Children's Fitness - Part 2


The Alexander Technique is taught by specially-trained teachers, but some of it's principles could easily be included in PE classes. Take for instance the Alexander-related process that has come to be know as "body-mapping". This approach includes learning, on your own body, just where important joints are located and how they function.

It turns out that most of us have serious "mis-maps" of our own body which cause us to move in ways that attempt to reinforce those incorrect ideas. For example, many people think their hip joints are at waist level when, in fact, they are located far lower on our torso. Correcting this mis-map is quite easy to do and almost always results in much smoother bending, walking and running patterns.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if PE programs included teaching this kind of useful self-knowledge to our kids so they could go through life using their bodies as nature intended? And look back on their PE experiences with fondness and gratitude?

RESOURCES

"Body-mapping" is a term coined by Alexander Technique teachers William and Barbara Conable. You can read a short introduction to the process at http://www.alexandertechnique.com/articl...

The Conables have written a wonderful book describing the process in detail, "How to Learn the Alexander Technique - A Manual for Students". As the title implies, the book was written mainly for people taking Alexander Technique lessons, but I have found it to be a valuable resource for anyone prepared to spend a little time exploring the operation of their own body.

Another book, full of practical suggestions, is "Mind and Muscle - An Owner's Handbook" by Elizabeth Langford. It covers some of the same ground, although she does not use the term "body-mapping".

Both of these books, along with a great many other books, videos and CD's about the Alexander Technique can be ordered at The Alexander Technique Bookstore at http://www.alexandertechnique.com/books

Robert Rickover is a teacher of the Alexander Technique living in Lincoln, Nebraska. He also teaches regularly in Toronto, Canada. Robert is the author of Fitness Without Stress - A Guide to the Alexander Technique and is the creator of The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique http://www.alexandertechnique.com

The copyright of the article Children's Fitness - Part 2 in Stress Relief is owned by Robert Rickover. Permission to republish Children's Fitness - Part 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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