Our Films
'Stack the deck in your favour to lead your healthiest happiest life'
These films are designed to inspire you wherever you are on your MovementWise journey. Tania Cotton played a fundamental role in the rehabilitation of all the people in films presented here. She produced many of them whilst working at the Sports Medical Centre at La Tour in Geneva, but felt somewhat shy at portraying her work in the films.
DAVE PARKYN: Downward Spiral
Aeronautical Engineer
At the age of 40, with pain in his knees and a diagnosis of ‘arthritis’, Dave believes that he has to give up the sports he loves playing. His work takes over his life and the stresses and strains take a toll on his mental and physical health. His world falls apart when his wife is diagnosed with breast cancer. Forced to delegate at work and bring healthy eating and physical activity back into is life, Dave embarks on a performance journey that makes him feel and look years younger and develop a whole new outlook on life. At 50 he now rarely feels the pain in his knees and he is doing twice as much as he did at 40. His family notice that embracing physical activity as an integral part of his life enables Dave to ‘manage’ stressful situations in a way he was unable to do before. For Josh, his son, his father is a role model – his experiences have taught him lessons that have impacted his own life and that he wants to pass on to others.
CLAUDIO & SACHA: The Power of the Mind
World Champion Martial Artists
When you suffer health challenges that threaten your quality of life, you have 2 choices: either to be a passive player in what you may believe is your inevitable decline; or to activate an inner armour of strength that will enable you to discover your true potential. Claudio Alessi and Sacha Décosterd – world champion Martial Artists, show us how most of our limitations exist within our minds.
Through his ‘No Difference’ initiative, Claudio challenges the perceptions we have of ourselves and of other people – that prevent us from discovering who we really are, and he invites us to enjoy the freedom of being ourselves.
GÉRALDINE FASNACHT: The Sky is No Limit
Snowboard Champion and Wingsuit Flyer
Géraldine Fasnacht is a base suit jumper, wing suit flyer and champion of the Verbier Extreme Snowboarding Competition in Switzerland. She shares with us her personal health and performance journey and teaches us that most of our limitations exist within our minds. She shows us how to overcome adversity, encourages us to follow our dreams and above all to value life and to live life fully.
PATRICK SCHOMMER: Return to Play
International Ice Hockey Player
Ice hockey has been a way of life for Patrick since childhood. His passion for the sport and the special bond he enjoys amongst his teammates made it difficult for him to cope with the turmoil and isolation of being injured. Rehabilitation after 2 hip operations failed to prepare him for the rigours of this intense contact sport on the ice. Bill Knowles, a world-renowned ‘athletic development’ coach, uses the ‘power of play’ and reconditioning to prepare Patrick's mind and body for return to competitive sport, without pain. Professor Jacques Menetrey, a ‘Return to Play’ expert, highlights the importance for children to have the opportunity to enjoy a broad range of movement experiences so that they develop a 'movement vocabulary'...
GERRY WALSH: Food and Your Future
Cycling Coach
Gerry, a competitive road cyclist, walks away from physical activity and ‘piles on the pounds’. Living in denial of his physical decline he loses his confidence and self-esteem. Robert Lustig, a professor of clinical paediatrics is an expert in nutrition and how it affects the biochemistry of our bodies and how this dictates the energy we have now and the health we will enjoy in the future. Our ability to perform at our best is affected both by the quality and quantity of our movement and eating habits. Dr Robert Lustig provides us with sustainable solutions for living in a healthier, happier world.
TRACY MOSELEY: To Ride Like a Champion
4 X Mountain Bike World Champion
Tracy Moseley, 4 x World Champion Mountain Biker, reveals what it takes to stay at the ‘top of your game’. In today’s world, children practicing sport are increasingly pressurized to specialize early. Tracy emphasizes the importance of ‘just being a kid’ and to exposing yourself to a broad range of movement experiences so that you can become adaptable to different movements within.
STÉPHAN LAMBIEL: The Art of Health and Human Performance
World Champion/Olympic Ice Skater
Through passion and dedication, artistic ice-skater Stéphane Lambiel becomes both a multiple world champion and Olympic Silver Medallist. He knows that to be the best is not just about working toward one goal or one medal, but allowing your curiosity to drive your creativity so that you keep exploring and discovering new ways of fulfilling your performance potential. Stéphane teams up with world-class pianist Khatia Buniatishvili and challenges himself: ‘if she can be so precise with her music can we be as precise with our movements?’ Keen to see new Swiss ice skaters at future Olympic games, Stéphane sets up his own school on ice. He emphasizes the importance for young athletes to have coaches and mentors who believe in them and who allow them to develop in their own time and in their own way empowering them to achieve their performance potential.
ROBBIE FENLON: A Vision of The Future
Professional Mountain Guide
Robbie, 15 years ago, was resigned to a life of pain and disability, and then he experienced a philosophy of health care centred not on treating him as an injury or a disease but as a whole person in the context of a real life. Robbie highlights the importance for each of us to build a team around ourselves with the expertise, experience and above all an attitude that can enable us to bridge the gap between our medical needs and our performance goals.
HUGO'S STORY: Old Before His Time
Hugo, at 27 years of age, feels that the best years of his life are over. Physical activities he used to love now cause him pain so he avoids them, falling into a vicious cycle, sitting for up to 15 hours a day at his computer and withdrawing from an active social life. Unaware that he has a problem that has a solution, a movement expert takes him on a journey that teaches him how to adopt new lifestyle habits that ‘change his life’.
SAM'S STORY: Health is a Journey not a Destination
Web Developer and Horse Rider
As a teenager Sam suffered, like more and more teenagers today, from the fear of 'not being good enough'. The pressures, perceived or real, of 'being judged' lead to disabling low self-esteem and depression. When the very things that give her most comfort are taken away from her - her horse and her sport, her life feels shattered. With the help of a family doctor who builds a team around her, she begins to set herself realistic and achievable goals. She embarks on a journey to follow her equestrian dreams and rekindle her passion for life. In doing so she embraces life with a new understanding that health and performance is a journey and not a destination.
KATE'S STORY: Turning a Threat into an Opportunity
Travel Expert
As a breast cancer survivor, movement became an integral part of Kate's life.
THE INSIDE GAME: Unlocking Human Potential
Most of our limitations exist within our minds. Unlocking human potential begins with challenging our beliefs and our perception of what we and others are capable of. The world is full of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We all have the capacity to become more physically robust, mentally resilient to achieve things in our lives we previously believed impossible. It just takes the courage to do things differently and to get the help you need to master the movement skills you need to live your passion and turn 'survive' into 'thrive'.
THE WINDWARD WAY: Teachers Transforming Lives
Teaching children with dyslexia
All children deserve to be recognised for the type of learners they are and to receive the quality of teaching that allows them to unlock their full potential. The Windward Way – Teachers Transforming Lives reveals how, when teachers are taught how to apply the best scientific evidence on language development and learning, all children, including those with Dyslexia and other language based learning challenges, can most effectively learn to read and write, and become happy, confident and productive participators within society. First and foremost, teachers need to be given the tools to reach all children. We need different types of brains and many children with language based challenges are ‘big picture – out of the box thinkers’ of extraordinary intelligence. Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci and Richard Branson are just a few examples of people who have used their dyslexic brains to positively impact the world we live in.
KATHIA BUNIATISHVILLI: Music, Movement and Emotion
World Class Pianist
Khatia Buniatishvili is a concert pianist - a musical athlete who engages her whole mind and body within her art. An opportunity to perform alongside Stéphane Lambiel, a multiple world champion artistic ice skater, reveals a special connection between them that continues to develop through their mutual passion for music, dance and self expression. They share the joy of connecting with their audiences, and desire to touch something deep inside them that will inspire them too to live life fully.
