Movement Education
Movement education is a style of physical education based on Rudolf Laban’s work on movement analysis. This complimentary therapy is about learning to observe the basic movements of the human body. You are taught how to see the elements of any physical action by learning concepts about the body, shape, effort, and space harmony.
Movement education involves teaching the concepts of movement dynamics and shows you the various ways that you can move and shape your body in space. It shows you alternative ways of moving so that you can enhance your movement options.
Through the education program, you will learn how to express yourself through movement, as well as the opposite which is what your movements communicate about you. Often you will gain insights into your own personal life and become aware of your own particular style of movement and what it says about you. The goal of movement analysis is to achieve efficiency and ease in movement
Some of the main body concepts taught in movement education are body awareness, space, qualities of movement, and relationships. These are the basic categories of action that provide the framework for movement education.
Body awareness is about learning how the body moves and what it can do. This is taught through a series of exercises including axial movements, body weight transference, balancing, flight (defying gravity), and manipulative skills.
The concept of space is taught to show where the body moves. Lessons on personal space, general space, direction movement, levels of movement, and types of pathways are all included.
The qualities of movement are all about how the body moves. Focus is put on teaching how one can achieve better quality of movement. Clients are taught about the expressions of movement such as the elements of time or speed, effort and force, and the flow of movement.
Finally, the concept of relationships is a part of movement education. This involves teaching how the relationships of movements are constantly changing depending on the game or sport. The client learns about how their body relates with apparatuses, matching movements, contrasting movements, and simultaneous movements.
The principle of movement education can be applied to any field of study that involves movement. Some areas where movement education has become popular are in theatre, dance, management consulting, therapy, education and nonverbal communication.
