pain during certain movements like bending or reaching will find that those movement do not exist in the basic sequences, but are gradually introduced and developed in the subsequent sequences.

If any exercise is found to cause pain or discomfort, its range can be temporarily modified or even completely skipped while dealing with the issue professionally. At the same time, continue to perform the other pain free and comfortable sequence exercises on a daily basis and let nature work at an optimal pace.

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A lifetime journey

In every exercise at all levels, emphasis is placed on training the whole body to perform a certain movement function in a harmonious manner. This involves coordinating the breathing pattern with the synchronized timing of all movement elements at the same time.

Even the 'Train for Rehabilitation" exercises which might focus on a specific body area are holistic exercises in nature. They train the whole body together with the injured area rather than training the injured area in separation. For example, even the basic level rehabilitation exercises are either symmetric or reciprocal in nature, in either case with no preference to left or right. This is for the whole body (and mind) to recover and/or indefinitely prosper in the most natural and practical way. For clients, the few minutes of practicing at home every day becomes a journey from star to star. Each new level brings new personal challenges to overcome, which might be emotional and connected to 'deep' events of life. Yet the physical and mental enlightenment achieved due to levels already overcome exists always, and grows as the journey continues and the client's movement foundations develop harmoniously.

 

Learning and practicing

To master a new and complex art, the combination of learning with an expert teacher and practicing regularly is a ancient formula of success that every musician, athlete or dancer knows very well. Alternatively, in the absence of a 'miracle', optimal success might not be predicted without the combined process of learning and practicing.

The StarBarre Harmony system therefore facilitates expert learning by providing video tutorials and detailed text instructions to all the exercises this instructor manual as well as links to online or physical instructors. At the same time the system equally facilitates home practicing by providing clients with convenient short video clips with the same exercises they just learned. All they need to do is to follow the instructor's moves with their body and pay attention to the breathing for a few minutes a day.

 

Progression from star to star

The star system of progression was designed to imitate the addictive and passionate progression system of electronic games. It is true the exercises are not a game, but because each exercise sequence simulates a balanced dose of natural functional movements required for normal life, progression to a new star level is real progression in life, well worth the time and effort.

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Part of a healthy active lifestyle

The StarBarre Harmony 'few minutes a day' practice of natural movements and stretches is not a replacement for any sporting activities but rather a supplement. To lead a healthy active lifestyle, it is also recommended to do at least 30 minutes of (any) fun pain-free aerobic sport every day, and to eat modest quantities of a well-balanced diet.

 

The creator

Jonathan Hoffman is a manual and exercise physical therapist based in Herzliya, Israel. He is the inventor of CoreAlign, MoonRun and StarBarre.

Over the last decade he has traveled to all corners of the world teaching his philosophy and mind-body standing exercises to movement instructors and healthcare practitioners. Jonathan has published several well-cited scientific papers on areas related to holistic movement.

His creation is driven by his extensive physical therapy career in which he has worked for professional tennis players, top European basketball teams as well as tens of thousands of people who suffered from back pain, other movement based musculoskeletal disorders and sports injuries. ​

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Credits

The creation of this method was inspired by the wisdom and exercises of:​

• J.P. Muller (Denmark)

• Oddvar Holten (Norway)

• Minnie Randell (England)

• Joseph Pilates (Germany, USA)

• Margaret Morris (Scotland, England)

• Moshe Feldenkreiz (Israel)

As well as elements from:

• CoreAlign®

• Ballet

• Tai Chi

• Belly dancing

• Traditional Asian dancing

• Normal functional human movements and breathing

• And the dog and cat daily stretch routine.