When your nervous system is scattered, everything costs more — focus, energy, recovery, relationships.

When it’s organized, life gets simpler.

Calm that only shows up when conditions are perfect disappears the moment pressure arrives.

Durable Foundations trains the internal mechanics that keep you present and level — even when life isn’t cooperating.

You leave with a set of practical embodied tools you can apply immediately to move through and even play with your environment and experience of life.

Breath sets the rhythm.

Movement organizes structure and energy.

Awareness keeps you oriented when pressure rises.

Together, they form a system you can rely on — not just when things are calm, but when life asks more of you.

This is about training the system, not chasing states.

This retreat is for people who:

Feel guarded, stiff, or worn down

Have trained hard in the past and want a smarter way forward

Sense something is “off” but can’t quite name it

Want to move with less effort and more confidence

Are curious about nervous-system-aware breath and movement

Want tools that translate into real life, not just the retreat space

You don’t need to be flexible, fit, or experienced. You just need a body, and a willingness to listen.

The five days are intentionally paced to support learning and integration.

There will be time to:

Move

Breathe

Rest

Reflect

Ask questions

Let things land

Nothing is rushed.

Nothing is forced.

This is what allows the work to stick.

Breath (Bob Soulliere)

Breath is the most direct entry point into regulation and clarity.

We’ll work with simple, accessible breathing practices that support nervous system balance, presence, and resilience. The focus is not on extreme techniques or chasing sensations, but on learning how to use your breath to settle, focus, and respond more skillfully to stress.

These are tools you can apply immediately; in daily life, under real pressure.

Movement (Jerry Hill)

Movement is used to restore durable, natural patterns your body already understands.

We’ll work with simple, grounded movements to improve orientation, reduce unnecessary tension, and rebuild trust in your body. This isn’t about performance, range, or intensity. It’s about learning how to move with better information so effort becomes cleaner, coordination improves, and your body holds up better over time.

Breath leads movement, not the other way around.

Awareness

Awareness is treated as a trainable, embodied skill.

Not as something abstract, but as what allows breath to stay available and movement to remain organized when conditions aren’t ideal. We’ll practice noticing internal signals, without judgment, so you can respond rather than brace, override, or disconnect.

Practical, embodied tools you can use immediately:

-To settle when things feel overwhelming

-To move with less guarding and more confidence

-To recognize and reduce unnecessary tension

-To stay oriented and responsive under pressure

-To trust your body again in real life

Not because you tried harder, but because your system learned how to organize itself under real conditions.

I’m a movement coach focused on helping people build durable bodies they can trust…without grinding themselves down.

In 2014, I won the CrossFit Games and was named “Fittest on Earth.”

At the same time, my body was breaking down.

I woke up stiff and sore.

Stairs hurt.

Daily life felt heavier than it should.

That experience forced a shift.

Instead of training harder, I learned how to recode my movement, restore posture, and build durability…so I could move freely again and return to the things I loved without pain.

I brought this work to hundreds of people at my gym in Alexandria, Virginia…many in midlife, many feeling worn down by their bodies…and watched them regain confident, pain-free movement.

In 2023, after 16 years, I closed the gym and moved this work into retreats, workshops, small groups, and online spaces, where I continue helping people reconnect with their bodies and move with confidence in real life.

The program I teach is exactly what I used to rebuild my own body…and what hundreds of others have used to do the same.

Movement has shaped my life…from athlete and Marine to coach, father, and now a 59-year-old who still plays outside daily.

This is my life’s work.

I’m here to share what actually holds up.

I put people back in touch with their innate powers. Their native capacity to modulate their autonomic nervous system.

To become resilient, happier, healthier, stronger, improve performance, find their voice, stay present, and change and shift their lives with more ease and grace.  

I have trained thousands since 2017 using breath, HRV training and biofeedback, mindset, learning about physiology and neurology, aligning with circadian programming, fun, controlled stressors (such as cold), and community to create a space for exploration, growth, performance optimization, and transformation.

I am a self-directed explorer of human performance and potential, an Oxygen Advantage Master Instructor and a global Wim Hof Method Instructor trained directly under Wim Hof, HRV clinician and practice leader Dr Jay Wiles, and breathing expert Patrick McKeown. 

At the intersection of mindset, physiology, and fun, I have seen how learning to relax slightly over the edge of your comfort zone opens the door to a wealth of growth, improvement, and transformation -

- and i’m excited to bring this foundational work to you!