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Garden Strong: Movement Skills for Living on the Land

Building the strength, mobility, and resilience the land needs from you.

Growing Food Shouldn't Destroy Your Body

If you're like many gardeners, homesteaders, or organic farmers, you may struggle with:

Lower back pain after working the soil
Knee or hip pain from hours of weeding
Carrying heavy buckets of compost
Sore everything after digging or shoveling
Exhaustion after a full day's work

Your body is the most important tool you use on the land.

But most of us were never taught how to care for it.

Start with a Free Garden Movement Assessment

Find out if Garden Strong is the right fit for your body.

"My body really appreciated moving with Oggi/Alister. I've never enjoyed "doing exercise" for its own sake, but getting stronger to better do the things I love is a big motivator. Oggi was really good at listening to my questions and helping me adapt movements that I found challenging at first. Plus, he showed me movements that were similar to what my physiotherapist had given me--but they are more fun!"

- Bonita: Perth, Ontario (avid gardener and environmental educator)

Land-Based Movement

For most of human history, movement wasn’t something we scheduled into our day.

We squatted to cook.
Carried water and firewood.
Walked long distances across the land.

Life was movement.

Today, many of those movements have disappeared -
but our bodies still need the same kinds of movement they always have.

In land-based movement, we don't exercise for the sake of exercise.

Instead, we work together to explore:

your growing edge (the place where strength and mobility begin to return)
simple “movement snacks” woven into everyday life
small adjustments that make work on the land safer and easier

Over time, these small changes add up -
building strength, resilience, and the freedom to keep doing the work you love for years to come.

"Alister’s “move for your food” program really helped me to improve my strength and flexibility in many ways. In a very direct way, it taught me techniques that I used immediately in my gardening and farm work, helping to prevent injury and soreness. This program also got me moving and stretching in ways I don’t typically move and stretch (at least not in my adult life) that I could feel were helping my to be stronger and more flexible for my general health and longevity. I love the idea of reclaiming ancestral movements that aren’t typically part of our modern lives, but that are important for our overall well being. Alister’s thoughtful approach to teaching made for a great learning environment."

- Katie, 37: Ottawa, Ontario (educator and natural horsemanship coach)

What You'll Learn

Through guided sessions you'll begin learning to:

lift, carry, and dig in ways that protect your back
kneel, squat, and work on the ground comfortably
recognize the difference between growing edges and pain
build the strength and resilience needed for life on the land
work with your body rather than against it

"Alister has a deep and thorough understanding of movement as medicine, the importance of movement for longevity, and what it takes to live life in harmony with the land. Get Your Body Garden Ready is a carefully curated program for people of all ages and abilities with a focus on land-based movements. Alister meets you where you are at and advances you through a series of sessions that each focus on different groups of movements relevant to gardening, but helpful in so many different areas of life. Alister is patient, professional and compassionate and really takes the time to connect with participants and tailor sessions to their feedback and what their body needs the most."

- S.: Manitoulin Island, Ontario (teacher, gardener, and land-skills lover)

Garden Strong: An 8 Week Journey Toward Sustainable Movement

Dates and Times:

Starts: May 5th, 2026

Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 7:00 a.m.

Program:

8 Weeks of progressive skill building

(2x/week = 16 classes)

Every session builds on the last, developing skills step by step.

Class Format:

60 minute guided movement sessions

Small groups for personalized guidance

Live online - join from the comfort of your home

Value:

$265 for the full 8 week program

Book Your Free Garden Movement Assessment

All participants begin with a free one-on-one assessment.

Meet Oggi

Alister Akira Augé (a.k.a. Oggi) has spent more than 35 years studying movement through traditional Japanese martial arts and natural movement practices.

Having grown up in a Japanese household, where sitting, squatting, and moving on the ground are a normal part of daily life, Oggi developed an early familiarity with the kinds of movements many Western adults lose over time.

Garden Strong grew from a simple observation: many people love working on the land, but few have ever been taught the movement skills that make it sustainable.

His approach blends strength, mobility, and body awareness so people can begin working with their bodies rather than against them.

Oggi lives year-round on a small forest homestead beside Frontenac Provincial Park in Ontario with his wife, Brittany, along with their goofy dog, two cats, huggable chickens and chaotic ducks. Together, they practice the land-based lifestyle that inspires Oggi's teaching.

Lineage & Traditions:
His movement practice has been influenced by teachers in martial arts, natural movement, and human movement restoration, with special thanks to Bernd Reicheneder from Human Movement Academy.

"For the last several years, I was avoiding activities I'd previously cherished like hiking because it was too painful. When I started with Alister I felt from the get go that this work would be different. In just 8 weeks I am genuinely impressed with what I can now do. Alister listens deeply. He always referred back to my own knowledge of how my body was working with a view to planning the next steps. He was safe and considerate and he never felt distracted or rushed."

- Jayne, 67: Westport, Ontario (homesteader and biophile)