In one study of the impact of movement education there was a 40% increase in productivty and reduction of injury among factory workers (http://alexandertechnik-schwyz.ch/pdf/Congress%20Paper%20English%20Version.pdf), and other studies have reported similar findings. In addition, the British Medical Journal's published study of a form of movement education states that "One to one lessons in the Alexander technique from registered teachers have long term benefits for patients with chronic back pain" (https://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a884.)

The way we move ourselves can affect our wellbeing, effectiveness, and satisfaction (Alexander et al.). Some innovators who made discoveries that can be learned from about improved use of the self include:

  • Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955)
  • Moshé Pinchas Feldenkrais (1904-1984)
  • Other methods created by persons who are living may be a gray area for inclusion on Appropedia; their discoveries may be useful to anyone in the world, but putting links here could bleed into promotion of individuals' businesses. Body-mind Centering; Contact Improvisation; movement systems impairments diagnosis and treatment are some methods known to the author of this appropedia page.

(Note--the terms "movement education" and "somatic education" were coined by Yvan Joly, who is a teacher of the FeldenkraisR Method; original terms used by others may differ, as there has never been a term in English that refers exactly to this concept until it was articulated).

Appropriateness and some advantages these methods offer:

  • anyone can study and make progress in learning them who has a body and a mind
  • there is no physical cost (such as acupuncture needles, herbs, pharmaceuticals, or seeds) and it is entirely portable
  • it takes no time to apply it, once learned: we need to use our bodies and minds in any of our activities anyway, it takes no more time to do so with better coordination or better organization than to do so with interference
  • communicating information with hands-on touch (assuming consent) is a direct way of communicating meaning to another person ("a picture is worth a thousand words") and may get meaning across when words fail, or when language barriers are present
  • they can not only help with unwanted conditions but improve the level of performance and clarity of thought (see John Dewey, Frank Pierce Jones) and reslience

Professionals offer teaching in these disciplines, but the principles behind them can also be studied without the aid of a professional with reading from books from a library or the use of articles. (Out of consideration for those who have trained to be professional teachers, it would be inappropriate to call oneself a professional teacher of one of these methods without obtaining the consent of the communities of these teachers, or one of their certifying bodies.) (Specifically, teachers of the Alexander Technique, for example, are required to complete 1600 hours of training to be certified by most professional certifying routes (Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique -- https://alexandertechnique.co.uk/; Alexander Technique International -- AlexanderTechniqueInternational.com), and at a high monetary cost. However, anyone can freely claim to be a student of the _discoveries_ that any of these researchers discovered.

F. M. Alexander's discoveries, the Alexander Technique of the Use of the Self

F. M. Alexander (1869-1955) discovered that ceasing to do activities the familiar way in favor of more reason-informed ways could result in reduction of injury (he got his voice back) and improved performance (http://alexandertechnik-schwyz.ch/pdf/Congress%20Paper%20English%20Version.pdf)

Some books:

The Use of the Self, F. M. Alexander Freedom to Change, Frank Pierce Jones (researcher and teacher of Alexander's technique)

Feldenkrais Method of Education

  • Moshe Feldenkrais discovered ways of breaking movements down into tiny pieces of movement, and how to teach people to conduct tiny experiments of the movements to learn experientially the extent to which greater ease is possible in them. Then, by assembling them into a whole again, the whole movement is now easier, more organized, and more efficient. [May need editing by a professional-level student the Feldenkrais(R) Method.]

Some books:

Awareness Through Movement, Moshe Feldenkrais

Related Resources:

  • Tai Ji (Tai Chi) may also be considered a somatic education method, as well as being a martial art or self-defense and path for personal development
  • Zen (meditation), as well as a religious or spiritual practice
  • mindfulness education, may also be considered one such method (more research needed)
  • yoga in some of the ways it is taught may fall in this category
  • Bothmer gymnastics
  • there may be cultural practices that serve this function among all peoples [editing needed]

PLEASE COMMENT/TEST THIS OUT (See talk page for article draft) Thanks! basically my first time doing this. thanks!

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