Session 7 Summary (3/1/26): Full Practice & Closing Session

Winter 2026 Smart Movement Study Program | March 1, 2026

Assignment Reference

This was the final session of the Winter 2026 Study Group. There was no new Primer assignment — all six assignments covering Segments 1–5 were completed by Session 6. This session served as a culminating practice session, integrating all material covered over the seven-week program, followed by a closing presentation. See: 2026 (Winter) Study Group Montreal

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Session Overview

This session was structured in two parts. The first part — approximately 95 minutes — was a comprehensive practice session covering 21 forms. The second part was a closing presentation with a retrospective on the seven-week program, an overview of what comes next — the remaining Primer segments, Practice Sessions at Proto Studio starting in March, and the Practice Platform — followed by open discussion.

The practice portion moved more fluidly than any previous session. After the initial pass through forms with standard instruction, Patrick ran the group through the standing forms a second time with minimal cueing — a deliberate shift from teaching mode to practice mode. The instruction that did happen focused on refining transitions and maintaining Distributed Activation through connected form sequences.

Key Concepts We Explored

Discipline in Transition. Asia made an observation that applied across the standing forms: “I see a lot that many people don’t break down the transition. Think about your pelvis. You bend, you hinge, the pelvis is parallel to the floor. The leg goes back and when you come back, you return first to stand on one leg, then you return the back leg to hip width, and then the pelvis shifts back to midline. Try to really break down those movements and keep the pelvis parallel to the floor at all times.” The tendency is to collapse the exit — shifting weight, letting the pelvis tilt, returning the leg, and re-centering all at once. The practice is to sequence them.

Joint Activation and Compression. During the Heel-Sit section, Patrick explained the relationship between muscular activation and joint health: “When we activate muscles around a joint, the joint complex becomes stable. Activate, joint complex becomes stable, blood circulation improves.” This applies particularly to the ankles when sitting on the heels — actively flexing the ankle (pulling the top of the foot toward the shin, against the floor) reduces compression, while passively sitting creates it. “As we get older, the ankles should be stronger. It’s just the general rule of thumb.”

Effort Forms and Breath as Calibration. In higher-effort forms such as Peak Hold, Plank, and Press-Up, the concept of Intensity Modification became more tangible. These forms generate significant muscular demand — and the signal to watch for is breath. If the breath becomes deep or labored, reduce the dynamic or stop. The movement patterns — drawing the shoulders down, pressing the palms forward, gripping the toes back — serve to distribute the effort rather than concentrating it in one area.

The Armpits in Press-Up. Patrick gave a specific correction for Press-Up that distinguishes it from a conventional push-up: “Squeeze armpits into side of chest — hug the armpits.” The path into the Press-Up is not straight down but forward and down — a circumlinear path where the body pivots forward before lowering (a movement guided by the ankle extension). This keeps the load distributed across the shoulder girdle rather than concentrated in the chest and anterior deltoids.

Isolating Ribcage from Pelvis. A persistent theme across the standing forms was the micro-movement of the ribcage floating above the pelvis. Patrick demonstrated: the pelvis stays completely still while the ribcage mobilizes — side to side, forward and back — in small, controlled oscillations. This becomes the basis for the Fixing-Separating-Isolating principle in practice: the lower body is fixed, and the upper body moves independently of it.

Weight to Weightlessness in Assimilation. During the Assimilation, Patrick guided attention through the weight of the body on the floor — heels, calves, pelvis, shoulders, arms, head — and then described the progression: “As the weight becomes more comfortable, the weight becomes less obvious.” He clarified: “It’s not some cosmic thing. It’s just a kind of feeling of weightlessness in the weight.” The focus on weight is a tool for staying present — not an end in itself, and not a withdrawal into internal experience.

The Forms We Practiced

Ignition

The session opened with standing Ignition. Feet slightly wider than hips-width apart, toes pointing slightly outward, knees bent as if sitting back onto the edge of a bar stool. Arms raise to shoulder height — “Imagine the strings - you’re not really doing any work” — then torsion: wrists turn forward so that the inside of the forearm becomes slightly tight. Patrick: “It’s a very awkward movement, but they shouldn’t be facing away. They should be turning forward.” The only body parts that you are moving effortfully here are your wrists. The rest of the body simply “relaxes” into the position.

Key reminders:

• Weight to heels, belly completely relaxed — no drawing the navel to the spine
• Slight gripping of the fingers as if holding a small physio ball
• Neck relaxed, eyes open or closed — “We don’t get cosmic when we close the eyes. We’re not trying to phase out. We’re trying to stay as aware as possible.”
• The synchronized exit: arms lower as knees straighten simultaneously, wrist torsion releases — three actions coordinated into one movement

Standing Forms

TRANSPOSE and TRANSIT forms

Squat. Feet hips-width apart, outside edges parallel. Arms forward to offset weight, spine and arms in the same line. Drawing the shoulders down (Shoulder Depression), spreading the fingers, gripping heels toward each other (Heel Traction). The exit reverses the entry — “Accordion back up, unpacking movements in the same order we went in.”

Star Form. Feet wider than hips-width apart, toes forward or slightly inward (outside edges parallel). Arms to shoulder height, palms forward. Drawing the shoulders down (Shoulder Depression), spreading the fingers, pulling the legs away from each other. Ribcage mobilization: the ribcage floats and circles above the pelvis in micro-movements — hips stay completely still.

Star Tilt (both sides). Entered from Star Form by turning the front foot 90 degrees outward, then the back heel draws back. The upper torso turns automatically with the foot movements — “My upper torso just turns a bit… I’m not turning towards that front leg.” The front hip draws slightly back — “a baby hinge” — initiating a tilt. Legs activate away from each other throughout. Ribcage continues to float “above” the pelvis (although along the axis that is tilted in relation to the floor). Exit by reversing: return to Star Form position, then lower.

Front Lunge (both sides). From standing, hinge at knees and hips, shift weight to one foot, the opposite foot slides back 60–70 cm landing high on tiptoe (the stance is adjusted, following the principles of Intensity Modification). Midline reference throughout — the center of the body stays over the line between the feet. Arms forward with drawing the shoulders down (Shoulder Depression) and spreading the fingers. The legs continuously pull away from each other on the floor to create stability.

Front (High) Lunge Extension (both sides). From the lunge position, the sternum moves in a circumlinear motion — forward and up — while the arms move with the sternum (not independently). Patrick emphasized: “Separate the movement of the upper chest from the legs.” The middle of the back arches more than the lower back. The back leg remains completely rigid — ankle extended, knee extended, high on tiptoe.

Front (High) Lunge Torsion (both sides). From the lunge position, where the torso is precisely in line with the back leg (the principle of Gridlines & Symmetry), the sternum turns toward the inner thigh of the front leg. The arms stay in line with the shoulder girdle — “You try not to move the upper torso to the left, just turn the sternum only as you twist.” The legs remain completely stable throughout the rotation.

INFLECT forms

Split Form Inflection (both sides). Legs in split stance (one foot forward, one foot back, pelvis facing strictly forward), both heels down, feet approximately hips-width apart and parallel. Hands to waist, upper spine flexes forward and down along the midline — “I hinge on top of this midline (so, the spine flexes and the hips hinge - these two movements are combined). I don’t do it on top of the leg, and I don’t do it away from the middle.” Legs pull away from each other to stabilize. Flexion to extension: the spine straightens from the lower back upward while drawing the shoulders down (Shoulder Depression). Exit by rounding the spine (flexion) and rolling up from the pelvis (the hips were hinged, and the exit starts by unhinging the hips).

Suspended Star Inflection. Feet wider than hips-width apart, toes inward. Hands to waist. The same flexion-extension-flexion dynamic: hinge at the hip with a straight spine, round the upper spine (flexion), extend from the lower back upward while legs pull away (extension), round again (flexion), and roll up from the pelvis (first - undo the hinge, then - extend the spine). Knees bend slightly if hamstrings are tight.

Higher-Effort Forms

Note: The program has been focused on understanding movement dynamics and the Baseworks movement patterns, and it is always easier to understand something at lower effort. Therefore, the program prioritized lower-effort forms. However, higher-effort forms play an important role in Baseworks. We didn’t do the following forms in every Study Group session, but we would typically do them in every set of a Practice Session.

CONVERGE form

Peak Hold. From hands, knees, and tiptoes, lift the pelvis up. Back stays straight (neck - upper spine - lower spine), drawing the shoulders down toward the hips. Fingertips grip the floor forward, while the toes press backward — this creates the opposition of forces between hands and feet, creating a pinch-like movement between the thigh and the pelvis-spine — as if you are holding something in the crease of your thigh like with chopsticks. Ribcage draws toward the thighs.

GRAVITY forms

Plank. Hands directly under shoulders, step feet back one at a time. Try to maintain the torso-leg position like when standing on two feet (Gravity focus). Press the palms forward, grip the toes back — opposing forces through the body. Drawing the shoulders down (Shoulder Depression). The entire body forms one line.

Press-Up. From Plank, the ankle extension starts the movement. The path is forward and down — not straight down. Patrick’s key correction: “Squeeze armpits into side of chest — hug the armpits.” Options: a small range of motion (“baby press-up”) or full range. The body pivots forward before lowering. Multiple repetitions, then return to Peak Hold before lowering to the floor.

Seated and Floor Forms

Heel-Sit. Heels connected, sitting back onto heels with tops of feet pressing into the floor. Patrick corrected a common error he had been watching for: “The heels shouldn’t go out and we’re not sitting down in between our heels — the most important thing is before we start, the heels connect.” The ankles remain straight, like in other forms, such as Front (High) Lunge or seated forwards with extended legs. From the extended ankle position, actively “micro-flexing” the ankles (pulling the top of the foot toward the shin) reduces compression in the joint.

EQUATE forms

Horizontal Shoulder Flex (both sides). From Heel-Sit, we enter into an in-form transitional position: pelvis tilted back, spine rounded, arms forward to offset the weight. From there, arms move away from each other and then toward each other — one arm passes under, the other over — finding the scapular/shoulder mobility limit without momentum. Elbows or forearms interlock depending on range. From leaning back with spinal flexion, transition to spinal extension (ribcage-pelvis stacked). The ribcage floats above the pelvis. Pull elbows/arms apart, lift elbows while the sternum lifts and drawing the shoulders down (Shoulder Depression). The exit: round the spine and lean back. Then, move the arms “like you’re doing a breaststroke in a swimming pool — from the shoulder. Push the water.” This creates space in the shoulder joint after it has been moderately compressed. Lean back with arms forward between the rounds within the forms and as a transition to the next EQUATE form.

Shoulder Flex Headlock. From Heel-Sit, lean back and round the spine, creating rounded space in front of the stomach. Hands go behind the head - we hold either elbows or forearms, depending on shoulder mobility. From here, the spine begins to straighten — the goal is to stack the ribcage above the pelvis. The head presses back, the arms press forward, the ribcage pulls back — three opposing forces working to find the stacked position. The movement of the spine/ribcage/pelvis/head is the same as in the Horizontal Shoulder Flex, but the Headlock is adding the necessity to equalize the opposing forces along a straight line. Patrick: “The head and the arms oppose each other.” Exit by rounding spine, leaning back, and releasing arms through the “water” motion. This form was also repeated from standing.

CONVERGE forms

Reclining Transition. The entry into floor work: lean back hanging from the knees, tilt back, legs lift off the floor. Extend the legs diagonally up as the forearms lower. Press the balls of the feet. Exit by bending the knees and lowering the feet onto the floor.

Supine Leg Raise. Arms in an inverted V away from the hips, backs of arms and shoulders flat to the floor. Legs extend above the hips, ankles extended. Knees can be bent if hamstring flexibility is limited. Lower the legs slowly — “The movement doesn’t have to go all the way down. It can be just 10 degrees.” Five repetitions, with the option to skip any that feel too demanding. No arching the lower back. Control with fluidity. Natural breath at all times. Labored breath is a signal to reduce the intensity or skip.

Square Cross Inflection (both sides). From Reclining Transition, shins cross with ankles at 90 degrees — “like a square” (when looking from above, the legs need to be arranged in the squarest box possible). Press the edges of the feet forward. Lean back, creating round space in front of the stomach (the pelvis-spine position is similar to that in EQUATE form transitions). Roll forward rounding the spine, wiggle the ribcage side to side (Micro-Movements), then extend the spine from the lower back upward. The angle of the spine to the floor is determined by the pelvis. The pelvis tilts forward as far as comfortably possible, and the lower back and upper back find the straight line from there. If this results in leaning back, then hands are used to “prep” the pelvis and assist the hinging movement of the hips (the same movement we do in Peak or V-Sit). Exit: round spine, lean back (from the pelvis - like in Suspended Star Inflection), legs become light, lift and extend into Reclining Transition.

Simple Cross Inflection (both sides). Cross-legged with ankles crossed, brought closer to the pelvis. Press the heels forward. The same flexion-extension-flexion dynamics — lean back to enter, round forward, wiggle, extend, round to exit. The closer the heels are to the pubis, the more the hip has to work.

Seated Wide Inflection. Legs wide, ankles extended, pushing the balls of the feet forward, lean back. Asia clarified to one of the participants: “we think about turning the hips slightly in (the movement happens in the crease of the thigh), but we keep the ankles completely extended. But it is the movement in the hip that controls where the top of the foot points.” Round space in front of the belly, roll forward. Wiggle ribcage side to side, extend the spine, wiggle, round to exit.

ASCEND form

Z-Lunge (both sides). Asia led this section. From hands and knees, bring the right foot between the hands, knee above the heel (Z shape), left leg extends back on tiptoe. Lower the back knee, top of the foot presses down — “rotate the thigh in, press the inner edge of the top of the foot.” Pull the legs in toward each other. Lift the upper torso, right hand on knee, left hand on hip. Pelvis is facing strictly forward, lean slightly forward, wiggle the spine side to side.

We also practiced the transition between sides: the right leg in Z position rotates to the right and we lower it on the floor, bring the right hip down. The left leg behind, extended, makes a half circle to the left and forward, we lean back bending both knees (Suspension). From here, we lower the left leg in Z position flat on the left side, left hip down. The right leg extends forward, and as we lean to the left, the right leg moves to the right and back, then on tiptoes. Then we bring the front leg upright into Z position with the foot on the floor, preparing for the Z lunge.

STRUCTURE/TRANSPOSE form

Wide Squat. Legs wider than hips-width apart. Patrick addressed foot angle: “If the hips aren’t open and the feet are parallel, the pressure goes to the knee” — the foot angle adjusts relative to individual hip openness to protect the knees (judged by whether there is a sensation of compression in the knee). Arms forward to offset balance, hinge the hips back. Elbows between the knees (or arms pressing against the outer knees), lowering the hips while the spine stays straight. Knees and elbows press into each other — opposition.

The Fluid Run

After the initial pass through forms, Patrick told the group: “We’re going to try the first part — more fluid, less time in each form. More fluid, less instruction.” The group then moved through the TRANSIT set continuously: Squat, Front (High) Lunge Extension (both sides), Front (High) Lunge Torsion (both sides), Star Tilt (both sides), Suspended Star Inflection, and Split Form Inflection (both sides). This section was deliberately minimal in cueing — participants applied the principles and movement patterns from memory.

Note: This section is a good example of what a Baseworks Practice session should ideally feel like — the movements are slow, active, intentional, fluid, agile (SAIFA), but every movement pattern is still implemented, even when not named.

Elements Preview

Near the end of the floor work, Patrick introduced a cross-legged seated position with hands interlocked behind the head, keeping the elbows and shoulders open — Low V-Sit, a form from the Elements module. From this position, the balls of the feet press up and forward while drawing the shoulders down (Shoulder Depression).

Ignition and Assimilation

Ignition. Described in detail above under Standing Forms.

The Assimilation began with voluntary spinal mobilization in supine — pelvis, legs, and arms — followed by lifting the head with arms reaching, shoulder mobilization, pressing through the opposite leg while turning side to side, then chin toward the chest and lowering the head to achieve spinal extension through head/neck/pelvis traction. The body then came to complete stillness.

Patrick guided attention through each contact point — heels, calves, pelvis, shoulders, arms, head — progressing toward what he called “weightlessness in the weight”: the point where sustained attention to physical contact makes weight feel less obvious, without any sense of spacing out or dissociation. After a period of stillness, Patrick instructed a transition to prone position, with the same attention applied to face-down contact points.

Common Adjustments and Corrections

• Heel position in Heel-Sit: Patrick noted he had been watching participants and many were allowing the heels to separate — sitting between the heels rather than on them. “The most important thing is before we start, the heels connect.”
• Active ankle flexion across Heel-Sit forms: Throughout the forms practiced from Heel-Sit — Heel-Sit itself, Horizontal Shoulder Flex, and Shoulder Flex Headlock — Patrick emphasized actively flexing the ankles (pulling the top of the foot toward the shin) rather than passively sitting on the heels. This reduces compression in the ankle joint and should be maintained throughout these forms.
• Ankle extension in lunges and seated forms: Asia connected the Heel-Sit ankle work to lunge quality: “This also connects to being able to really comfortably extend the ankle when we do lunges. Because I see a lot of ankles which are flexed. And we want the ankle to be really extended.”
• Transition sequencing: Asia’s correction about breaking down transitions — returning to one leg, returning the other leg, then shifting the pelvis — rather than collapsing the exit into one movement.
• Leading with sternum, not head in High lunge: Patrick corrected: “Lead with the chest vertically upward — but don’t lift the head.” The neck follows the spine rather than initiating independently. (EXPAND focus)
• Hip initiation in Star Tilt: “Don’t lead with the chest here — just allow for the hip to initiate the movement of the upper torso going down.” (STRUCTURE is prerequisite to GRAVITY — the standing Star Form establishes the body conformation through Distributed Activation and Micro-Movements, and the Star Tilt then works that same conformation at a different angle to gravity, following the principle of Fixing-Separating-Isolating)

What We Did Not Cover

This was the final session and covered the most comprehensive range of forms in the study group — 21 forms total. We did everything that we planned to do, which is a sign that the group has internalized the basics enough.

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Tags: Squat, Wide Squat, Star Form, Star Tilt, Suspended Star Inflection, Front Lunge, Front (High) Lunge Extension, Front (High) Lunge Torsion, Split Form Inflection, Peak Hold, Plank, Press-Up, Reclining Transition, Square Cross Inflection, Simple Cross Inflection, Seated Wide Inflection, Supine Leg Raise, Z-Lunge, Heel-Sit, Horizontal Shoulder Flex, Shoulder Flex Headlock, Distributed Activation, Micro-Movements, Gridlines & Symmetry, Fixing-Separating-Isolating, Intensity Modification, Transit, Opposition of Forces, Stacked Rib Cage and Pelvis, Shoulder Depression, Spreading the Fingers, Heel Traction, Circumlinear Movement, Ignition, Assimilation

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Group Message

Session 7 Summary & Montreal Practice Sessions

Thank you all for your participation throughout the Winter 2026 Study Group. Working with this cohort over the past seven weeks has been an absolute pleasure.

The detailed summary from our final session — covering all 21 forms we practised, the key concepts, and the corrections we discussed — is available here: https://practice.baseworks.com/groups/montreal-study-group-winter-2026-cohort/forum/discussion/session-7-summary-3-1-26-full-practice-closing-session/#post-21915

The Montreal Practice Sessions page is now live: https://baseworks.com/montreal-practice-sessions/

Sessions begin March 15 at Proto Studio. Format, pricing, and booking details are on the page.

We will post the slide deck from the closing presentation over the weekend, along with notes and a summary of what we discussed. (Fulfilled 2026-03-18 — see Participant Communications Log, “Closing Presentation Posted” entry.)

We’re looking forward to continuing to work with all of you.

Patrick & Asia

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Winter 2026 Closing Presentation

Presented by Patrick Oancia and Asia Shcherbakova | March 1, 2026

Following the practice session and a short break, Patrick and Asia gave a closing presentation to the group using a slide deck projected onto the studio wall. The presentation briefly covered what the study group had accomplished, where the method comes from, how the Montreal programming connects to the broader Baseworks ecosystem, and what comes next.

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What You Built

Patrick opened by thanking the group for the past seven weeks: “It was an absolute pleasure.” He walked through the arc of the study group — from Session 1, where the group started with three foundational forms and learning to maintain Distributed Activation, to Session 6, with 18 forms. “That’s a real distance in seven weeks.”

The key concepts covered in detail over the seven sessions: Distributed Activation and Micro-Movements (Session 1), Gridlines & Symmetry (Sessions 1–2), the four foci — Gravity, Structure, Converge, Ascend (Session 2), Fixing-Separating-Isolating (Sessions 2–3), Intensity Modification (Sessions 4–5), Transit (Session 5), and Opposition of Forces / Equate (Session 6). With Session 7 as the final review of the total of over 20 forms practiced over the study group — out of roughly 80 forms in the Foundation and Elements modules, which form the core of the Baseworks method curriculum.

Where the Method Comes From — Tokyo

Patrick talked about over 100 teachers trained over the years, with a core group of about 10 who worked with him for roughly 13 years. The Baseworks studio in Tokyo ran classes from 7am to 10pm, every day, seven days a week, for over twenty years (2003–2024). Attendance over that period was approximately half a million visits.

Asia added context: “What makes Baseworks unique is that there was the system where from 7am to 10pm every day at any moment there were classes in the same system. How do you maintain consistency of that system across all instructors and students? So these very unique aspects of Baseworks — the consistency, repetition, all these movement patterns — they evolved from the necessity to make sure everybody understands and does the same movements. Which pushed the method to develop techniques that enhance one’s ability to understand movement.”

The density of daily exposure was what made the method learnable in Tokyo. That format cannot be reproduced in Montreal. The Primer was designed as a bridge into the method. And the study group is an in-person program designed as an accelerated, supported introduction to the Primer framework and the Baseworks Method.

The Study Group Format

The study group was designed to give participants the Primer framework faster — and with more support — than someone encountering Baseworks on their own. The Primer course is self-paced and online: 10 segments, 79 lessons, containing the core Baseworks vocabulary. The study group is the enhanced, in-person, cohort-based version of the first five segments, with seven sessions, the same instructor(s) overseeing the same group.

Patrick framed the relationship: “We’ve explained the nuts and bolts of Baseworks. You’ve learned a lot about the preliminary basic aspects of the methodology. And now it’s your choice to continue to practice it.”

The Primer — Where You Are

As part of the study group, the assignments took participants through Segments 1–5. The remaining five segments are open on each participant’s account. They are different in character from the first five — and that shift starts with Segment 6.

Asia explained: “The remaining five segments become more practice-focused. Think about what we were doing up until now — we’re trying to understand what it is that we’re supposed to do when we hear certain instructions. The rest of the Primer is about finally doing the practice.”

The remaining segments introduce progressively longer practice labs (slowly becoming “practice sessions”), while additionally covering the following:

• Segment 6 — Ignition: The structured session opening, already experienced in every session
• Segment 7 — Assimilation: The structured close, with breathing and spinal tractioning — the neuroscience-backed processing period after motor learning
• Segment 8 — Cycling: Why the approach is fundamentally not linear, how to embrace and take the most out of the non-linearity — revisiting the same movements from a new physical and perceptual state.
• Segment 9 — Journaling: A private tool on the platform that accelerates what the nervous system retains — the pathway from episodic memory to semantic memory to procedural memory.
• Segment 10 — Independent Practice: How to practice independently with whatever time you have — 10, 20, 40, 60-minute formats, introducing the Foundation and Elements modules

Participants have approximately three months from enrollment to complete all 10 segments (the date can be confirmed on the Primer page). Completing all 10 segments extends Primer access to 12 months.

Linear and Cyclical Learning

Patrick distinguished the two tracks that run simultaneously in Baseworks. The linear track is the initial introduction to the method that you experience in the Primer: vocabulary, principles, forms, foci, transitions — building step by step. Each segment adds a layer. This is the structured onboarding path the group had been on.

The cyclical track is what makes the method work over time. Returning to the same movement from a new physical and perceptual state reveals something the previous visit could not — “not because the movement changed, but because you did.” Patrick showed two anonymized PrimerPrint visualizations from the cohort that show a single learner’s progress through Primer: one learner with 30 lessons in clean forward progression over five segments, another with 120+ visits cycling back through forms and practice labs into Segment 7. Both paths are valid.

Asia noted: “Specifically for the Primer, we encourage you to move towards revisiting, because this is where you get more benefit from practice — but we also understand that people have different learning styles and different time constraints.” Patrick added: “If your pattern looks like this [linear], this is also completely fine.”

The key insight: because the method is non-linear, it is perpetual - there is no way to “learn everything to completion”. The same movements reveal different things as your physical condition, sleep, the season, and your age change. In Tokyo, some people practiced daily for up to 15 years, continuing to learn new things, while the method remained unchanged. This structure carries that same principle forward.

The Tokyo Structure

Patrick showed the weekly schedule from the Tokyo studio (2017). Four modules: Foundation, Elements, Strategy, Integrate. Students could attend any class at any time and mix across modules to match their development. Foundation and Elements are the current focus for what is being built in Montreal — the core movement vocabulary and principles that translate directly into the study group and practice session format. Strategy and Integrate are more specialized — momentum work, gravity transfer, seamless transitions between forms, often more challenging movement dynamics. They were meant to give rich movement material that could be experienced and then analyzed through the Foundation and Elements work. If you have an established practices in another movement modality, that will function as this additional input into the Baseworks Method.

Foundation and Elements contains approximately 80 forms. With variations, it’s almost 200 distinct movement tasks.

Asia added: “In practice sessions, we will do more forms. In the study group, we focus on the core forms that really get you to understand the basic dynamics. The practice sessions will be 3-5 times richer in terms of content than this last Study Group session.”

Practice Sessions — Spring 2026

Starting March 15, weekly practice sessions at Proto Studio in Mile End (11th floor, with windows looking at Mont Royal and a comfortable common space to socialize). 16 sessions running through the end of June. 70 minutes per session. Same format, same instructors.

Eligibility: participants who have completed a qualifying Baseworks program (including this Winter cohort of the Study Group) have access to the alumni sliding scale pricing — volume-based, from $38 per session (single) down to $19.38 per session for a full 16-session commitment (49% subsidy). Booking is online through the dashboard, with a 24-hour cancellation policy (you can use purchased session credit to book/cancel sessions within this Spring season).

The Proto Studio arrangement is a residency — a collaboration that allows Baseworks to bring qualified practitioners into the space. The Practice sessions will also be open to people with established movement practice, for exchange and collaboration.

The Practice Platform

For practice between in-person sessions — and on days when participants are not in the studio — the Practice Platform will also be available soon (we are in the final stages of restructuring it to make it more user-friendly for those who have not experienced the Foundation/Elements module practice in-person first). The platform is being actively expanded with new content.

Patrick recommended prioritizing the in-person practice sessions first, with the Practice Platform as a complement for days between sessions. More information about the Platform will be available soon.

The Full Picture

Patrick summarized the ecosystem: The Primer is the entry point where everyone starts. The study group is the enhanced, in-person version of that first pass. From here, everything is available — practice sessions in the studio, the platform for independent work, and future study groups as they run, intensive programs (e.g. 20h over a weekend). These are not a linear path to follow in order. They are options to combine based on what works for each person.

The practice in the Baseworks method is perpetual. The same principle that built the Tokyo studio over twenty years applies here: start with what is transferable, and let the structure expand from real practice.

Open Discussion

On future scheduling. A participant asked about scheduling conflicts with the Saturday practice sessions. Patrick noted that the schedule may shift to weekday evenings in the summer, and more programming is planned — the specific schedule is not yet set beyond June.

On continued access. A participant asked about finishing the Primer online and maintaining access. Asia confirmed that completing all 10 segments extends access to 12 months, with full forum access and practice revisits throughout.

On teacher training. One of the participants asked how long it takes to train a Baseworks teacher. Patrick explained that in Tokyo, the core teachers did an internship that lasted approximately 13 years of daily practice. The formal teacher training program was 300 hours over a year — but with the prerequisite that participants already deeply understood the method (often totaling to 700 hours of exposure to the method). Teacher training is not currently being offered.

On French-language instruction. France asked whether French translation or instruction would be available. Patrick responded — in French — that it is a motivation for us to improve our French to a teaching-confident level. We have taught in English, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. He noted that Asia had given a full neuroscience presentation in Spanish in Colombia. For now, the session summaries with captions serve as the French-language resource. Patrick acknowledged the gap honestly: “You can hear my French is fucked, right?” He added that once participants know the movement patterns and micro-movements, the specific language of instruction matters less — “English, French, Russian, it doesn’t matter. Body language and body memory.”

On the next study group. The next study group starts in April at Proto Studio — also seven weeks. Current participants can direct friends to join. Re-joining at a reduced rate (for the in-person part only) is possible if interested — please contact us directly.

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Tags: Winter 2026 Closing Presentation, Baseworks Tokyo, Practice Sessions Spring 2026, Practice Platform, Primer Segments, Cycling, Linear and Cyclical Learning, Foundation, Elements, Proto Studio