The Joanne Avison Podcast

What if anatomy wasn’t just intellectual? What if it’s part of our felt sense? In this fascinating conversation Joanne is joined by Brea Johnson, a yoga educator with over 20 years’ experience in anatomy and movement, and founder of the globally recognised online platform Heart + Bones Yoga. Together they explore how understanding fascia, proprioception and movement awareness can transform how we...

Can subtle movement shifts really prevent long-term pain? In this episode, Joanne Avison and Paul Thornley unpack the power of pattern interrupts — small, intelligent changes that help you move better and hurt less. From gym routines to ballet classes, we often repeat movement patterns without realising they’re leading us toward strain or injury. Joanne and Paul explore how micro-movements and bal...

Join me as I open the box on Sacred Geometry as part of our form...   In a fascinating exploration of sacred geometry and how it is profoundly expressed in our fascia matrix, the story begins at the skin and goes deep into the divine proportions in which we form. Fascia, the complex connecting tissue that plays a vital role in our anatomy and movement, is deeply integrated with sacred geometry, li...

What does it truly mean to bring compassion into healthcare — and can empathy be taught? In this profound and moving conversation, Joanne Avison is joined by Emeritus Professor Carol M. Davis, author of What Is Empathy and Can Empathy Be Taught? Together, they explore the essential role of compassion in physical therapy, embodied movement, and fascia-informed healing. From Margaret Mead’s famous s...

In this moving episode Joanne Avison and Paul Thornley delve into the hidden language of fascia, and its profound role in helping us to understand and care for ourselves… Fascia SPEAKS, giving us vital insights into our history, our emotions, and our current state, and it says so much through movement. It is the narrator of our stories. So whatever movement modality we teach, or manual therapy we...

Join me as I build on our recent episode about fascia as a spiritual interface, to delve deeper into the incredible ways this inner web connects our mind, body and spirit! It is both our soft-tissue architecture, and the home of our embodied wisdom and awareness, storing feelings and managing how energy moves through us… We’ll explore fascia’s nature as a liquid crystal matrix - much like the resp...

In this lovely episode Joanne and Paul show how passionate movement teachers can raise their confidence by finding their own path, beyond the protocol they learned. Through understanding how every body is uniquely organised, we can find grace and patience with ourselves as we learn - even when we don’t know what to do!! With their decades of experience, they share the importance of supportive ment...

In this thought-provoking episode, Joanne shares her groundbreaking insights on the fascinating connection between our fascia and spiritual embodiment. Listen in as she explores the relationship between the fascia matrix and spirituality, with a blend of light-heartedness and a deep appreciation of being human in our errors and joys!  The body-wide fascia matrix is involved in every part of us as...

We live inside a concept of “linear time” and “linear space” and we work on the basis of “linear form” in movement, from the way classical anatomy is taught. Yet fascia, the fascinating “matrix of time and space” in the body - is part of everyone’s non-linear form and non-linear motion... In this episode, Joanne is joined by her friend and colleague Shane McDermott to delve into the fascinating to...

Are you tired of feeling stiff and restricted in your shoulders? Do you wish you could move with ease and freedom - or have some key techniques to give your clients, with no equipment needed!? Did you even know your shoulder blades are like another set of hands at the back of you?  In this episode of Myofascial Magic In Action, Joanne Avison and Paul Thornley share some gorgeous, nuanced technique...

Join me as I delve deep into the often-overlooked world of fascia and its profound impact on healing and overall well-being. Discover how this intricate web of connective tissue is far more than just a structural element; it’s a dynamic, intelligent system that communicates stress, influences emotional and mental states, and connects our inner and outer worlds. Learn about the subtle signalling pr...

This week’s episode is a lesson in HANDS, with tips, tricks and techniques for transforming them into the assets they love to be. They will love you for it!! Find out - through using your own therapeutic touch - why “grip strength” is NOT all there is to health... The opposite quality is actually essential too, to maintain flexibility. Using these fabulous and simple techniques you’ll find the ans...

In this conversation, Joanne Avison interviews Shane McDermott, an advanced practitioner, photographer, therapist, and explorer, often referred to as a “contemporary renaissance man”. They introduce the essential difference it makes to understand the human body beyond anatomy - and into archetypes - over time. To begin, they reminisce about meeting 25 years ago while teaching for Tom Myers and ref...

Hello everyone and welcome! Today I'm exploring moving from burnout to balance. Whether you're a busy parent, an entrepreneur, a team member, or you just balance a lot, this is for you. Burnout can manifest in many ways, from feeling constantly tired to losing passion for the things you once loved. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent, often giving us signals long before our minds catch...

Join Joanne Avison and Paul Thornley as they unveil the secrets of MYOFASCIAL MAGIC in the new book. ‘Myofascial Magic In Action - A Movement Practitioner’s Guide to How the Body Really Moves’ is a comprehensive guide to injury prevention, bodywork practices, and holistic healing; and is full of practical ways to work with the human body, whatever your modality. Learning about this intricate and f...

In this episode of The Joanne Avison podcast, Joanne and her guest, Shane McDermott, engage in a deep conversation about the different qualities of listening... Can we listen from the heart? With our hands? As well as our ears? They discuss the four key levels of listening - download listening, factual listening, empathetic listening, and generative listening - and how they impact our perception o...

Join us to learn three great movements for healing Diastasis Recti. Your body is round and it needs to do what it does naturally, which is breathe, gently spiral and walk - while it heals. Some methods of working with this issue require you to compress and tighten an area that is already in trouble. That’s a bit like shouting at yourself when you fell over and grazed your knee! What you really wan...

In this thought-provoking episode, we delve into the history of how the study of science in the West separated soma from soul. It has deep implications to our understanding of the intricate relationship between the body and the being that animates it. The notion of soul separation has sparked intense debate, with many seeking to reconcile the principles of science and spirituality. By understandin...

In this episode, Joanne Avison and Paul Thornley are rethinking pelvic floor exercises and exploring a balanced approach to women’s wellness and rehabilitation.  We discuss how traditional approaches often overlook the interconnectedness of the body and how a more holistic and subtle approach that honours the myofascial structures, can lead to more effective and sustainable results.  Join us as we...

In this thought-provoking, actionable episode, we delve into the fascinating connection between fascia, emotions and simple things we can do to promote our own relaxation directly. We explore simply smiling or frowning; and observe how it changes the feelings (and our shape!) as a somatic experience.   Drawing on her expertise, Joanne examines the integral role of fascia (with easy examples) in fo...

Join Joanne and Paul in this fascinating episode as they share insights - and debunk some common myths - around Plantar Fasciitis . There's often different reasons FOR the pain, and it can need a variety of different treatments depending on the root cause. Sometimes Plantar Fasciitis is blamed on high arches, sometimes on low arches (flat feet).  Sometimes there’s shin splints (from overuse)...

Join us for this conversation with the brilliant Professor Darrell Evans, diving deep (in plain language) into the fascinating world of anatomy, embryology, biological development and the interconnectedness of connective tissues. What does that really mean? Professor Evans shares his brilliant and unconventional career journey, insights from his academic roles, his innovative teaching methods, and...

For many it’s the season for gifting, and I want to share a very special gift with you, dear Listener! Last year John Sharkey and Mark Flannigan released a gold standard, peer-reviewed research paper which seeks to move us towards an interdisciplinary definition o f fascia , particularly for the benefit of all fascia-focused movement and manual practitioners. It’s an incredible and important piece...

Join Joanne and Paul in this engaging conversation, we delve into the crucial topic of RECOVERY for ‘weekend warriors’ - those of us who push the physical limits during our weekends off or find time for only short concentrated stints of activities, whether it’s marathon training, football, sports, HIIT or intense biking…whatever we do at high intensity. Full recovery is often overlooked as unneces...

In this episode Joanne talks with the brilliant Alexander Technique practitioner Tully Hall. The conversation delves deep into the principles and benefits of the Alexander Technique, emphasizing its gentle approach to enhancing sensory awareness and self-regulation. We touch upon the importance of integrating body, mind, and spirit in healing practices and explore the benefits of using sound and v...