Ep. 18 - Thoughts on our body's evolutionary design

In this episode, Ted and James discuss childhood motor development as it relates to education. Seen in its fullest meaning, FM Alexander's work provides a foundation for education. But it's not so easy to say what that means, or to come up with concrete ways to implement the work in a school setting. Ted lays out a three-part analytical framework for understanding the developing child. First, the child's postural tone – what Alexander called the "primary control" – needs to be appreciated and understood. This is the foundation for all of a child's activities, skilled and otherwise, and is the organizing factor behind their breathing, circulation, stress tolerance, and ability to move in space. Second, the manner in which a child goes about the activities of life, and the effect this manner has on the child's postural tone. This goes as deeply as whether a child is even able to handle a pen and paper without compromising their all-important postural tone. Third, what effect do the first two factors have on a child's ability to be attentive to their surroundings, which they seem to lose as they get older? The work of integrating these foundational tools into childhood education is unfortunately not as simple as bringing an Alexander Technique teacher into each classroom!

In episode 20 of The Awareness Connection, Ted and James discuss the need for a curriculum in our subject. Ted defines the notion of curriculum, discussing what the word means and how it applies to education. We discuss the writings of F.M. Alexander, especially his personal narrative, "Evolution of a Technique," in the context of a curriculum. Ted compares "Evolution of a Technique" to Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery, making the point that even though Alexander's story is profound and important, it does not outline a path of learning for a student who wishes to replicate his experiences. Ted talks about his career, and what led him to realize he needed to write a curriculum for this subject. We discuss the lack of a clear curriculum in Alexander Technique, both as a result of Alexander's teaching methods, which relied on hands-on work, and the lack of clear understanding of the goals of Alexander's work. We end by looking ahead to the next episodes, in which we will discuss Ted's curriculum, which he calls Sensorimotor Awareness, in more detail.

Ted and James discuss the fact that the body has "design specs," in a similar way that everyday tools, eg a garden hose, have design specs. A garden hose can get kinked up, which causes the flow of water to get interfered with. To solve that problem requires that someone untwist the hose. In a similar way, the human body has a way in which it is designed to function when it is functioning well, which we can see in very young, typically-developing children. Many of the problems we face as we get older, including joint pain, back pain, shoulder issues, etc, are the result of interferences with the design specs of the body. We address this topic, and Ted discusses what we can actually do about it. He contrasts the restoration of the design specs of the human body with methods like exercises, relaxation, athletic stretching, etc. He leads the listener through a simple thinking exercise, in which he instructs listeners to support a part of their body to allow muscles to relax from tightening, which begins to allow them to release into length and healthy tone.

Ted and James took the opportunity this episode to follow up on the developmental movement series with a discussion of the functional design of the human body. If we are a result of an evolutionary progression, then what design did evolution come up with? How exactly does the human body work?

Ted and James continue their discussion of developmental movement.

Ted and James continue the multi-episode series on developmental movement.

Ted Dimon and James French continue the multi-episode series on developmental movement with a discussion of the use and purpose of the procedures.

Ted Dimon and James French continue their discussion of developmental movement.

This is the first of a multi-episode discussion on the subject of developmental movement.

In this episode we discuss the emergence of novel forms in animal evolution. Careful to distinguish his views from that of "intelligent design," Ted asserts that through the process of natural evolution, animal forms emerge that exhibit highly effective, architecturally brilliant functional designs. Examples include the wing, but also include human upright posture, which is often maligned as an "evolutionary compromise" instead of the amazing synergetic form that it is.