Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman

Biomechanist Katy Bowman and biologist Dr Jeannette Loram explore the fascinating world of vibration: the benefits and costs of impact to the body and the importance of sensing vibration in humans and other animals.
Katy and Jeannette discuss how foot impacts during walking may actually form part of the brain’s circulatory system. They also unpack the science of vibration plates and whether they are useful for muscle strength, bone health, and balance. The conversation then turns to running, exploring how it generates vibrations through the body’s soft tissues, how these vibrations may affect performance, and what runners can do about it. Finally, they share some remarkable examples of vibration sensing in animals and consider how modern lifestyles may limit this sense in humans.
The discussion on impact and contact with the ground continues with Mike Dally of Earth Runners®, creators of minimalist earthing sandals. Katy and Mike talk about the aims of minimalist footwear in reducing interference between the foot and the ground, how to adapt to minimalist sandals, and new designs in development, including an easy-to-put-on children’s sandal.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
0:00 The barefoot shoe expo debrief
3:40 The Dynamic Collective
6:40 Introduction to vibrations and waves
8:22 Walking vibrations and brain health
13:26 Vibrations and bone: building bone and fracture
16:04 Soft tissue vibration during running
17:45 Vibration plates: how do they work, and are they worth it?
25:25 Running revisited
33:44 Vibration sensing in animals
40:08 Mike Dally from Earth Runners®
52:25 Over-engineering health solutions rather than removing interference
56:00 Adapting to minimalist sandals
58:40 New products coming up: user-friendly children’s sandals
1:06:45 Listener question on foot pressure issues, sponsored by Movemate

Books, Links and Resources:

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong
Mary Roach books
Katy’s stylish strappy shoes
How Walking Benefits The Brain
Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse
The Ins, Outs, Ups and Downs of Breast Movement
Interview with Dr Libby Hinsley: Hypermobility, Proprioception & Building Up a Bendy Body - Podcast Ep #177
Earth Runners® Sandals 

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs and floor cushions that encourage dynamic sitting
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10
Freet Barefoot: creators of comfortable barefoot shoes built for natural movement, flexibility, and durability— use code DNA10 for 10% off.
Earth Runners:  makers of minimalist earthing sandals designed for natural foot movement and connection to the ground— use code DNA10 for 10% off.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable shoe recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA
ScreenFit™: a complete online vision training program —take $200% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Biomechanist Katy Bowman speaks with physical therapist Dr Anietie (Tia) Ukpe-Wallace about pelvic health, movement, and self-care.
They discuss Tia’s recent book, Tending To Your Womb, a guide to caring for the uterus and pelvic tissues through awareness, movement, and practical self-care strategies. In this episode, Katy and Tia focus on movement-based approaches for uterine retroversion, a pelvic misalignment that can contribute to sacral pain, sciatic symptoms, and constipation.
They also explore clitoral atrophy — a reduction in tissue size, tone, and flexibility that can occur during menopause — and share movement and self-care practices to help maintain mobility and function.
Tune in and join in for a guided pelvic clock movement sequence taught by Tia.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
0:00 Intro & New Dynamic Collective
6:56 Meet Dr. Tia Ukpe-Wallace
9:49 Misalignments of the uterus
15:30 Symptoms of a retroverted uterus: constipation, sacral pain & sciatica
19:55 The pelvic clock: join in with a guided practice!
27:43 Clitoral atrophy in menopause & movement-based approaches
35:24 Self-care: not indulgence, but simple body maintenance
42:25 Where to find Tia Ukpe-Wallace
46:34 Listener question on prolapse, sponsored by Earth Runners

Books, Links and Resources:

Tending to your Womb: Self-Care for Every Stage of Your Reproductive Journey, No Matter the Outcome by Anietie Ukpe-Wallace
About Tia Ukpe-Wallace
Tia on Instagram @selfcarephysio 

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
Freet Barefoot: creators of comfortable barefoot shoes built for natural movement, flexibility, and durability— use code DNA10 for 10% off.
Earth Runners:  makers of minimalist earthing sandals designed for natural foot movement and connection to the ground— use code DNA10 for 10% off.
ScreenFit™: a complete online vision training program —take $200% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable shoe recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs and floor cushions that encourage dynamic sitting

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Biomechanist Katy Bowman speaks with gerontologist and author Dr. Kerry Burnight about her concept of joyspan—a missing piece in how we think about aging well.
We often hear about lifespan (how long we live) and healthspan (how long we stay physically well), but what about the quality of those years? Dr. Burnight introduces joyspan as our capacity to experience a meaningful, fulfilling life as we age. In this framework, joy is not simple happiness, but a deeper sense of wellbeing that can coexist with challenge, grief, and change.
Katy and Dr. Burnight explore the Joyspan Matrix—Give, Connect, Adapt, and Grow—and how these actions enable us to thrive as we age. Rather than viewing aging as inevitable decline they discuss aging as development, the positives of aging and how to step into eldership.
Katy also speaks with our sponsor, Sohail Shariff of Movemate, creators of a unique dynamic wooden standing board that provides continuous, wave-like movement in the body while you are working at your desk or at home.
They discuss how the board supports musculoskeletal health, while also improving focus, creativity, and calm—reducing fatigue and the mental boredom and stagnation that comes from prolonged stillness. They also explore the role of play in the design, and how a serious problem—sedentary behavior—can be addressed in a way that is engaging, enjoyable, and even joyful.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript

00:00 – Lifespan, Healthspan… and Joyspan
01:20 – Dynamic Collective Sponsors
02:30 – Dr Kerry Burnight Explains Joyspan: The Science of Thriving As You Age
09:40 – The Joyspan Matrix: Grow, Connect, Adapt, Give
19:30 – Giving, Purpose & Becoming an Elder (Rethinking Aging)
42:00 – Meet Movemate: A Dynamic Standing Board for Work and Play
46:00 – How Movemate Works: Movement, Feeling & Physical Benefits
49:15 – Cognitive & Emotional Effects of the Movemate Board
54:00 – Play & Solving Sedentary Behavior With Enjoyable Movement Tools
1:05:20 – Listener question: resolving amenorrhea, sponsored by Ikaria Design 

Books, Links and Resources:

Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half – Dr Kerry Burnight
 About Dr Kerry Burnight (gerontologist, author of Joyspan)
 Dr Kerry Burnight on Instagram

Movemate – Dynamic Active Standing Board for Work & Play
Movemate on Instagram

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 10% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Frailty isn’t just something that happens “later”; it’s a gradual loss of resilience that can begin much earlier than most people think. Katy Bowman and Dr. Jeannette Loram unpack what frailty and pre-frailty mean biologically. They explore the five key hallmarks used to identify frailty, including walking speed and grip strength, and how a large proportion of people in their 30s and 40s already fall on the spectrum of pre-frailty.
The conversation also explores the muscle–gut connection, explaining how frailty is influenced by exercise, diet, and the health of your microbiome. Katy and Jeannette also discuss the potential for rapid-onset frailty linked to the use of GLP-1 medications.
Most importantly, frailty can be reversed and this episode focuses on what you can do. From simple ways to improve resilience through movement, nutrition, and rest, to understanding how your attitude toward aging might influence your resilience
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript

00:00 – Intro + Sponsors  
01:30 – What Is Frailty (and Pre-Frailty)  
03:00 – The 5 Hallmarks of Frailty  
10:50 – How Pre-Frailty Can Start in Your 30s  
12:40 – Muscle–Gut Connection & the Microbiome  
19:40 – Exercise as “Fuel” for Your Microbiome  
27:30 – Supplementation and the Psychology of Change  
29:50 – GLP-1 Medication & Rapid-Onset Frailty  
42:20 – Listener Question: Finding Glute Strength (Sponsored by Peluva)

Resources and Books Mentioned:

Joyspan by Kerry Burnight 
Frailty Sets In Far Earlier Than You’d Expect But You Can Reverse It, by David Cox in the New Scientist 
Frailty and pre-frailty in middle-aged and older adults and its association with multimorbidity and mortality: a prospective analysis of 493 737 biobank participants by Hanlon et al 2018
Evidence For The Contribution Of Gut Microbiota To Age-Related Anabolic Resistance by Watson et al 2021
Semaglutide Therapy and Accelerated Sarcopenia in Older Adults With Type-2 Diabetes: A 24-Month Retrospective Cohort Study by Ren et al 2025

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 10% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Inspired by a moving letter from a parent of an adult son with autism, biomechanist Katy Bowman and biologist Dr. Jeannette Loram explore the relationship between movement, health, and quality of life for people with disabilities.
They are joined by Kristina Montgomery, a special education teacher at a school for children and young adults affected by autism, and a behavior analyst working with Essential for Living, a curriculum designed for those with learning difficulties. Through her work, Kristina teaches an event-based approach to learning—one that moves away from abstract, isolated skills and instead “stacks” goals within meaningful, naturally occurring events. This approach supports not only skill development, but also health, social inclusion, and caregiver sustainability.
Together, they discuss the importance of choosing activities that are meaningful to the learner both in the moment and for future independence, and the shift from instructing a task to modeling it alongside the student. Kristina also shares how powerful movement stacking has been in her work, improving both the happiness and wellbeing of the people she supports.
This episode is a powerful reminder that movement truly is for every body, and that by embedding it into daily life, caregiving, parenting, and teaching can become more sustainable, and joyful for everyone involved.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:00 – A Letter from a Parent of an Autistic Son
04:50 – Movement & Disability: Movement is for Every Body
07:57 – Podcast Sponsors
09:44 – Introduction to Kristina Montgomery
14:00 – Essential for Living: Life Skills Curriculum
15:58 – What Are Functional Life Skills?
19:45 – Movement, Health, and Wellness in Special Education
23:05 – What and Why is Movement Stacking?
37:00 – Designing Environments to Promote Movement and Education
44:12 – Event-Based Teaching Course
53:46 – Listener Question: Balance Training with a Sore Knee
Resources, Books and Courses  Mentioned:

Kristina Montgomery
Learn more about Kristina and her work in special education and behavior analysis.
Event-Based Learning Course (Essential for Living)
A practical course on designing special education goals using event-based learning and movement stacking.
Includes 20% discount for listeners.
Essential for Living: Introduction Course
An overview of the Essential for Living curriculum and its core principles.
Includes 20% discount for listeners.
Grow Wild Book Club – Katy Bowman
A free book club for therapists and parents of neurodivergent children.

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 10% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits