Week 1 Reflection

In just the first week, I have learned more about the Burdenko method than I predicted I would during my entire project.  In fact, it is hard for me to keep this reflection short because there are pages of information I want to get to people about this method.  Although watching the classes and doing the exercises were really helpful in teaching me about Burdenko, I have found my favorite and most effective way of learning to be just by talking to Laurie.  In conversation, you can tell how passionate she is about everything, because information just starts pouring out.  She wants me to understand all the Burdenko method entails, and she has already passed that passion on to me.  When people ask me about my project, I really want them to understand just what this is, and how different it is than just “working out” or “rehab”.  During Wednesday’s class a women was walking by on the street and asked what Laurie and Taylor’s classes were all about. Instead of saying it was a conditioning class for high school sports stars, Laurie replied, “I teach athletes how to move.” It is interesting to watch the kids doing all these exercises, because there is a real separation between those who have been trained well, and the kids who are just beginning. For example, her own children do it perfectly, because they have been working on it the better portion of their lives. Other kids in the group who just started, struggle with the simple skills of balance and coordination.  Exercises that look easy may be very difficult to do. An outsider watching would probably think that the kids having trouble were out of shape or not good athletes, when the truth is they may play club soccer 10 months a year or play three varsity sports. That, however, is exactly where the problem lies. Kids today go from sport to sport as each season goes by, and never take the time to condition their bodies. They may run on their off days or lift weights occasionally, but they never train their bodies in ways that will help them catch their balance if they stumble or get knocked, and other functions that are so important for your body to have. This is another reason why Burdenko is so effective in preventing injury.  We were watching her son Pete at his lacrosse game while I was down with the Fucignas at the beginning of the week, and there was a moment when someone hit against Pete and caught him off guard. As Laurie watched his reaction to this and how he quickly got right back in a balanced state she told me, “that, right there, is Burdenko.”

What I learned this week will benefit me hugely with my rehab, and I have already been able to start using it now.  Even this morning, I went by myself and did exercises in the pool.  The pool, if done properly and using the Burdenko exercises, can be a great healing environment for your body.  It is not water aerobics, and you are not simply running in the shallow end.  Everything you are doing is with a belt on, and in the vertical position with your pelvis forward and your body straight.  You are in the position you would be on land, except you are in an anti-gravity situation. For me, what I can do on land is very limited because of my knee. Being in the water puts me in a situation where I can do exercises that push my boundaries and perform much more, but in a safe environment. It helps you to make advances so much faster than if you were only doing your rehab on land. 

I have had a lot of information and specifics thrown at me this week, and I think the reason I have absorbed all of it so well is because it applies directly to myself.  I really want to listen to what Laurie is saying and learn it, so I am knowledgable enough to do some of it on my own.  Burdenko is so complex, that is it no surprise it took her so long to get master certified, and there are few people out there who can properly teach Burdenko. Everything Igor Burdenko has created is so genius, it is a shame that more people don’t know about it or take advantage of it. You can see frustrations Laurie and Taylor have sometimes, when new innovations come out in the workout industry that Igor thought of years, and in some cases, decades before. The reason this is not hugely popular is that it is hard to convince someone how effective the Burdenko method is, without out showing it to them and proving the benefits.  Burdenko is hard to advertise, because there are no hard core workout videos, it cannot give you 30-minute abs, and there is no flashy equipment to accompany it.  But once someone begins Burdenko, all they want to do is show it to their friends and persuade them to do it.  I wish that everyone knew about it, and would train themselves to do it.  It is hard to get into Burdenko, because you really need to be taught it by someone properly trained and be closely monitored at the beginning, but it is really worth the effort.  It is so good for your body, and really makes you transition from being a generic sports stud, to a true athlete.