The Power of Doing What Matters

Clayton Skaggs
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Biweekly

What helps people move beyond pain and limitation, build resilience, and keep doing the things that give life meaning? The Power of Doing What Matters is hosted by Dr. Clayton Skaggs, founder and CEO of the Central Institute for Human Performance and author of the book that inspired the show. For more than three decades, Dr. Skaggs and his team have worked at the intersection of persistent pain, rehabilitation, movement, and human performance. His career has included years of study with pioneering Czech neurologists Vladimir Janda and Karel Lewit, service on postdoctoral and research faculties at eight universities, published clinical research, and work with people ranging from those facing unresolved pain to elite athletes, military professionals, and executives. Dr. Skaggs and his team have found that the best stories and learning come from the patients and clients. Each episode will combine stories from and about real-life experiences with clients, practitioners, athletes, researchers and others. Episodes combine practical knowledge, lived experience, and a CIHP Insight—a short reading that opens a larger conversation about the mind, body, and the choices that shape our capacity. Reading, contemplation and learning. The conversations are educational and are not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Episodes

  1. 18h ago

    That’s Enough: Peter Fritz on Doing Less and Building Confidence

    Peter Fritz joins Dr. Clayton Skaggs to explain how his family’s long search for help led them to CIHP and how he moved from an all-or-nothing, “more is better” mindset to greater precision, self-efficacy, and confidence when setbacks occur. In this episode: How Peter and Michelle found CIHP from San DiegoThe virtual breathing session that prompted them to make the tripWhy Peter’s engineering mindset responded to a whole-body explanationA “whole new shoulder” and the importance of teaching lasting changeLearning not to spiral when pain signals returnSelf-efficacy as confidence built through experienceThe Goldilocks zone and the precision to stay near the targetDr. Skaggs’s “That’s Enough” CIHP InsightPeter’s shift from “more is better” to doing lessWhy simple is not the same as easyBecoming more active and capable as a familyClick here to view the episode transcript. Guest: Peter Fritz, CIHP client  Host: Dr. Clayton Skaggs, Founder, Central Institute for Human Performance Learn more about the Central Institute for Human Performance: https://cihp.com/  Learn about The Power of Doing What Matters: https://powerofdoingwhatmatters.com/ This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Peter is describing his family’s individual experience; results and appropriate care vary by person.

    That’s Enough: Peter Fritz on Doing Less and Building Confidence

  2. Aug 21

    Poise(d) to Win: Chris Shepherd on Doing the Hard Things

    Chris Shepherd had spent much of his life playing competitive sports. Then, during a squash tournament, he could no longer feel his feet. His condition progressed until he could not walk more than 20 yards without numbness—and he received a recommendation for at least a two-level spinal fusion. In this episode, Chris joins Dr. Clayton Skaggs to discuss his personal decision to seek another opinion and commit to a long recovery process at the Central Institute for Human Performance. Subjective improvement took approximately 18 months, even as the CIHP team documented smaller objective changes along the way. Chris explains why returning to sport mattered far beyond competition, how training became something like taking his medicine, and why he now considers himself stronger than ever as he approaches 60. He also shares what happened when he was thrown from a horse in Breckenridge, landed directly on his lower back, and discovered how much capacity he had built. Dr. Skaggs reads “Poise(d) to Win,” a CIHP insight about preparation, relaxation, and responding well under stress. The reading considers Ash Barty's decision to retire from professional tennis while ranked number one and a CIHP client's response to an unexpected fall. In this episode: Losing feeling in his feet during a squash tournamentChris's personal response to a spinal-fusion recommendationStaying persistent when meaningful improvement took approximately 18 monthsWhy returning to sport also meant restoring friendship, competition, and joyFeeling stronger than ever as he approaches 60Choosing to do the hard things and see the process throughBuilding a reservoir of stability and relaxation before stressful eventsHow a horseback fall tested the resilience Chris had accumulatedSlowing down and remembering that recovery is not a race against time Click here to view the episode transcript. Guest: Chris Shepherd, lifelong competitive athlete and CIHP client  Host: Dr. Clayton Skaggs, Founder, Central Institute for Human Performance Learn more about the Central Institute for Human Performance: https://cihp.com/ This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Chris is describing his individual experience and decisions; results and appropriate care vary by person.

    Poise(d) to Win: Chris Shepherd on Doing the Hard Things

  3. Aug 21

    Poised to Recover: Scott Kuhta on Rebuilding Trust and Resilience

    After years of recurring pain and setbacks following back surgery, Scott Kuhta had become accustomed to climbing toward recovery only to experience another painful crash. He wanted more than a short-term fix—he wanted the strength, confidence, and capacity to get his life back. In this episode, Scott joins Dr. Clayton Skaggs to reflect on his three-year journey with the Central Institute for Human Performance. He describes moving from difficulty sitting, standing, and balancing on one leg to lifting more weight than ever, returning to outdoor activities, playing music, and meeting new physical challenges with far less fear. Their conversation centers on poise: the ability to relax, act with appropriate intensity, and relax again. Scott shares how trust in his practitioners, objective evidence of progress, and gradually accumulated physical capacity helped change his response to pain and injury. Dr. Skaggs also reads “Poised to Recover,” a CIHP Insight built around Ash Barty's return from a significant groin injury to win Wimbledon—and the role the mind, environment, preparation, and physical capacity can play in recovery. In this episode: Scott's long journey through back injury, surgery, recurring pain, and setbacksWhy being active did not necessarily mean his system was prepared to recoverThe one-leg balance test that changed how Scott saw his fitnessRecovering from a hamstring injury while preparing for a fishing tripLearning not to make pain his identityHow music, games, movement, and meaningful activities helped him relaxThe transition from fearing new exercises to trusting his capacityWhy recovery became a long-term lifestyle rather than a six-week fixClick here to view the episode transcript. Guest: Scott Kuhta, CIHP client from Spokane, Washington  Host: Dr. Clayton Skaggs, Founder, Central Institute for Human Performance Learn more about the Central Institute for Human Performance: https://cihp.com/ This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Scott is describing his individual experience; results and appropriate care vary by person.

    Poised to Recover: Scott Kuhta on Rebuilding Trust and Resilience

  4. Aug 21

    Relaxation Is Power: Dr. Jim George on Poise Under Pressure

    What separates a fluid professional golf swing from an amateur gripping the club as tightly as possible? According to Dr. Jim George, one of the biggest differences is the ability to regulate tension: relax, contract powerfully at the right moment, and then relax again. In this episode, Dr. George joins Dr. Clayton Skaggs to explore how that same principle applies far beyond sport. They discuss muscle activation, contract-relax techniques, responding to pain signals, preparing for stressful moments, and deliberately building more relaxation into ordinary life. Jim also reflects on more than two decades at the Central Institute for Human Performance—from student and intern to Clinical Director and partner. He shares practical ways he resets during the day, including breathing, elevating his legs at lunch, and walking outside without headphones. Dr. Skaggs reads “Free Kick,” a CIHP Insight about United States soccer player Malik Tillman's relaxed execution under pressure. The reading considers how relaxation before, during, and immediately after a powerful action can support precision, performance, recovery, movement, sleep, and our response to challenging thoughts. In this episode: Why professional golfers remain relaxed until the moment of contactThe difference between relaxed power and simply trying harderHow contract-relax techniques influence the nervous systemWhy incomplete relaxation can limit a therapeutic or athletic movementMalik Tillman's free kick and the relax-contract-relax principleWhat youth soccer in Norway and Erling Haaland can teach us about childlike playJim's experience learning to loosen his grip while playing padelBreathing, midday resets, and time outside as practical relaxation habitsThe high-pressure presentation that tested Jim early in his careerClick here to view the episode transcript. Guest: James George, DC, Clinical Director and partner at CIHP  Host: Dr. Clayton Skaggs, Founder, Central Institute for Human Performance Learn more about the Central Institute for Human Performance: https://cihp.com/  Meet the CIHP team: https://cihp.com/about/ This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

    Relaxation Is Power: Dr. Jim George on Poise Under Pressure

  5. Aug 21

    Lights Will Guide You Home: Robin Feder on Noticing What’s Working

    After years of traveling with a neck pillow, a back pillow, and a brace Robin Feder wanted a more sustainable way to keep doing what mattered to her. In this episode, Robin joins Dr. Clayton Skaggs to reflect on 11 years at the Central Institute for Human Performance. She shares how her relationship with movement, travel, gardening, and occasional pain signals has changed, and how small daily cues have become tools she can use with greater confidence. The conversation centers on a simple but powerful idea: progress is easier to recognize when we learn to notice the lights. Those lights may be moving better, growing stronger, understanding what a signal means, or seeing objective measures improve before every symptom has resolved. Dr. Skaggs also reads “Patience: Lights Will Guide You Home,” a CIHP Insight about perspective, self-efficacy, strength, simplicity, and continuing to put attention toward the good things we can do. In this episode: How back trouble had made travel increasingly cumbersome for RobinThe small movement cues she uses during ordinary activitiesWhy she thinks of her CIHP lessons as tools in a toolkitLearning to treat pain as useful information rather than an automatic crisisHow movement, strength, and other objective measures can reveal progressWhy positivity and a data-driven approach work together in Robin’s experience (00:00) - Cold open: Traveling without the supports (00:25) - Welcome and meet Robin Feder (02:15) - How Robin found CIHP (03:20) - When travel became increasingly cumbersome (04:45) - Leaving the pillows and back brace behind (05:20) - What changed after joining CIHP (06:35) - The lights will guide you home (08:05) - Small daily tools for everyday movement (10:45) - Knowledge is power (12:00) - Treating pain signals as useful information (12:35) - “Patience: Lights Will Guide You Home” (15:20) - Robin responds to the insight (16:15) - Data, measurement, and seeing progress (18:05) - The value of a coordinated CIHP team (19:00) - A way of life built around doing what matters (19:40) - Closing: Robin is a light for CIHP Click here to view the episode transcript. Guest: Robin Feder, Executive Director Emeritus, Central Institute for the Deaf  Host: Dr. Clayton Skaggs, Founder, Central Institute for Human PerformanceLearn more about the Central Institute for Human Performance: https://cihp.com/  Learn more about the Central Institute for the Deaf: https://cid.edu/ This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

    Lights Will Guide You Home: Robin Feder on Noticing What’s Working

  6. Aug 21

    Patience + Precision: Melissa Filla on Building Trust in Recovery

    Patience in recovery is not passive waiting. It works alongside trust, precision, clear objectives, and the gradual accumulation of physical capacity. In this episode, Melissa Filla joins Dr. Clayton Skaggs to offer a practitioner's perspective on helping people through persistent pain and long recovery processes. Melissa explains why simple recommendations can require tremendous trust and why understanding a client's perspective matters when progress takes time. The conversation includes a clip from Mark's recovery story and another example of a highly active client who temporarily stepped away from paddle boarding, pickleball, hiking, and weightlifting. After reassessment showed consistent neuromuscular progress, he could begin grading meaningful activities back into his life with greater capacity and support. Melissa and Dr. Skaggs also discuss a particularly difficult part of recovery: the period when pain signals remain even though objective measures are improving. Better movement tolerance, increased strength, changes in body composition, and the ability to perform previously unavailable movements may all provide evidence that the process is moving forward. Melissa closes with a principle that brings the conversation together: when patience is paired with precision and clear objectives, it can help build the self-efficacy people need to keep doing what matters. In this episode:Why patience, trust, and recovery are closely connectedSeeing the process through the client's perspectiveMark's reflection on years of pushing through painTemporarily limiting meaningful activities to build capacityUsing reassessment and objective measures to guide the next stepGrading paddle boarding, pickleball, hiking, and strength work back into lifeProgress that may be present even while pain signals remainHow new responses to familiar movements can develop over timeWhy patience becomes more useful when paired with precision Click here to view the episode transcript. Guest: Melissa Filla, ATC, Program Lead, Resilience at CIHP  Host: Dr. Clayton Skaggs, Founder, Central Institute for Human Performance Learn more about the Central Institute for Human Performance: https://cihp.com/  Meet the CIHP team: https://cihp.com/about/ This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The examples discussed are individual experiences; results and appropriate care vary by person.

    Patience + Precision: Melissa Filla on Building Trust in Recovery

  7. Aug 21

    Looking for a Brake: Mark on Patience and Building Capacity

    For Mark, patience meant temporarily stepping away from two activities that had shaped much of his life: golf and strength training. After living with low-back pain for roughly twenty years, he came to CIHP ready to try a different process but the early weeks still required trust. In this episode, Mark joins Dr. Clayton Skaggs to describe the gradual changes he experienced through consistent daily work, breathing exercises, careful activity limits, and a progressive return to strength training and golf. He also reflects on a familiar back spasm that once would have derailed him for weeks. This time, his response was different: he drew on the work he had already done, returned to his exercises, and was hitting range balls two days later. Dr. Skaggs reads “Patience: Looking for a Brake,” a CIHP Insight about a child's bicycle with a stuck handbrake. The brake itself appeared broken, but the actual problem was a cable wound too tightly after the handlebars had twisted. The story becomes a way to consider why the area producing pain or dysfunction may not always be the source of the larger problem. Mark connects that insight to years of pushing through pain in the gym and on the golf course. Later, he describes recovering from a hard fall during a round of golf and recognizing that his accumulated capacity, experience, and belief gave him a different way to respond. In this episode: How a friend's recovery and The Power of Doing What Matters led Mark to CIHPWhy early progress required patience and consistent daily workTemporarily stepping away from golf and strength trainingThe lesson Mark learned from trying to chip before it was on the planWhy precision can be especially important in the early stages of recoveryReturning to golf and responding differently to a familiar back spasmDr. Skaggs' “Patience: Looking for a Brake” CIHP InsightWhy the painful or restricted area may not be the main problemBuilding resilience, self-efficacy, and confidence through experienceWhy belief works together with genuine physical capacity Click here to view the episode transcript. Guest: Mark, CIHP client  Host: Dr. Clayton Skaggs, Founder, Central Institute for Human Performance Learn more about the Central Institute for Human Performance: https://cihp.com/  Learn about The Power of Doing What Matters: https://powerofdoingwhatmatters.com/ This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The experiences discussed are individual; results and appropriate care vary by person.

    Looking for a Brake: Mark on Patience and Building Capacity

  8. Aug 21

    Come to Your Senses: Tim Sirmon on Thinking What Matters

    When it is time to perform, what deserves your attention and what should fall away? Tim Sirmon joins Dr. Clayton Skaggs to explore why a singular, meaningful target can help preparation become action. Dr. Skaggs reads “Come to Your Senses: Thinking What Matters,” a CIHP Insight about sensory focus, preparation, simplicity, and performance. The reading connects a client's “bones and muscle” mantra while pushing a weighted sled with examples from Olympic marathoner Molly Seidel and swimmer Kate Douglass. Tim brings the idea back to everyday movement. During preparation or remedial work, a person may explore breathing, foot pressure, knee position, and other sensations. During performance (walking, standing, climbing stairs, or returning to a demanding activity) trying to consciously control every detail can cause the person to miss the target. The conversation also revisits a client whose path moved from being unable to stand on one leg to hiking and biking. His progress required periods of doing less, careful reassessment, and eventually being encouraged to do more when his movement tolerance and readiness had changed. In this episode: A client's progression from limited balance to hiking and bikingWhy recovery may require both doing less and doing moreDr. Skaggs' “Come to Your Senses: Thinking What Matters” CIHP InsightUsing a simple phrase to focus effort during a difficult taskWhat elite performers can teach us about singular attentionThe difference between exploring movement and performing itWhy excessive conscious control can cause us to miss the targetThe role of preparation, coaching, and sensory awarenessClick here to view the episode transcript. Guest: Tim Sirmon, DPT, Lead Practitioner at CIHP  Host: Dr. Clayton Skaggs, Founder, Central Institute for Human Performance Learn more about the Central Institute for Human Performance: https://cihp.com/  Meet the CIHP team: https://cihp.com/about/ This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The examples discussed are individual experiences; results and appropriate care vary by person.

    Come to Your Senses: Tim Sirmon on Thinking What Matters
  • 8 Episodes

About

What helps people move beyond pain and limitation, build resilience, and keep doing the things that give life meaning? The Power of Doing What Matters is hosted by Dr. Clayton Skaggs, founder and CEO of the Central Institute for Human Performance and author of the book that inspired the show. For more than three decades, Dr. Skaggs and his team have worked at the intersection of persistent pain, rehabilitation, movement, and human performance. His career has included years of study with pioneering Czech neurologists Vladimir Janda and Karel Lewit, service on postdoctoral and research faculties at eight universities, published clinical research, and work with people ranging from those facing unresolved pain to elite athletes, military professionals, and executives. Dr. Skaggs and his team have found that the best stories and learning come from the patients and clients. Each episode will combine stories from and about real-life experiences with clients, practitioners, athletes, researchers and others. Episodes combine practical knowledge, lived experience, and a CIHP Insight—a short reading that opens a larger conversation about the mind, body, and the choices that shape our capacity. Reading, contemplation and learning. The conversations are educational and are not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Information

  • Creator
    Clayton Skaggs
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    ©2026 Central Institute for Human Performance. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Power of Doing What Matters