My name is Amanda Morin, I am a local physiotherapist and author of the children’s book, Move with Nature. Here is my story:
My love of movement and literature both began very early in life. Growing up I played a lot of sports, but I especially enjoyed playing soccer. I played soccer competitively for many years, which is where I discovered my love for movement and exercise. At age 12, I was exposed to physiotherapy when I sustained a hamstring tear during a game. After my first appointment, I knew instantly I wanted to be a physiotherapist when I grew up.
When I wasn’t kicking around a ball, you could find me curled up in my room (usually on my closet floor) reading or organizing my books. I loved to sort my bookshelf in different ways. Alphabetically, by colour, by size, you name it, I tried it. I was obsessed! My fondness for reading, always left me dreaming of writing my own book one day.
I never imagined that my shared love of reading and physio would one day inspire, Move with Nature. In fact, I credit two particular moments for laying the foundation for the book.
First, was a lucky school placement at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Working with the kids allowed my own inner child to blossom while making rehab more like play time. In a place where so much seriousness exists, learning to bring joy and laughter to rehabilitation and recovery was a tremendous skill I took with me. Then years later I was privileged to travel to South Africa. There I worked with community members, mainly children, in a small rural village living with several different neurological conditions. I had little access to rehabilitation resources, but tapping into the lessons learned during my time at Holland Bloorview, I got creative and was able to use the environment around me to inspire movement and progression with the kids. It’s incredible to see how something as simple as a tree or the wind can inspire movement in children.
These experiences, and some additional time afforded to me as a result of the pandemic, made combining my love of reading and movement an easy match. Naturally, Move with Nature was born!
Our magnificent bodies are built for activity. Yet somehow as a Physiotherapist, I spend every day encouraging and educating adults how to move. Having these same conversations everyday made me realize the importance of teaching physical movement earlier in life. Nature is constantly in motion, swirling around all of us at every moment. Learning to recognize and mimic movement in nature at a young age, means developing healthy exercise habits early in life. Ones that will continue to serve us as we turn into those grown-ups.
Move with Nature was created as a way to teach these habits early. To help parents, educators, rehab professionals, and everyone with little ones in their world, guide children through a full movement routine. Each movement featured in the book was selected to work on any combination of strength, mobility, stability, proprioception, and plyometrics.
Most importantly, I believe movement is for everyone. Collaborating with illustrator, Hannah Bursey, we created images that are both captivating and inclusive. My hope is that every child sees themselves somewhere in the book, be it their skin color, hair colour, gait aids, religion, geographical location, etc. May Move with Nature inspire the next generation to move, and may it bring all of us together through our appreciation of the beautiful world around us.
Written by: Amanda Morin