Exploring Life & Business with Sam Herrendorf of Facilitated Movement

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Herrendorf

Sam, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Like most of us, my childhood was not the easiest thing to navigate. I dissociated a lot and distanced myself from my body. On top of that I was born with a recently-discovered scoliosis. When I was 17 years old, I started having spinal issues that persisted for many years. In 2020, I quit my career in the culinary world to really uncover what it is that I had to learn about my body. Chiropractors, physical therapists, and doctors couldn’t quite teach me what I needed to know.

I started by getting certified in “fascial stretch therapy”, a stretch therapy that respects and follows the road-map of tissue in the body. This was a great way for me to start working with clients and understanding the human body. I quickly got a generic “personal training” certification as well. With this basis, I was ready to expand and learn a lot more. Within 4 years, I have gotten certified in 3 levels of fascial stretch therapy, taken many workshops on the fascial lines or “anatomy trains”, and have completed many certifications in very specific spinal movement practices.

Today, I use my intuition, my ability to talk to and help almost any person, my education, and my presence to help people learn about their bodies and interact with their nervous systems. To interact with your nervous system, is to move your way out of pain.

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?
As a person who believes that we are all connected in a spiritual or energetic sense, my whole career is a healing journey, an obstacle, and a way for me to understand life better.
I probably injure myself around 3-5 times a year, and I am able to now view it as a lesson and a way to progress through life. I usually am able to unlock new abilities in my body through intense conversations with my nervous system. This also helps me heal some mental/spiritual things as I clear through trauma in the body.
Working with people is also an innately difficult thing. It is hard for someone like me to stay vulnerable and constantly evolve through the lessons of working with people. Learning how to let go, learning how to treat specific relationships, and still be a person in authority is very tricky.

To answer the question logistically, starting a new career is very difficult.
In the culinary world, we are all working for the good of the restaurant. I switched to a career where I had to work for a client. My hours and my payment depended on a relationship and my ability to help a person.
Furthermore, I used to work for a physical therapist, deciding to work for myself has been rough. There is so many difficult logistics about business to worry about like marketing, taxes, scheduling, and analysis.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Facilitated Movement?
In my practice, I first and foremost assess the needs of my client.
Everyone has different goals, efforts, resources, and journeys.
The scope of what I offer is “Movement Education”, “Fascial Work” and “Stretch Therapy”.
Since my business is mostly word of mouth, a client usually comes in just knowing that I can help them.
So we find our sweet spot working together over time.

In an initial appointment, we meet for 90 minutes. 30 minutes of a consultation/assessment and then an hour of treatment.

My lens of the body is through the spine and the fascial system.
In the fascial system, we have main lines of tissue that organize our bodies. For example, we have a “Fascial Back Line” that runs from your scalp to the bottoms of your feet along the posterior (or backside) of our body. I am trained to see if our back line is tight, loose, asymmetrical, or something else.
People are usually amazed at what I can assess in a couple minutes with just my eyes. Everyone loves how special and individual I treat them, as everyone’s body expresses a different soul.

My biggest belief is that we need to form a healthy, safe, and trustworthy relationship with our body. So I will always try and get a client to do movement coaching with me. This is where I instruct them through movement and education and why the (lack of) movement is causing their pain.

However, some people don’t want to learn. Some people are somewhere else in their journeys. Some people just want to work with me in person and not do our work outside of a session. Some people just want stretch therapy. Some (many) people just need to relax and let go of control.

As an incredibly observational person, I will provide what a person wants and needs.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I have been in Denver for 10 years now.
I really love the many pockets that I can fall into. There are ample communities that I involve myself with. Holistic folks, improv/comedy folks, all sorts of nerds, sober folks, people who just want to be outside and feel free and like a child. The weather is perfect as I love seasons but love the sunshine. I am lucky to be queer in a rather liberal place. There is a general friendly attitude among civilians that I adore.

Dislikes: How busy it is. I am from downtown Chicago and moved here to be in a smaller city. As I get older, I feel like there is room to downsize even more. On that note, the amount of construction and development is very obnoxious, logistically speaking. Every street has a slowdown or an alternate route needed. Dating is also not great due to the free-spirit and transient nature of the demographic. Lastly, although there are many different communities, there is a lack of diversity that I do not love.

Pricing:

• $110 for 60 minutes
• $150 for 90 minutes
• 30 minute free consultation in the initial 90 minute session
• Sliding scale offered to folks in the queer community

Contact Info:

• Website: https://FacilitatedMovement.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sam.in.your.hands/

Image Credits
Photos of me in a brown hoodie: Elliott Williams