What is movement?
Movement is a perspective,
not a method.
It reveals that health, performance, aesthetics, art, mind and body are not separate but threads of the same fabric.
To adopt this view is to step away from the modern habit of dividing things, and return to a more integrated way of seeing.
On the surface, it may look like familiar training, but the intention is different:
to use the body as a way to see more clearly, to move with more freedom,
and to reconnect with what’s underneath it all.
so… What is movement
practice?
Movement practice doesn’t belong to a single discipline.
It weaves together tools from across physical culture - gymnastics, dance, martial arts, strength work - and places them into a process designed to develop the whole person.
Ben Byfield
Ben is a lifelong student of physical practice and the founder of Meditative Monkey, a movement studio on the Central Coast for people seeking a deeper relationship with their body, greater freedom, and meaningful personal growth.
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His journey began in childhood with competitive swimming, team sports, karate, boxing, and music. By his teens he had developed a fascination with strength training, anatomy, and philosophy, a curiosity that would shape his exploration of movement and self-development for decades to come.
After completing a Certificate III in Fitness and a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Newcastle, Ben worked as a kinder-gym instructor and personal trainer. While the fitness industry provided a solid foundation, its narrow approach left something essential unaddressed. This led him toward broader and more integrative practices, including Hatha yoga, gymnastics strength and mobility training, and Vipassana meditation.
A pivotal moment came in 2018 when Ben attended Ido Portal’s Movement Camp in Thailand and met Thomas Emerson, founder of Praksis in Canberra. Their mentorship and philosophies profoundly influenced his path, grounding Ben in an approach to movement that is exploratory, integrative, and alive.
Today, Ben continues to study with world-class teachers while refining his own practice. Through Meditative Monkey, he helps others expand their capabilities, cultivate body–mind awareness, and explore who they can become through committed physical work.
Ben strives to be a better student, teacher, citizen, husband, father, and friend, and to support others in their own ongoing practice of becoming.
Our Culture
A culture of supportive practice, where we build honest relationships with ourselves and one another.
Through mindful exploration and consistent work, we grow stronger, more capable, and more organised in how we move and live.
We train together to reveal who we are
and to discover who we can become.
