Movement Practice to Strengthen Your Mind-Body Connection | Ido Portal

**Ido Portal** (0:00)
Discipline is very important, but it's similar to the wall in learning to do a handstand. If you use the wall one way, where you're all the time pushing yourself off of the wall, try to catch your handstand, you become reliant on the wall. But there is a different approach. We can use the wall, but pull off of it, which comes from the other end, from our hands, from the connection to the ground. That does not necessitate the wall.
This is the correct way to use discipline. You should use it as a scaffolding, as a way to get things going, like write that book. But inside the process, you must make sure you don't lean hard into it. You don't leave everything for it to dictate. And you bring some playfulness, some relaxation, some deep choice.
I want to do this.

**Andrew Huberman** (0:53)
Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Ido Portal. Ido Portal is a world-renowned movement teacher and the founder of Movement Culture, which is an integrative practice for developing the self that combines physical and mental practice. Today we discuss how anyone can practice movement, deliberate awareness, and even language and other forms of communication in ways that explore and expand your capabilities and your understanding and sense of self. Now, Ido is not anti-exercise or anti-fitness, but what sets him apart as a movement teacher and why so many professional athletes, dancers and people around the world continually seek out his teachings is his ability to show people unique ways for how to go about their daily life in ways that truly expand both their mind and their body, as well as their athletic performance in the case of athletics. Today, we discuss unique meditation practices, ways to build discipline and access willpower, and by the way, what the difference between discipline and willpower is, and how to use play as an extremely potent way to rewire your default operating systems in everything you do. If you, like so many other people, typically think about movement practices as for strength or endurance or mobility, well, today you're in for a surprise because Ido explains how the transitions between brain states and physical states are linked and are fertile ground for extremely rapid neuroplasticity and that they can help you truly understand how your mind and body are organized and can function better. Today's conversation is a truly special one.
I have to be clear, it's not philosophical. It's not theoretical. It's a practical exploration of movement, awareness, language, and cognition that is rooted in science and has real world implications for all of us. Ido is a truly unique human being, teacher, and friend, and it was an honor to host him again. So prepare to learn. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, today's episode does include sponsors. And now for my discussion with Ido Portal.
Ido Portal, welcome back.

**Ido Portal** (3:18)
Thank you.

**Andrew Huberman** (3:19)
So happy to see you again, my friend.

**Ido Portal** (3:20)
Good to see you.

**Andrew Huberman** (3:21)
You've aged backwards. So you're doing something right. Now you haven't aged at all. What have you been up to lately? I have many questions, but I want to know what's been your first thought on waking most consistently over the last, you know, year or so?

**Ido Portal** (3:38)
The same thing. Always the same thing. The most important thing that exists, that there is, that that's how my system operates. But getting that change, that deep transformation in people, in myself, why? Why are we missing it?
What is required? That's always been there and changes its face, but it's the same one.

**Andrew Huberman** (4:09)
When you wake up, do you open your eyes right away or do you ever spend some time in that liminal state between asleep and awake?

**Ido Portal** (4:18)
I sometimes spend some time there. I experienced also sleep paralysis before and various in-betweens.

**Andrew Huberman** (4:27)
Where you're wide awake but the body is still paralyzed.

**Ido Portal** (4:30)
Yeah. When you sit a lot, when you meditate a lot and other practices, somatic practices, again, you get to know the territory and you can stabilize fragile states more easily.
So, crossing into that boundary of the sleep, it becomes a slow-mo journey that you can pause, that you can spend time at any point in.