Imagine standing at the edge of a cold lake. You haven’t dipped a toe in yet—but already, your shoulders rise. Your breath shortens. Your body tightens in anticipation of the cold.
Now imagine you never actually step in.
And yet… the tension remains.

This is how most of us live in our bodies: not responding to what’s actually happening, but to what we expect will happen. We don’t move based on reality.
We move based on forecast.

Neuroscience has upended our traditional understanding of how we move through the world. Where we once thought the brain passively received sensory input and then responded, we now know something startling:

Your brain predicts what it expects to feel—and your body often behaves accordingly.

This is called predictive coding. Your brain isn’t sitting back, waiting for feedback from your foot to tell it how the floor feels. It’s guessing.
And those guesses are built from everything it has previously experienced—injury, pain, fear, habits, stories, and even social beliefs about aging or “bad posture.”

It’s efficient. It’s powerful.
But it’s also deeply limiting.

Think of your body as an ongoing negotiation between possibility and prediction.

• If you once rolled your ankle, your system might start preemptively guarding that side—even years after healing.

• If your parents hunched, and you absorbed that shape as normal, your body might default to that structure—even if it’s now dysfunctional.

• If you’ve felt vulnerable in your body, your posture may reflect preemptive bracing against a threat that no longer exists.

Over time, these predictions harden into patterns. They feel “natural.” They feel like you.

But they’re not you.
They’re just rehearsals.

Here’s the real problem: your structure starts adapting to these predictions.

Muscles contract preemptively.
Fascia thickens in the directions you avoid.
Joints lose the range of motion they’re never invited to use.
Posture becomes a protective architecture—not a functional one.

So now, you’re not only moving based on what the brain thinks might happen…
You’re also reinforcing those beliefs with the structure that results from them.

It’s a feedback loop.
And it explains why pain persists, why mobility stalls, and why so many people feel trapped in their own bodies without a clear reason.

Let’s be clear: your brain’s job is to protect you.
It would rather limit your range, dull your sensation, and exaggerate threat than risk further damage.

It’s not trying to harm you.
It’s trying to keep you from stepping into that cold lake—or back onto that injured ankle—again.

But over time, the forecast becomes the prison.

This is where Adaptive Bodywork enters the conversation—not as a fix, but as a reset.

In a session, I don’t just manipulate tissue. I introduce novel input. I offer the nervous system new information that conflicts with its outdated predictions.
A hip that “can’t open” discovers it can.
A shoulder that has “always been frozen” finds new vectors of motion.
The brain says:

“Wait… that wasn’t supposed to be possible.”

This is a neurological disruption.
Not violence. Not forcing. Just enough safe variation to make the system question its certainty.

That’s the moment of possibility.
That’s where change begins.

Most people think they’re stuck because of age, degeneration, or genetics.
More often, they’re stuck in forecasting loops that no longer apply.

What you feel as tightness might be hesitation.
What you feel as instability might be miscommunication.
What you feel as you might be nothing more than a conservative neurological guess.

And that?
That can change.

If you’ve ever said:

• “I used to be flexible, but now I’m locked up…”

• “My body just doesn’t move like it used to…”

• “I’ve tried everything and nothing seems to shift…”

Then you’re not alone. And you’re likely not broken.
You’re just living in a body that’s still trying to protect an earlier version of you.

The next step is not to fight your body.
It’s to update the forecast.

Through Adaptive Bodywork, we work together to gently and strategically challenge the old predictions. We introduce new options.
We provide the brain and fascia with something it hasn’t had in a long time: a reason to change its mind.

John Sutherland is the founder and senior instructor of Adaptive Bodywork Structural Integration. A certified Anatomy Trains Structural Integration therapist and former elite athlete, John brings over four decades of experience in movement, bodywork, and metabolic health.

He treats every client as if they were an aspiring world champion—not because of ego, but because everyone deserves to feel that invested in.

John teaches Adaptive Bodywork workshops, works one-on-one with clients in Montreal, and continues to embody the very principles he teaches. His work is grounded, rigorous, and unapologetically transformative.

Begin the Work

This is your invitation.

To return to yourself.
To come back into the body.
To stop compensating—and start evolving.

Begin with a single session.
Walk out changed.

Visit adaptivebodywork.com or email john@adaptivebodywork.com to begin.

Book a session:
https://book.adaptivebodywork.com/products/ab-1-series

This is the work of coming home to your body.

Adaptive Bodywork is more than therapy; it is a pathway to discovering your fullest potential. By addressing the body as a coherent, interconnected system, we not only alleviate physical ailments but also enhance your overall quality of life. We invite you to step into a state of poise, where every movement is synchronized with your intentions, where clarity and enlightenment are not just concepts, but experiences.

Join us at Adaptive Bodywork to journey beyond traditional boundaries of health and well-being. Embrace a life where you are continuously aligned with the Flow state, embodying a serene strength in every aspect of your being. Visit our website to explore how our unique approach can be tailored to your personal needs and start your transformation today.

Through this narrative, we aim to clearly articulate the broad spectrum of benefits provided by Adaptive Bodywork Structural Integration, encouraging potential clients to experience a profound transformation that touches every aspect of their lives.

🔹 Start Your Journey to Harmony and Health – Book Your Session Today!

The Adaptive Bodywork Team

We warmly invite you to experience the profound impact of our specialized manual therapy. Join us at Adaptive Bodywork, where together we explore a rewarding pathway to a more harmonious existence, unlocking the extraordinary possibilities inherent in the science of human structure and movement.

Start your journey with Adaptive Bodywork Soft Tissue Mobilization today

Start your journey to structural well being with a comprehensive 90 minute Adaptive Bodywork Session or make it a project with a 3, 6 or 12-series.

Together we’ll explore what’s holding you back.

Together, we’ll set you on a path to a more balanced and integrated life.