Increase Physical Intelligence to Move More Intentionally

Baseworks increases your “Physical Intelligence,” making your movements more functional.

Feature by Tomoko Iwai

BASEWORKS is a training method that improves perception (bodily perception, spatial perception, self-perception, etc.) and skill levels (movement control), allowing you to move more in line with your intention. The results you can get from the same exercises or training will differ depending on how you use your body. The specific way in which you engage the body and allocate attention in various movements in Baseworks increases your “physical intelligence,” that is, the ability to understand your body at higher resolution and move according to your intention.

This is how Patrick Oancia, the developer of BASEWORKS, explains some of its unique features.

“In BASEWORKS, we place emphasis on nearly invisible micro-movements rather than obvious macro movements. It’s about understanding what and how you are conscious of when moving your body. In my experience of teaching yoga and martial arts exercises, I have seen many people who cannot move their bodies according to the instructions. Even if you think you are doing the same movement, you can’t perform it if you don’t know how to be aware of your body. Therefore, I developed a training method that focuses on how to be aware of the body. One of the core techniques in the method is called “Distributed Activation,” which is partly influenced by what I learned about muscle activation in physical therapy while recovering from injuries.”

Instruction in BASEWORKS is based on the following framework that allows one to carefully convey how to perform the movements:
(1) explaining the details and goals of the movement, 
(2) showing the correct movement,
(3) observing the student’s movement,
(4) feedback and correcting the performance,
(5) analyzing whether the instruction result was effective and adjusting/improving the instructions for the next time.

If you know how to be conscious of your body and how to move it, you will be able to acquire more functional movement patterns and perform functional training and motor control exercises, such as Pilates, more effectively. The method can be used effectively by anyone from exercise beginners to top athletes who want to improve their performance.

About Baseworks

It is a movement conditioning training method conceived at a yoga/movement studio in Japan about 20 years ago. An online learning platform accessible in Japanese and English has been developed since 2016. By visualizing the invisible intentions in movements and bodily positions through narration coupled with animation, it helps improve the understanding of body movements. Over the years, more than 10,000 people have tried the method in more than 15 countries.

Patrick Oancia-Baseworks Founder

With extensive experience in competitive sports, yoga, and martial arts, 20 years ago, he opened a yoga and interdisciplinary movement studio in Japan. The teaching and the development of teaching methodology at the studio have led to the current BASEWORKS system. With his teaching approach drawing inspiration from fitness, adaptive learning, and scientific research, his mission is to promote coexistence with the environment, increased self-awareness, and independence. Currently based in North America and Europe, he is active worldwide, including Japan.