My Movement Education (2025)

24/02/2023

Gymnastics Floorwork - Day 52: Exploring Human Movement

The concept is simple: ‘Co-ordination’ is a transferable skill - Having good coordination means you are able to organize different parts of your body to do the things you need in order to get your body to do what you want (for a desired benefit).

Movement isn’t about organization - you can move your body in a completely disorganized way, and with little to no awareness of what you are doing. In fact, this is quite common for most people most of the day.

Of course you have other things you must think about and focus on than just your body and physical activity - but with high kinesthetic intelligence (KQ) you could pay attention to what you are doing with your body while you are mentally engaged in other activities.

This is noticeable in people’s ‘posture’ - you can spot a dancer or gymnast or martial artist from a distance just walking down the street as the training in these sort of activities inherently develops KQ. They require high levels of coordination and control, with the ability to change direction quickly, change speed and force within a second and be one hundred percent aware of what each body part is doing in space.

I generally recommend to parents to put them in one of these activities because it is an opportunity to develop this very useful skill in life - being able to organize yourself. Having the awareness you need to be organized in life in general, and having the ability to actually follow through are not the same thing. It is the same for human movement…. understanding the concept of coordination and having the skill to organize your body are not the same thing!

This is (yet another reason) why movement education is so important. Plus the coordination is a transferable skill - in life there are so many situations where we benefit from being able to organize ourselves and coordinate others.

Today was gymnastics. At school G3’s learning unit is ‘How we Organise Ourselves’ with respect to the planet. In movement education we compliment the curriculum by learning to organize ourself and the way we move our body (with tried & true training in tumbling!)🙃

21/02/2023

(Mini) Basketball - Day 50: Exploring Human Movement

The concept is simple: Movement Education is an opportunity for you to learn about the one relationship we seem to understand (and nurture) the least in life… the one between you and your body.

In physical education, group fitness and team sports you get the chance to explore the relationship between yourself and other people. You learn about communication and collaboration with others, and how to formulate strategies to get the best possible result for yourselves… it is effectively movement to understand how to work together to achieve something and/or have fun.

And yet we don’t do the same thing for what is arguably the most important relationship you have in life, which is the one between your body and your mind. We don’t learn to pay attention to that same communication & collaboration between these two parts do ourselves and as such do not learn or practice how to come up with strategies to achieve what both of them want so they can live together happily!

It may sound silly but it’s true. We focus on relationships between ourselves and our family, our friends, our social world, and our environment. We have subjects dedicated to learning more about how we can work with others and even how to live better with the planet… but we have nothing dedicated to the relationship between body and mind.

This is not about ‘mindfulness’ - that doesn’t necessarily teach you about human movement and how your body works or how to explore and enjoy it through physical activity… mindfulness is being more aware of your mind. Movement Education, on the other hand is knowing the way that your mind, brain and body communicate and how to do so better for the benefit of all involved!!

If you had a better relationship between body & mind then you wouldn’t need motivation to move, you’d do it because your mind already realises your body loves to move. Imagine how much easier life would be without the friction or dis-ease between the two. No resistance or excuses. This is the case for movement education.

Today was basketball. I can’t show you my team (as we were at school) but they were just the right size for me!! 🤪

13/02/2023

SPIN CLASS - Day 45: Exploring Human Movement

Before you even look inside the commercial industries of health/fitness, there are incredibly mixed messages about the importance of health in life. I personally don’t promote health as the number 1 priority of human movement, but health & longevity are valid purposes for human movement.

We have populations of kids & adults who are less healthy than they could be, yet we have more access to info, tools & technology to assist us to improve it. Globally, Most adults that could be healthy choose to go in the opposite direction, and I wonder why. Not because I plan on converting them, I just want to know what messages about following a healthy lifestyle turned you off.

Possibly it’s because we have standards imposed on us and are told we need to do x,y,z in order to conform to everyone’s else’s idea of what makes us healthy. I’m not arguing with the research, I’m questioning the efficacy of focusing on data & metrics and assuming that everyone will be ‘healthy’ if they hit the same targets.

We aren’t facilitated to learn enough about our body to come up with our own metrics and instead are told to blindly follow the standard. Then in movement for health/fitness we ‘re all expected to move the same way to meet the same goals…. With a barrage of ‘tutorials’ of what you ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ to be perfectly healthy.

Maybe if we made ‘health’ a fringe benefit of physical activity, rather than the sole purpose of it, we would see more improvement, and could lighten up on the claims about ‘right’ & ‘wrong’ movement??

Today was a bare bones spin class at a gym that 3 yrs ago changed my mind about riding on stationary bike!! It was no nonsense and cut through all the BS. I now love cycle classes - health & fitness are just the by products.
Happy to be back in the saddle at fitness village, Hanoi

12/02/2023

Ballet - Day : Exploring Human Movement

The concept is simple: If FACTS & OPINIONS are to be meaningful in education, they need to be valid - rather than opinions delivered as ‘facts’, as is often the case in human movement.

Until you understand a subject you have no way to know the difference between fact & opinion. However when you learn by developing thinking skills then you have a process to evaluate fact vs opinion.

When educated to move up the ladder of higher order thinking, beyond the simple ability to recall, repeat and memorize data, then you are in luck! You’d have the ability to think for yourself, use logic and not rely on blind faith that the things the speaker said as fact, were actually facts.

Unfortunately this isn’t the case. We are given so many non-sensical messages about health that we are often either confused and willing to believe everyone (enter fads & trends) or the contradictions lead us to believe no one (and body becomes a lower priority).

I do believe if (opinion) that if you were taught to understand how your body works and encouraged to enjoy it, you would have no need for either extreme - you would believe the facts your own body gives you. Subsequently, you would be able to Interpret and use these to your advantage by being able to design your own health/fitness programs, and human movement goals based on purpose.

I call this the physical literacy skill of ‘writing’. It’s not about putting pen to paper, but about reaching the highest level of thinking - design, creation & production.

In language literacy, writing is how we demonstrate & assess the highest order of thinking, which is why writing is the hardest skill. It requires first being able to read, then comprehend, and then produce your own opinion written form.

With respect to human movement, this sophisticated skill could be in the design of a program, a piece of choreography, an innovation on health standards, for example. It also relates to the ability to speak to your body and produce movement that is considered and deliberate…. a demonstration of effective communication between body & mind, for precision in movement.

Today was aerial ballet ❤️

10/02/2023

Vocational T & A - Day 40: Exploring Human Movement

The concept is simple: Telling people what they should / shouldn’t do is ‘disciplining’, not ‘educating’.

This idea refers as much to behaviours around health & fitness as anything else. Educating enables individuals to tell themselves what to do, rather than relying on external instruction, demonstration, supervision, or correction. We call this being independent and it relates to self-regulation, on all levels.

We aren’t well educated in school, or beyond, in how to be self-sufficient when it comes to human movement. We aren’t taught how to deliberately choose our own adventure with our body or to enjoy the responsibility. What we are told is what we ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ do, which few people are inspired to follow. Why? It assumes everyone wants the same for health or needs the same fitness.

I think we can do better.

It really is ok to NOT be healthy or fit. It makes sense to learn the benefits of behaviours, cause & effect and design thinking, and then be able to reverse engineer based on the experience YOU want to have with your own body. When I advocate for an active lifestyle, I’m not disciplining with ‘shoulds’ assuming that you want to live until your 100.

My Movement Ed is designed to elevate our critical thinking & decision-making skills around human movement. Then everyone can make their own decisions about their own body and be accountable to them. MeanWhile also becoming smarter consumers who can confidently the question advice of instructors, trainers, coaches, practitioners.

Today’s activity is the final day of aerial fitness, dance, yoga & arts, as part of vocational training & assessment for teachers. The premise of the methodology is simply to have teachers be able to answer the question ‘why?’ to everything that comes out of their mouth during a class - instruction, correction or advice…. and for the answers to be better than “because this is the way its done”. Or, worse still, “I don’t know”.

As a teacher, if your students don’t know why you’re telling them to do something, and you aren’t clear why you’re telling them, then why bother saying it?!

08/02/2023

HATHA YOGA 🧘‍♀️- Day 38 / 365: Exploring Human Movement

The concept is simple: Human Movement isn’t a ‘challenge’, it’s what your body is designed to do - everyday throughout your life, and not just for health/fitness.

Movement is life, it’s why you were given a body. Presumably you were given it for freedom, not for punishment. So why educate in a way that promotes short bursts of interest in your body; or focus on ‘inspiration’ primarily through competition or social demonstration of the fact?

Doesn’t it make more sense to develop a relationship with your body, from as early as possible, where you don’t need external motivation to participate in physical activity. If we could take the long view and promote movement through developing effective communication skills between body and mind, then you wouldn’t need accountability, you really would be inspired to move your body everyday without anyone knowing.

Also you wouldn’t go through the cycle of exercising or not, based on whether you were part of a challenge. Why not enjoy movement as a lifelong journey, rather than a 7-, 14-, or 30 day challenge that really just sends your body the message it is only worth working out for the short term results, not the long term appreciation of movement. Move for whatever reason you want, but what a shame not to be taught to enjoy the whole journey, not just specific days of it (and possibly only the days that everyone else knows about).

Recently someone commented that I was suddenly doing so many activities… the actual fact is I am suddenly documenting it! I have been doing random acts of human movement everyday for most of my life, I’ve just never felt the need for the world to follow along. This year I am on a school project - The Kinesthetic Quest - exploring as many different activities as possible in a year!

Today was simple, Hatha Yoga, at home. It’s an easy practice to make challenging without having to make it a challenge. The social aspect of group practices cannot be undervalued, but perhaps it could be in equal measure with a solo adventure into human movement. Imagine challenging yourself to experience without anyone knowing 🤪

05/02/2023

Sliders - Day 35 / 365: EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

The concept is simple: Human Movement involves literacy skills but they relate to the communication between your mind and your body so I refer to them as physical literacy.

This is the speaking, listening, reading and writing that you can develop to be able to get the most enjoyment out of your body and the most benefit out of physical activity.

I first came across the term ‘physical literacy’ during post-graduate studies in education. I wanted to become a PE teacher not so much because I wanted to teach sport of follow standards (neither of those are in my nature!), but rather because I was curious about why so few adults knew what to do with their body to maintain it.

Additionally I was curious why so many adults don’t like their body (and therefore unwittingly find excuses to avoid movement or do the bare amount of physical activity possible per day for health/fitness). I figured there was a gap in education and was (still am) interested to bridge it so individuals at least have the knowledge & skills to move their body in a way that:
- feels good
- gives freedom to enjoy all activity
- gives control over level of health
- gives tools to manipulate ability/appearance in a less invasive way to things like plastic surgery or over-training (if this is your priority)

This is why it is movement education, and not health/fitness education… they are not the same purpose. The key is can you enjoy all types of movement and develop a good working relationship with the body that you have for life - we do this through developing the communication skills between mind and brain and body, and understanding how to send the right messages to the right body parts at the right time, to result in the movement that we want… and to be able to reverse engineer the process.

Today’s activity was a home workout using the sliders… these slippery little suckers you can use under feet and hands to dramatically challenge strength and stability in exercises you might otherwise do on the ground. They require a level of coordination & control that can only come from focused commands from your mind to your brain to your body!

04/02/2023

Aerial Yoga - Day 34 / 365: EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

The concept is simple: Movement is a language, so it makes sense for movement education to use principles of language learning and literacy.

Over the past few decades, I have taught human movement in a way to develop body awareness & movement intelligence. In this approach students learn about how to control their body while doing physical activity so they get the benefits they want…. Whether that be strength, flexibility, fitness, health or fun. I found it to be more effective when I shifted away from teaching movement as a science, or movement as an art, and toward movement as a language.

Further fuelled by the fact I was based in countries where English is not the primary language, as well as studying to be both a language and Physical Education teacher, I decided to approach teaching the subject in a different way that made more sense to me. As it turns out it made more sense to my students as well, and we were able to develop their physical literacy in a way that was fun and effective by following the same principles of learning any other language.

I also incorporated approaches to teaching general literacy (the general ‘literacy’ that we prioritise school) and came up with an approach to movement education that literally addresses physical literacy - developing the 4 literacy skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing, as they relate to the communication between your mind, brain & body.

You are using this language of movement everyday so it makes sense to actually know how speak it! Imagine talking all day without realising you were speaking. Or being aware but without the skills to change what you were saying!

This is the situation for most people when doing all physical activity - not only do you not listen to your body, you don’t even realise you are speaking it to it - movement by movement. Physical Literacy addresses this gap in development, and I am fortunate to be at a school willing to dedicate time to ‘movement education’.

Today was aerial yoga, as part of my other passion, vocational training for movement teachers. Aerial Training

03/02/2023

Hacky Sack (🇻🇳style) - Day 33: EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

The concept is simple: When it comes to Human Movement you cannot lack motivation - you are motivated to do it or motivated to not do it, either way you are 100% motivated.

It doesn’t make sense to seek ‘motivation’ for physical activity, you have it in spades, it’s just that somehow you have come to value the act moving, maintaining, appreciating and enjoying your body as lesser than the alternative… being inactive and/or ‘busy’.

It’s not a mistake to seek ‘motivation’ by way of paying someone who will tell you what to do or hold you accountable, but it seems unfortunate to consider your body as not being worth the time or effort to give it the regular movement that it needs. It also seems more hurtful than helpful to perceive physical activity as being too high of an opportunity cost of your time. Your body loves to move, therefore, if you love your body, you would love to move it…. No arguments, excuses or ‘motivation’ involved.

When it comes to human movement, appreciation of your body will always trump the need to find some person, tech or tool to hold your hand…. You learn to hold your own hand. We refer to these as ‘soft skills’ that you learn along the way in movement education - responsibility, accountability, leadership, confidence… all the things you can learn when you learn to value your own body.

Additionally we are working our way up the critical thinking ladder toward higher order thinking skills that lead us to be ‘independently healthy’. Why would you want that? Well, really why would you want the opposite - being dependent on healthcare practitioners to fix problems, or tell you about your body. Why need motivation from fitness professionals when you could easily create and lead yourself through movement as an intelligent, fully functioning adult who is inspired by their own movement potential?!

Todays activity was Hacky Sack, mostly in preparation for this unusual game they play in Vietnam which is like badminton with your feet…. Kicking a shuttlecock over a net. It’s a skill I’m not sure is transferable to life but is an absolute feat in coordination!

02/02/2023

Yoga Flow - Day 32: EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

The concept is simple: ‘Human Movement’ refers to physical activity that is VOLUNTARY - which means if you did move your body it’s because you chose to, and if you didn’t move your body it’s because you chose to.

This concept is the literally the ‘mind’ part of body-mind connection that we refer to in movement. In reality, the mind part happens first, based on volition - the physical movement happens as a response. It turns out your body is completely obedient and only does what you tell it to…. Which is where responsibility and accountability also come into play as the ‘soft skills’ that it makes sense to be teaching & learning in human movement practices.

Your body, as far as movement ability is concerned, is a reflection of your choices - all of the things you choose to do with it in a day and all of the ways you repeatedly move it (or don’t). Very few of your daily actions are reflexive…. Which means you do thousands of movements per day by choice, whether you are aware for eh fact or not.

In my movement education program (at school) we are learning about how to make more conscious choices in our movements so that we can have the body that we want and enjoy the activities that we like, and hopefully make choices that promote a positive relationship with our own body throughout our life.

How do we do this? Through learning activities to develop Kinesthetic Intelligence (KQ) which creates better awareness of what we are doing with our own body, on a moment by moment basis. This creates the foundation to understand the ‘why’ of our choices, and develops critical thinking skills to be able to assess our own movement habits, analyze cause & effect of our choices, and evaluate our strengths/weakness with a view to making choices that give you the greatest appreciation for having a body that moves.

Todays activity was Yoga Flow. Yoga is not more of a body-mind practice than any other movement technique… that part is always a choice. You can do yoga with no awareness, and you can run and pay 100% attention to what you’re doing. It’s all about your choice use your KQ in anything you do.

30/01/2023

Team Workout - Day 30 / 365: EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

The concept is simple: Your Body is Your Buddy

I never really do physical activity alone… from my perspective it’s me and my body, and we are a team. I participate in all forms of human movement because I know that’s what my body wants to do. To have a good relationship with another person you go out of your way to find out what things they like, and then you do at least some of them, because you enjoy making that person happy. I approach my body and movement the same way.

In my approach, body positivity is not just about saying you like your body (while you insist on making it sit down or only do the bare minimum of movement in a day) it is about taking the time to understand how the body works, what it likes and what it needs to be happy… and then doing those things because I appreciate having it as my life partner.

For me to have a good relationship with my body then it makes sense to learn about it on both a physical and intellectual level so that I can thoroughly understand how to get the most out of having my human body… based on what it is I want to experience in life.

Kinaesthetic Intelligence (KQ) is about body awareness; Physical Literacy is about communication and using the language of movement between your mind and body to create a body that allows you to enjoy life… the way you want, whether that follows standardised ‘health recommendations’ or not.

I am inspired to move, in all the ways, by my own education, not by external motivation… and this is what we are working on in movement education with this project “The Kinesthetic Quest”.

It’s great to train with other people who also appreciate their body and want share the experience…. Relying on someone to motivate you to exercise is quite different. Perhaps consider simply being inspired by your own body and enjoy in-built buddy system it offers.

I’ve had the best time the last 2 weeks in Oz, doing activities alongside some of my best buddies who are equally grateful for their own body!

29/01/2023

‘Recovery Lab’ - Day 28 / 365: EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

The concept is simple: When convenience contributes to efficiency it can be helpful; when convenience caters to laziness it can be hurtful.

Convenience in many of its forms (including the quick-fix approach to health/fitness) is counter-productive to Kinesthetic Intelligence (KQ).

Convenience is useful for many things, but they are not my subject matter. Body awareness & movement intelligence are the subject, and these take time, patience & presence to develop (as per all education.)

We talk about, and aspire to greater ‘productivity’ and a more efficient use of time, but ironically this process seems cause less and less amounts of physical activity. In other words, it’s a case of: save time so you can sit for longer. 🤔

I’m not against practices, tech or gadgets that help you save time, but they do often promote less human movement. Also it has you rely on outsourcing your ability to maintain your own body through physical literacy.

As an advocate for education I like the idea of developing physically literacy first, and then using apps & tech to fill in the gaps rather than outsourcing your innate intelligence.

If you love metrics, use them, but when they become the focus of a workout (rather than your own body being the focus) you potentially lower your KQ. Conversely, when you move with awareness and fascination of your body, you’ll find you no longer need the numbers - When you walk in appreciation for being able to walk, you stop caring about how many steps you took because You love the feeling of movement. Doesn’t it seem more convenient to not need to recharge your phone in order to recharge your body?!

Physical literacy is not well addressed in school so we look to tech to tell our brain what to tell our body, instead of simply learning how to communicate between mind-brain-body.

You can spend more time, making more money, so you can buy more tools to maintain your body. Or you can learn to use your own intelligence…

Todays activity was aimed at recovery from movement. Not something I need myself as I use movement itself as recovery, but fun none the less!

29/01/2023

‘Recovery Lab’ - Day 28 / 365: EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

The concept is simple: When convenience contributes to efficiency it can be helpful; when convenience caters to laziness it can be hurtful.

Convenience in many of its forms (including the quick-fix approach to health/fitness) is counter-productive to Kinesthetic Intelligence (KQ).

Convenience is useful for many things, but they are not my subject matter. Body awareness & movement intelligence are the subject, and these take time, patience & presence to develop (as per all education.)

We talk about, and aspire to greater ‘productivity’ and a more efficient use of time, but ironically this process seems cause less and less amounts of physical activity. In other words, it’s a case of: save time so you can sit for longer. 🤔

I’m not against practices, tech or gadgets that help you save time, but they do often promote less human movement. Also it has you rely on outsourcing your ability to maintain your own body through physical literacy.

As an advocate for education I like the idea of developing physically literacy first, and then using apps & tech to fill in the gaps rather than outsourcing your innate intelligence.

If you love metrics, use them, but when they become the focus of a workout (rather than your own body being the focus) you potentially lower your KQ. Conversely, when you move with awareness and fascination of your body, you’ll find you no longer need the numbers - When you walk in appreciation for being able to walk, you stop caring about how many steps you took because You love the feeling of movement. Doesn’t it seem more convenient to not need to recharge your phone in order to recharge your body?!

Physical literacy is not well addressed in school so we look to tech to tell our brain what to tell our body, instead of simply learning how to communicate between mind-brain-body.

You can spend more time, making more money, so you can buy more tools to maintain your body. Or you can learn to use your own intelligence…

Todays activity was aimed at recovery from movement. Not something I need myself as I use movement itself as recovery, but fun none the less!

28/01/2023

Body Tone - Day 28 / 365: EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

The concept is simple: Your Kinesthetic Intelligence (KQ) is a superpower.

There is not enough space in one post to explain the spectrum of benefits that come from KQ within one post but let’s start with the conference that comes from being in a good relationship with your body.

Health & fitness are important if they are important to you, but the real power in improving your KQ is in the relationship you develop between your body and mind - these are already connected in order for you to function but that doesn’t mean there is a good relationship between them.

Think of the relationship between your mind and body like any other relationship - it can be functional or dysfunctional; pleasant or unpleasant. Just because your body & mind are connected does not mean they communicate effectively or have a positive relationship… just as is the case in any marriage.

Developing your KQ is the wag to strengthen this relationship and help you place more value on your body and its needs (ie regular movement). We are encouraged to take the time to practice effective communication with others - at school, home & workplace - but it is rare that we are guided to do this within ourselves, on the level between body and mind, and in a real way that helps increase KQ.

Currently I am working in primary school on my program in movement education to encourage just that…. a better relationship between body & mind whereby students understand how their body moves and how to be accountable to their own choices … ensuring skills in physical literacy, responsibility, critical thinking and decision-making.

One of our projects is exploring a different physical activity each day with a focus on feeling different movements, evaluating the effects, and enjoying the process of becoming more body aware.

KQ is underestimated and undervalued but it is one of the key factors in building confidence, self esteem & body positivity… regardless of level of health or fitness.

Today’s activity was a simple body weight class, Total Tone. For me, the muscle toning is just a fringe benefit to a much bigger picture and lifelong relationship ✌️

My Movement Education

24/02/2023

21/02/2023

13/02/2023

12/02/2023

10/02/2023

08/02/2023

05/02/2023

04/02/2023

03/02/2023

02/02/2023

30/01/2023

29/01/2023

29/01/2023

28/01/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share