Today we’d like to introduce you to Kortni King.
Hi Kortni, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I have been in business as an independent personal trainer for 4 years now and left a cooperate career path that I thought was my calling to do so. I’m a lover of movement and total nerd for the way the human body operates, but outside of that, I really valued what it did personally for my mental health, pain, daily life, relationships, connection with myself, and just my general wellbeing and mood overall. I’m really passionate about sharing those things with others.
I’ve navigated a life of movement as so many different versions of myself; an athlete, a student, a corporate employee, a self-employed individual, a friend, a daughter, a dog mom, a partner, etc. There are so many variables that go into our lives that affect the amount of time, energy, and range of motion that we have individually. I really find fulfillment in making movement both intuitive and intentional which is really necessary and often overlooked when life happens.
I take a very holistic approach to movement but also really appreciate and incorporate previous and ongoing studies/theories/methods that make sense for the human body as a whole. I try to bring this into all of my work by focusing on movement that enhances the human body and experience it has altogether. I value and focus on training that provides strength, mobility, and mindfulness, but also understand that I’ll always be in constant flow of what the human body needs or craves at any given moment.
My methods and approach is based on those key components, but also with the understanding that our bodies will always intuitively tell us what we need if we are able to listen. My desire to continue to learn and teach movement will always be based around remaining “flexible” if you will in both my body and my mind and connecting the two.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think our biggest struggles in anything in life is mainly ourselves. Like anything in my life, I learn, I practice, I grow and I do my best to remember the things that kept me from moving forward in the best way when I meet those obstacles again in the future. In my work and in my movement practice I uncover things about myself all the time. Whether that’s leaning something new inside my body or how it moves, learning how my clients prefer to understand the things I need to teach them, or navigating my business to keep up with my creative brain or ever-changing industry, I’m constantly being challenged. The times that gets hard is when I face frustration internally either because I’m encountering a roadblock somewhere internally or maybe that I’m just dealing with my own life and also trying to develop in my career. Personal trainers, they’re just like you. haha.
The road to wherever the end is all part of the process. If I take care of myself the way I teach my clients to and continue to learn I get to where I’m supposed to be eventually. I think just like with anything else, we have to practice the skills and coping mechanism it takes to continue to get to the other side of any struggle or frustration that comes up.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Movement Method. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My personal specialty in this world is being a connector and teacher. I happen to be passionate about connecting others to movement because it’s what I’m most drawn to in life and passionate about. I’ve worked in many positions in life outside of movement where I’ve really been forced to figure out how people like to learn, how they understand, or how they generally connect with something. I try to be practical, relatable, but also motivating in my approach when working with someone and that’s very different depending on who I’m working with. People’s bodies move just as differently as their minds do. In a group setting out in the fitness community it’s difficult for clients to get that 1 on 1 attention.
The Movement Method is my personal approach to seeking out intuitive and intentional movement in the fitness community and also connecting the fitness community with movement professionals in this world who align with those concepts.
It can be really hard for people to move again when they’ve been a little stagnant. It’s also discouraging when they take that leap to get out there and have a bad experience in a class, or get an injury, or just don’t feel confident about what it is they’re doing or how they’re moving. At no fault to the instructor, it’s just not always ideal for someone who wants to get back into movement to not get individualized attention. The Movement Method is a movement education platform to help close the gap between the instructor and the client and bring them together on a more personal level. It’s about making that introduction for the benefit of everyone involved. I want to introduce the community to the instructor and I want to introduce the clients to the instructor so that they can communicate better and just really connect.
The way I structure a workout or a class for my own clients is very specific and I call that system “The Movement Method”. It’s the method to my movement practice and also the concept that the different methods we practice will always be in forward motion or have some sort of forward movement as we adapt and go forward in life. The structure of my own training will change as I adapt to the demands of my clients ever changing bodies. I’m looking for fitness professionals in the local community who align with some of those same principals In the sense that they take the time to really understand what the client needs, and also stay open minded and be willing to adapt to those demands when the client needs them. We can all learn more by connecting on a deeper level and staying open in these conversations.
Also noticed a few typos on my end on that last question.I rewrote it and BELOW are the edits I made to it.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love that everyone is so driven, but also that they know how to have fun. It’s inspiring to be around people who work hard but also play harder. I try my best to use pleasure as more of a luxury and less of a sedative to my work life.
I’m from a very small town so the pace here is faster, the buildings are bigger and it’s inspired me to create even bigger dreams for myself. Intuitively, I know that type of mentality always lived inside of me somewhere, but environment is everything and the Dallas atmosphere definitely pulled a little of that out of me. It also just kind of forced me to keep up with all of the amazing people here working on their own crafts. I could give you a handful of people who have inspired me in this city in tons of different fields and different reasons.
I could personally go for a little more nature in the city. The concrete jungle vibe is cool and lively, but for someone who thrives around a body of water and uses nature to stay grounded, I could go for a little more of that being easier to access from my doorstep. For now, my high rise that allows me to watch the sunrise and set and hangout in the clouds when it’s raining is cool though.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@kortniking.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kingkortni
- Other: www.instagram.com/the.movementmethod
Image Credits
@darcerossphoto
