How To Heal Pain, Reinvent Your Life & Find Purpose Before 2025 | Lawrence Van Lingen
Here are the top 10 insights from Dr. Rangan Chatterjee's conversation with movement specialist Lawrence Van Lingen on healing pain, optimizing movement, and finding purpose in life.
1. The nervous system dictates how we move and function
Our nervous system significantly influences how we move, behave, and interact with the world. Lawrence explains that rather than treating a person directly, he's actually treating their nervous system. Most people operate on "autopilot," with their nervous system dictating their habits, behaviors, and movement patterns.
When our nervous system is dysregulated, we can't think clearly or make rational decisions. Lawrence uses the analogy of a drowning person who can't think clearly and might even harm the lifeguard trying to save them. This state of dysregulation impacts everything from our movement patterns to our decision-making abilities.
2. Breathing is a portal to change your entire system
Breathing is described as a "fantastic portal into creating change" in our bodies and lives. Lawrence emphasizes that it should be the first place to start when looking to improve movement and health. Most people (over 90% of those Lawrence sees) have some form of breathing pattern disorder.
Proper breathing involves the diaphragm moving down while the ribs expand. Many people develop "reciprocal breathing," where the diaphragm moves up with the ribs, pushing breath into the upper chest. This dysfunctional breathing pattern can predispose people to peripheral injuries, decrease performance, and create heightened stress responses. Even just 3-4 minutes of breathing exercises each morning can begin to reprogram these patterns.
3. Everything in the body is interconnected
Throughout the conversation, Lawrence emphasizes how everything in our body is connected. Issues in one area often stem from problems elsewhere. For example, tight hamstrings might not need stretching but could be a symptom of sitting habits, foot issues, or even eye movement patterns.
The site of pain is frequently not the site of the problem. Lawrence gives examples like tailbone injuries affecting knee function or breathing disorders leading to foot problems like plantar fasciitis. This interconnected view explains why treating symptoms without addressing root causes rarely produces lasting results.
4. Backward walking can transform running and overall movement
Backward walking is presented as a powerful tool for improving movement patterns. When done correctly (barefoot if possible, at a slow pace, with soft toes and heel down), backward walking teaches the brain to trust having the leg and knee behind the hip with full weight-bearing, which is crucial for efficient running.
This practice also helps develop "contralateral movement" patterns that are neurologically important. Lawrence emphasizes that backward walking is not just for elite athletes but for everyone. He claims that normalizing your breathing pattern and practicing backward walking will change your life, affecting not just movement but also sleep, digestion, stress management, and interpersonal relationships.
5. The nervous system state affects every aspect of health
Our nervous system state influences everything from our movement efficiency to sleep quality, digestion, pain levels, and relationships. When we're in a chronic state of sympathetic ("fight or flight") activation, we tend to create compensatory behaviors like craving stimulants, sugar, or drama.
Lawrence explains how mouth breathing, common during activities like cycling, can overstimulate the sympathetic nervous system. This creates a state of being "wired but tired," leading to cravings for stimulants like coffee and sugar. Changing breathing patterns can help regulate the nervous system, potentially reducing these cravings naturally.
6. Motion and emotion are inseparable
Lawrence emphasizes that you cannot separate how you move from how you feel. He describes working with an elite runner who developed his first injury at age 60 during a time of political opposition. The runner's stance reflected his emotional state—toes dug in, leaning forward, standing firm—which was contributing to his physical pain.
Our posture and movement patterns often reflect our emotional states and life experiences. Lawrence notes that as people's movement patterns change and become healthier, their personalities often shift as well. They become more authentic, more expressive, and more confident in themselves, which can sometimes disrupt existing relationships.
7. People often function in a victim posture
Lawrence shares his personal experience of having what he calls a "victim posture" in his youth, which made him a target for bullying. He describes this posture as looking like "someone had put a fist through my chest." This physical posture reflected and reinforced a victim mindset.
As people move out of these defensive, protective postures (often characterized by flexion rather than extension), not only does their movement improve, but how they see the world and how the world sees them changes dramatically. Lawrence explains that as you express your authentic self through better movement, other people will trust you more, improving all your relationships.
8. "Mastery not medals" creates sustainable success
Lawrence promotes the philosophy of "mastery not medals," focusing on process over outcome. This approach helps athletes avoid tying their identity and self-worth to their achievements. He notes that many gold medalists struggle because their medals don't "fill the hole in their soul" that was driving their performance.
Athletes (and all of us) should focus on mastering their craft rather than chasing external validation. Lawrence suggests that someone who comes fourth in a competition might actually be in a better position psychologically than the winner, as they still have purpose and direction. The approach of mastery over medals creates a healthier, more sustainable relationship with sport and performance.
9. High performance thrives in safe, supportive environments
The conversation emphasizes that high performance comes from environments where people feel safe, seen, and heard. Lawrence describes how athletes' mitochondria (cellular energy producers) flourish in supportive environments and languish in toxic ones. He's witnessed athletes instantly performing better after leaving negative coaching situations.
True healthy high performance is built on oxytocin (the bonding hormone), feeling good, trust, and an environment where you're safe to make mistakes. Lawrence refuses to work in situations where this supportive environment isn't present. This highlights how critical emotional safety is for physical performance.
10. Super shoes can be educational tools for better running
Contrary to what many might expect, Lawrence views "super shoes" (high-tech running shoes with carbon plates and reactive foam) as potentially beneficial educational tools. These shoes provide biofeedback that teaches runners to use elastic energy more effectively, helping them understand that running is less about muscular strength and more about using the body's natural springs.
For some runners, these shoes help correct biomechanical issues by requiring better ankle alignment when elevated off the ground. Lawrence compares this to how women naturally find proper ankle alignment when wearing high heels to avoid injury. While not suitable for everyone, these shoes have helped improve running mechanics across the board by emphasizing relaxed, efficient movement rather than muscular effort.