In this talk, Rachel Kelly traced the history of the chair through human evolution, the significance and symbolism of the chair, the chair as ‘object of desire’ and what makes a comfortable chair.
Relief sculpture involves raising or lowering forms from a flattened background without disconnecting them. There are three degrees of relief sculpture: high relief, where forms stand far from the background; low relief, where forms are slightly raised; and sunken relief, where forms are hollowed within the background. The document instructs the recipient to create a low relief sculpture including a face, descriptive text, and an interesting background.
The Kuna people, also known as Cuna, are an indigenous group living in the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. They are known for their colorful embroidered blouses called molas. Molas feature reverse applique designs cut from layers of brightly colored fabric. Young Kuna girls begin learning mola embroidery at age 6-7 and it is an important part of their culture and economy. Traditional mola designs depict religious symbols, mythology, animals, and plants. Though influenced by the modern world, molas still feature symmetrical cuts and intricate patterns in vibrant reds, oranges, and other colors.
Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter born in 1872 who is considered one of the pioneers of 20th century abstract art. He began his career painting landscapes in a realistic style but over time developed his signature abstract geometric style using only the primary colors, black, white, and grey arranged in vertical and horizontal lines. This style, known as Neoplasticism, aimed to represent spiritual order and balance. Later in life, Mondrian moved to New York where the city's grid structure likely influenced his further simplified abstract compositions featuring blocks of primary colors divided by thick, black lines.
Zentangle is a meditative art form involving repetitive patterns created with markers and pens on paper. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and involves focusing on individual strokes and patterns without concern for the final image, as mistakes can become new patterns. The required materials are fine and ultrafine markers, colored pencils, and paper.
Heather Galler is a folk artist from New York known for her abstract paintings of pets, flowers, angels, and landscapes. As a folk artist, she did not receive formal art training but creates paintings that reflect her life and culture. Her landscapes show vibrant colors inspired by movies, music, and travel. People enjoy her paintings for their vivid colors and the way they capture her experiences and environment.
The document summarizes the legend and spiritual meaning behind Native American dream catchers. According to the legend, dream catchers were originally created by the Ojibwe tribe to protect sleeping babies. The dream catcher's woven web is believed to catch bad dreams while allowing good dreams to pass through and reach the sleeper. Bad dreams get trapped in the web and dissolve with the morning sunlight, while feathers guide good dreams down to the dreamer. Dream catchers symbolize protection and the guidance of good spirits.
Abstract art is a non-representational form of visual communication that uses colors and textures to convey meaning without depicting objects from the real world. While abstract art does not depict objects literally, it allows artists to express their feelings through use of color, patterns, and textures. Famous abstract artists like Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, and Jackson Pollock used non-representational techniques to communicate emotions and ideas in their work.
Relief sculpture involves raising or lowering forms from a flattened background without disconnecting them. There are three degrees of relief sculpture: high relief, where forms stand far from the background; low relief, where forms are slightly raised; and sunken relief, where forms are hollowed within the background. The document instructs the recipient to create a low relief sculpture including a face, descriptive text, and an interesting background.
The Kuna people, also known as Cuna, are an indigenous group living in the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. They are known for their colorful embroidered blouses called molas. Molas feature reverse applique designs cut from layers of brightly colored fabric. Young Kuna girls begin learning mola embroidery at age 6-7 and it is an important part of their culture and economy. Traditional mola designs depict religious symbols, mythology, animals, and plants. Though influenced by the modern world, molas still feature symmetrical cuts and intricate patterns in vibrant reds, oranges, and other colors.
Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter born in 1872 who is considered one of the pioneers of 20th century abstract art. He began his career painting landscapes in a realistic style but over time developed his signature abstract geometric style using only the primary colors, black, white, and grey arranged in vertical and horizontal lines. This style, known as Neoplasticism, aimed to represent spiritual order and balance. Later in life, Mondrian moved to New York where the city's grid structure likely influenced his further simplified abstract compositions featuring blocks of primary colors divided by thick, black lines.
Zentangle is a meditative art form involving repetitive patterns created with markers and pens on paper. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and involves focusing on individual strokes and patterns without concern for the final image, as mistakes can become new patterns. The required materials are fine and ultrafine markers, colored pencils, and paper.
Heather Galler is a folk artist from New York known for her abstract paintings of pets, flowers, angels, and landscapes. As a folk artist, she did not receive formal art training but creates paintings that reflect her life and culture. Her landscapes show vibrant colors inspired by movies, music, and travel. People enjoy her paintings for their vivid colors and the way they capture her experiences and environment.
The document summarizes the legend and spiritual meaning behind Native American dream catchers. According to the legend, dream catchers were originally created by the Ojibwe tribe to protect sleeping babies. The dream catcher's woven web is believed to catch bad dreams while allowing good dreams to pass through and reach the sleeper. Bad dreams get trapped in the web and dissolve with the morning sunlight, while feathers guide good dreams down to the dreamer. Dream catchers symbolize protection and the guidance of good spirits.
Abstract art is a non-representational form of visual communication that uses colors and textures to convey meaning without depicting objects from the real world. While abstract art does not depict objects literally, it allows artists to express their feelings through use of color, patterns, and textures. Famous abstract artists like Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, and Jackson Pollock used non-representational techniques to communicate emotions and ideas in their work.
Dream catchers originated with the Ojibwe tribe and are believed to filter dreams, blocking bad dreams and letting good dreams pass through. They are traditionally made in a circular shape with a web-like design representing a spider's web, and have eight points and a central hole. Feathers symbolizing breath are included and different feathers are used for boys and girls. The instructions provide steps for constructing a dream catcher using materials like sinew, leather lacing, beads and feathers.
This document summarizes an interview with ceramic artist Yumiko Goto. Goto crafts ceramic vessels inspired by natural forms like flower petals and seeds. She began working with clay after moving to the US from Japan in 1999. Goto enjoys all aspects of the ceramic process, from sculpting clay to applying glazes. Her Japanese heritage and experiences harvesting fruits with her family influence her nature-inspired work.
The document discusses various perspectives on what constitutes art. It explores how art can take many forms and serve different purposes, from communication to spiritual expression to visual delight. While there is no single definition, art generally involves some element of human creation, expression, or selection that stimulates thought or emotions. The lines between art and craft, or between artistic merit and commercial purpose, can be debated depending on one's viewpoint.
Pablo Picasso was an influential abstract artist known for developing Cubism in the early 1900s. Cubism rejected realistic depictions and relied on geometric shapes and lines to show objects from multiple views simultaneously, breaking them into abstract fragments like a broken mirror. Some key characteristics of Cubism included abstracted, rearranged, and simplified geometric forms showing more than one view of a subject.
Totem poles are large wooden sculptures carved from trees like Western Red Cedar that were part of indigenous cultures in Alaska, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest. There are different types of totem poles that serve various purposes like telling stories, recording history, or honoring deceased clan members. Totem poles were traditionally painted with pigments made from natural materials like soot, ochre, and copper that produced black, red, and blue-green colors. Common figures carved on totem poles represented important symbols like The Creator, peace, strength, and other animals.
Homes have changed significantly over time based on societal and technological developments. Early humans lived nomadically and built temporary shelters from available natural materials like animal skins, leaves, and branches. As humans began farming and settling into communities, more permanent structures emerged like huts made of mud, wood, and thatch. Housing continued evolving with advances in building materials, from stone and timber to bricks, concrete, and metals. Today's homes range from traditional structures still used by some tribes to modern apartments, houses, and other building types that reflect changes in lifestyles and construction capabilities. Housing plays an important role in protecting humans from the environment and is shaped by factors like climate, resources, and societal needs over history.
Cubism was an early 20th century avant-garde art movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque that revolutionized painting. It emphasized depicting objects from multiple perspectives and using geometric forms rather than realistic detail. There were three periods of Cubism: Early Cubism depicted the whole structure of objects combining viewpoints; Analytic Cubism broke down subjects into facets showing different viewpoints; and Synthetic Cubism introduced collage with painting fragments.
This document outlines the objectives of teaching home economics at different ages from 7 to 16 years old. The objectives are organized into three main categories: home and family, nutrition and food, and textiles. For each age group, the document lists the key understandings students should have in each of the three categories by the end of that age. The objectives focus on preparing students for everyday living, family responsibilities, health, hygiene, consumer skills, and careers related to home economics.
How to make a ceramic mug using slab construction. How to use slip & score attachment in ceramics. How to add design and decoration to the surface of ceramics.
How Your Brain Is Taking You Hostage…(And What You can Do About It!)
Kim Long, MC, CCC, R. Psych (Alberta)
Director, Dochas Psychological Services, Inc.
Spruce Grove, Alberta
This document discusses Teknion, a company that designs workplace furniture. It promotes Teknion's people-centered approach and customizable solutions. Teknion prides itself on being accessible and focusing on each client's needs. The document highlights some of Teknion's new product lines and collections being launched at Neocon 2016. It also discusses trends in healthy, sustainable workplace design that improve employee wellness, productivity and happiness.
- People are looking for personal philosophies and life coaches to help provide focus and accountability as modern life has become more fast-paced, impersonal, and constantly changing. Coaches can help people live purposefully and achieve their goals.
- Success Philosophy used by Life Motivations Institute focuses on goal setting, values development, character building, creating support networks, and developing plans while understanding how the four dynamics of choice, self-image, attitude, and risk affect one's life.
- As people live longer, gain more knowledge rapidly, and experience more transitions instead of stable roles, their motivations in life tend to change, requiring adaptation. Understanding how one's mental models and beliefs impact their choices and success
What’s the difference?
Meditation – comes from Buddhist practice and is based on the monastic tradition of looking inward, focus inwardly on body
Mindfulness – values not monastic, related to rational thought and is easier to integrate with life. A bigger field of attention – actions, thoughts, emotions, state of mind
This document discusses the importance of beginning with the end in mind when setting goals and direction in life. It emphasizes creating a clear mental vision or "personal mission statement" that is aligned with one's principles and values. This first creation then guides the physical creation or execution of goals and plans. The document also discusses identifying one's core or "center" to ensure goals and direction are based on correct principles rather than external factors. Finally, it discusses how developing a personal mission statement can provide internal guidance and a standard to measure oneself against in life.
Genlites Talk - call for environmental awareness - CNUJoris Claeys
LIFE, LAND and WATER
Preserve and protect the environment with the youth as earth warriors!
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Take action against climate change!
Help preserve life for the future generations to come!
Learning nature’s principles
Innovating with nature!
We cannot keep ignoring!
Humanity needs to thrive & progress in balance & harmony with NATURE!
Sustainability is a journey! Not a destination!
Practice the 5P’s of sustainable thrivability!
“You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created” – Albert Einstein
co-realize the walk
walking the talk
living the walk
dancing the path
Be involved, Be engaged!
Speaking engagement at
Genlites Talk - Generalistang Normalites Organization 2016-2017
College Of Teacher Education - Bachelor of Elementary Education - Major in General Education
CNU - Cebu Normal University
For speaking and coaching engagements, contact me via ExpertFile or LinkedIn
www.expertfile.com/experts/joris.claeys
www.linkedin.com/in/knowledgenabler
You can request this presentation in PDF or PPT with full animation email at
Joris.Claeys@outlook.com
The document discusses building mental fitness through developing self-awareness, regulating emotions, strengthening social connections, and learning reflective practices. It provides exercises to help people understand trauma responses and build skills like mindful breathing, compassion, and deep listening to cultivate well-being and a supportive culture. The overall goal is to enhance mental health through positive concepts of mental fitness rather than focusing on mental illness.
Better Patients Better Practice Better Lives 11 7BetternessCoach
This document summarizes an event focused on appreciative inquiry and career development for physical therapists. It discusses traditional versus modern approaches to career planning and the importance of change and growth. Participants engaged in interviews and group discussions to identify themes around positive experiences and visions for their careers. They then developed personal vision statements with focus areas to work towards their dreams. The overall message is that appreciative inquiry can help professionals rediscover their passion and imagine positive futures.
This document provides tips and advice for establishing a healthy morning routine. It recommends starting the day with deep breathing and setting an intention for the day. It also suggests drinking lemon water, engaging in mindful movement like yoga or stretches, eating protein at breakfast, expressing gratitude, and going outside for exercise. The routine is meant to boost energy, focus, mood and overall health by establishing positive habits in the morning.
This document discusses the negative health effects of prolonged sitting. It summarizes the impacts sitting can have on various parts of the body from head to toe, including increased risk of heart disease, brain fog, diabetes, colon cancer, muscle degeneration, back pain, and leg disorders. Experts recommend strategies like using an exercise ball instead of a chair, standing up and walking periodically, stretching hip flexors, and alternating between sitting and standing to counter the harms of too much sitting.
Sitting properly is key to back health and developing mindfulness, with the best sitting position keeping feet flat, avoiding crossed legs, maintaining a small gap behind knees, having knees at or slightly below hip height, and relaxing shoulders. Good posture also means training the body to stand, walk, and lie in positions with minimal strain on supporting muscles and ligaments. Developing good posture connects us to the present and makes both body and mind healthier and more mindful.
Dream catchers originated with the Ojibwe tribe and are believed to filter dreams, blocking bad dreams and letting good dreams pass through. They are traditionally made in a circular shape with a web-like design representing a spider's web, and have eight points and a central hole. Feathers symbolizing breath are included and different feathers are used for boys and girls. The instructions provide steps for constructing a dream catcher using materials like sinew, leather lacing, beads and feathers.
This document summarizes an interview with ceramic artist Yumiko Goto. Goto crafts ceramic vessels inspired by natural forms like flower petals and seeds. She began working with clay after moving to the US from Japan in 1999. Goto enjoys all aspects of the ceramic process, from sculpting clay to applying glazes. Her Japanese heritage and experiences harvesting fruits with her family influence her nature-inspired work.
The document discusses various perspectives on what constitutes art. It explores how art can take many forms and serve different purposes, from communication to spiritual expression to visual delight. While there is no single definition, art generally involves some element of human creation, expression, or selection that stimulates thought or emotions. The lines between art and craft, or between artistic merit and commercial purpose, can be debated depending on one's viewpoint.
Pablo Picasso was an influential abstract artist known for developing Cubism in the early 1900s. Cubism rejected realistic depictions and relied on geometric shapes and lines to show objects from multiple views simultaneously, breaking them into abstract fragments like a broken mirror. Some key characteristics of Cubism included abstracted, rearranged, and simplified geometric forms showing more than one view of a subject.
Totem poles are large wooden sculptures carved from trees like Western Red Cedar that were part of indigenous cultures in Alaska, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest. There are different types of totem poles that serve various purposes like telling stories, recording history, or honoring deceased clan members. Totem poles were traditionally painted with pigments made from natural materials like soot, ochre, and copper that produced black, red, and blue-green colors. Common figures carved on totem poles represented important symbols like The Creator, peace, strength, and other animals.
Homes have changed significantly over time based on societal and technological developments. Early humans lived nomadically and built temporary shelters from available natural materials like animal skins, leaves, and branches. As humans began farming and settling into communities, more permanent structures emerged like huts made of mud, wood, and thatch. Housing continued evolving with advances in building materials, from stone and timber to bricks, concrete, and metals. Today's homes range from traditional structures still used by some tribes to modern apartments, houses, and other building types that reflect changes in lifestyles and construction capabilities. Housing plays an important role in protecting humans from the environment and is shaped by factors like climate, resources, and societal needs over history.
Cubism was an early 20th century avant-garde art movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque that revolutionized painting. It emphasized depicting objects from multiple perspectives and using geometric forms rather than realistic detail. There were three periods of Cubism: Early Cubism depicted the whole structure of objects combining viewpoints; Analytic Cubism broke down subjects into facets showing different viewpoints; and Synthetic Cubism introduced collage with painting fragments.
This document outlines the objectives of teaching home economics at different ages from 7 to 16 years old. The objectives are organized into three main categories: home and family, nutrition and food, and textiles. For each age group, the document lists the key understandings students should have in each of the three categories by the end of that age. The objectives focus on preparing students for everyday living, family responsibilities, health, hygiene, consumer skills, and careers related to home economics.
How to make a ceramic mug using slab construction. How to use slip & score attachment in ceramics. How to add design and decoration to the surface of ceramics.
How Your Brain Is Taking You Hostage…(And What You can Do About It!)
Kim Long, MC, CCC, R. Psych (Alberta)
Director, Dochas Psychological Services, Inc.
Spruce Grove, Alberta
This document discusses Teknion, a company that designs workplace furniture. It promotes Teknion's people-centered approach and customizable solutions. Teknion prides itself on being accessible and focusing on each client's needs. The document highlights some of Teknion's new product lines and collections being launched at Neocon 2016. It also discusses trends in healthy, sustainable workplace design that improve employee wellness, productivity and happiness.
- People are looking for personal philosophies and life coaches to help provide focus and accountability as modern life has become more fast-paced, impersonal, and constantly changing. Coaches can help people live purposefully and achieve their goals.
- Success Philosophy used by Life Motivations Institute focuses on goal setting, values development, character building, creating support networks, and developing plans while understanding how the four dynamics of choice, self-image, attitude, and risk affect one's life.
- As people live longer, gain more knowledge rapidly, and experience more transitions instead of stable roles, their motivations in life tend to change, requiring adaptation. Understanding how one's mental models and beliefs impact their choices and success
What’s the difference?
Meditation – comes from Buddhist practice and is based on the monastic tradition of looking inward, focus inwardly on body
Mindfulness – values not monastic, related to rational thought and is easier to integrate with life. A bigger field of attention – actions, thoughts, emotions, state of mind
This document discusses the importance of beginning with the end in mind when setting goals and direction in life. It emphasizes creating a clear mental vision or "personal mission statement" that is aligned with one's principles and values. This first creation then guides the physical creation or execution of goals and plans. The document also discusses identifying one's core or "center" to ensure goals and direction are based on correct principles rather than external factors. Finally, it discusses how developing a personal mission statement can provide internal guidance and a standard to measure oneself against in life.
Genlites Talk - call for environmental awareness - CNUJoris Claeys
LIFE, LAND and WATER
Preserve and protect the environment with the youth as earth warriors!
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Take action against climate change!
Help preserve life for the future generations to come!
Learning nature’s principles
Innovating with nature!
We cannot keep ignoring!
Humanity needs to thrive & progress in balance & harmony with NATURE!
Sustainability is a journey! Not a destination!
Practice the 5P’s of sustainable thrivability!
“You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created” – Albert Einstein
co-realize the walk
walking the talk
living the walk
dancing the path
Be involved, Be engaged!
Speaking engagement at
Genlites Talk - Generalistang Normalites Organization 2016-2017
College Of Teacher Education - Bachelor of Elementary Education - Major in General Education
CNU - Cebu Normal University
For speaking and coaching engagements, contact me via ExpertFile or LinkedIn
www.expertfile.com/experts/joris.claeys
www.linkedin.com/in/knowledgenabler
You can request this presentation in PDF or PPT with full animation email at
Joris.Claeys@outlook.com
The document discusses building mental fitness through developing self-awareness, regulating emotions, strengthening social connections, and learning reflective practices. It provides exercises to help people understand trauma responses and build skills like mindful breathing, compassion, and deep listening to cultivate well-being and a supportive culture. The overall goal is to enhance mental health through positive concepts of mental fitness rather than focusing on mental illness.
Better Patients Better Practice Better Lives 11 7BetternessCoach
This document summarizes an event focused on appreciative inquiry and career development for physical therapists. It discusses traditional versus modern approaches to career planning and the importance of change and growth. Participants engaged in interviews and group discussions to identify themes around positive experiences and visions for their careers. They then developed personal vision statements with focus areas to work towards their dreams. The overall message is that appreciative inquiry can help professionals rediscover their passion and imagine positive futures.
This document provides tips and advice for establishing a healthy morning routine. It recommends starting the day with deep breathing and setting an intention for the day. It also suggests drinking lemon water, engaging in mindful movement like yoga or stretches, eating protein at breakfast, expressing gratitude, and going outside for exercise. The routine is meant to boost energy, focus, mood and overall health by establishing positive habits in the morning.
This document discusses the negative health effects of prolonged sitting. It summarizes the impacts sitting can have on various parts of the body from head to toe, including increased risk of heart disease, brain fog, diabetes, colon cancer, muscle degeneration, back pain, and leg disorders. Experts recommend strategies like using an exercise ball instead of a chair, standing up and walking periodically, stretching hip flexors, and alternating between sitting and standing to counter the harms of too much sitting.
Sitting properly is key to back health and developing mindfulness, with the best sitting position keeping feet flat, avoiding crossed legs, maintaining a small gap behind knees, having knees at or slightly below hip height, and relaxing shoulders. Good posture also means training the body to stand, walk, and lie in positions with minimal strain on supporting muscles and ligaments. Developing good posture connects us to the present and makes both body and mind healthier and more mindful.
This document provides information on permaculture principles and design. It discusses 12 permaculture design principles, including observing and interacting, catching and storing energy, and obtaining a yield. It also covers the permaculture ethics of earth care, people care, and fair share. Group guidelines for respectful discussion and participation are outlined. Site analysis categories like sun, wind, water resources are defined for permaculture design.
This is the story of Greatist, one of the fastest growing, highest quality, and most fun health and fitness websites out there.
http://www.greatist.com
Do you rack up frequent flyer miles on the regular for work?
Do you wind up feeling stressed or guilty because your healthy habits are thrown off course by the break in routine?
Nobody likes to lose momentum when they hit the road for work travel or vacations. In this 60-minute workshop you’ll learn how to be resourceful and "equip" yourself to exercise anywhere at anytime. No mat? No weights? No worries. Amy will teach you how to look at what’s around you to create your own Wherever Workout. Together you’ll play with chairs, desks, and other common office and hotel staples and learn how to utilize them through functional fitness exercises that will keep you on track and feeling your best.
The document discusses finding balance between work life and personal life. It notes that balance looks different for everyone as priorities vary. Key aspects to consider include understanding your needs, passions, and how you want to spend your time. Prioritizing self-care through adequate nutrition, sleep, exercise and recreation is important to avoid burnout. Pursuing fulfillment requires growth and contributing to others. Effective leaders help their teams feel engaged, supported and appreciated to maintain productivity while respecting individuals' needs for balance.
The document discusses the importance of physical activity and physical literacy in early childhood development from ages 0-5. It notes that physical activity helps build brain structure which sets trajectories for lifelong health, learning, success and relationships. The core of early brain development involves connecting neurons and pruning synapses. Four developmental domains must be supported including emotional, social, physical and cognitive. Physical activity and literacy are important for physical and mental health as well as developing skills like coordination, balance and self-confidence. Early experiences can impact stress levels and brain structure. Providing nurturing environments, caring relationships and opportunities for physical activity across all developmental domains helps build strong brains.
This document provides an agenda and overview for a session on the importance of movement for learning in young children. Some key points covered include:
- Movement is important for developing skills like language, memory, problem solving and physical coordination.
- Physical activities help develop "habits of mind" like persistence, flexibility, responsibility and impulse control.
- Babies are born with reflexes that support early motor development and these continue developing in the first year.
- Suggested activities to get babies moving include floor time, tummy time, rolling, crawling games and toys that support different stages of development.
- Music and dancing are also encouraged for early movement and learning.
This document outlines an agenda and approach for a workshop exploring Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future. The workshop aims to help participants experience and practice the five minds of the disciplined mind, synthesizing mind, creating mind, respectful mind, and ethical mind. Participants will engage in exercises to match images and descriptions to the five minds, reflect on using the minds, and explore challenges through different frames of thinking. The goal is to help transform participants' thinking and approach to challenges in a participatory manner focused on conversation over lectures.
Chimp Paradox How Our Impulses and Emotions Can Determine Success and Happine...Sumni Uchiha
Hide me now
Under Your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God
Find rest, my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
And I will be still, know You are God
You are my God
My God, my God
Find rest, my soul
In Christ alone, oh yeah
Know His power
In quietness and trust
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm (oh, yes, I will)
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Yes, I will, yes, I will
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still know You are God
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God
Oh, yes, You are, oh, yes, You are
I will be still, Lord
This document provides 10 suggestions for introducing sacred spaces or activities into the workplace. It suggests asking employees for feedback and suggestions through surveys and discussions to find proposals that have shared consensus. Example survey questions are given to gauge interest in things like a sacred space, praying together, mission/values alignment, and work-life balance. The goal is to experiment with changes that respect sacredness based on staff input.
Similar to The Chair: Politics, Sociology and how to sit on one (20)
The document discusses meetings from an anthropological perspective. It argues that meetings serve as ritualized spaces where individuals and groups ideally focus on the primary task, but also engage in ritual performances to preserve identity or disrupt goals. These rituals can meet or disrupt the purpose of the meeting. Theories from anthropology, sociology, and psychodynamics provide tools to analyze complex group dynamics and performances in meetings. The "Culture Empathy Map" is presented as a tool for understanding the holistic culture and psychodynamics of meetings.
Karen Izod and Siobhain Smiton presented on crafting research from practice at the Tavistock Institute. They discussed undertaking research for a professional doctorate program that brings together candidates from various fields. Research in this program is led by curiosity about organizations and practice, derives from practitioners' experiences, and explores dynamics between inner and outer worlds. They provided examples of research conducted by past graduates, including on leadership transitions, GP experiences of healthcare changes, and illuminating organizational culture from a systems psychodynamic perspective. The presentation aimed to help attendees develop research ideas from their own consultancy practices.
This document outlines Siobhain Smiton's doctoral research on the experiences of migrant professionals working in the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland. Smiton's original research question was broad but has narrowed to focus specifically on the experiences of migrant professionals in the industry. For methodology, Smiton is using Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method interviews combined with Grounded Theory analysis. So far, Smiton has conducted 7 interviews and is finding differences between their role as a researcher compared to their usual role as a consultant. The overall document provides an overview of Smiton's research approach and progress.
The document provides an overview of a presentation on boosting human capital in the 21st century. The presentation discusses the Boosting Human Capital in the 21st century (BHC21) project, which aims to address the mismatch between the skills people acquire and what the labor market requires. It summarizes the origin and need for the BHC21 project, contributions from partner organizations like the Tavistock Institute, techniques used in training cohorts, feedback on the experience, and lessons learned. The presentation concludes with time for questions.
This document discusses philosophy and its implications for management consulting. It begins by introducing three questions about the epistemology, ontology, and ethics of management consulting. It then discusses how Presocratic philosophers like Parmenides, Leucippus and Democritus, and Heraclitus influenced different views of organizations and approaches to change management. Plato's and Aristotle's views on epistemology and the nature of knowledge are discussed in relation to whether management consulting knowledge can be considered scientific. Aristotle's ideas around ethics and virtues are discussed in the context of management consulting ethics. The document raises questions about tensions between ethical codes and financial targets for consultants.
- Implementation science aims to improve outcomes for communities by creating a bridge between research evidence and real-world settings. However, implementation efforts often overlook the important roles of trust, power dynamics, and psychological safety.
- Psychological safety and a culture of safety are crucial for implementation work, as they allow stakeholders to take risks, learn from failures, and engage in collaborative learning. Assessing and building these factors should be a key part of implementation practice.
- A case example from child welfare showed high levels of stress, burnout, and safety issues among staff, highlighting the need to attend to organizational climate and power differentials to support implementation efforts. Focusing on "mental models" and transformational change requires addressing issues below
The document explores the link between birth and death, celebrating the transformation that occurs when insect forms cover a lifeless body. Through decay and renewal, the imagined insect forms take on complex patterns both inside and out of the body.
This document discusses ethics in consulting work. It frames ethics in the context of perceptions of expertise. While clients seek experts and expertise, what truly constitutes expertise is complex. Experts see problems differently than novices due to accumulated experience, but maintaining expertise can be challenging. Consultants also face tensions between standard practices and innovation, impartial advice and bespoke solutions. Ultimately, ethics in consulting requires competence as well as commitment to clients and society. The implications for practice include the need for self-reflection on expertise and how to balance standard and innovative approaches for clients.
This document provides an overview of applying anthropological approaches to organizational research and consultancy. It begins with definitions of anthropology as observing culture and social structures to understand human behavior and identities. Key anthropological principles discussed include ethnography, adopting a reflexive empathy-driven approach, and challenging engrained notions.
The value of anthropology to organizations is described as developing a deep understanding of an organization's culture in order to support organizational development, change navigation, and addressing cultural conflict points. Case studies on the anthropology of meetings and workplace wellbeing are presented to illustrate transdisciplinary ethnographic methods incorporating liminality, virtual ethnography, and arts-based projective techniques.
The document discusses the history and approach of sociotechnical systems (STS) thinking. It began at the Tavistock Institute in the UK and was brought to Norway where Einar Thorsrud and Fred Emery initiated research projects through the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions and Confederation of Employers to promote democracy in the workplace using action research. Action research aims to involve both management and employees to jointly learn and solve problems through participation in work redesign projects with the goal of improving organizations.
In October 2020, Anna Sophie Hahne, Georgie Parry-Crooke and Thomas Spielhofer, presented finding from the TIHR Covid-19 research study, during one of our regular lunchtime talks.
The session was framed around the following questions: what have we learned so far about how we can adapt our working practices? How can we use this learning to prepare for a continuation of this pandemic? What needs to change?
Systems Thinking has been an important feature in the Tavistock Institute’s research and consultancy work from the beginning in 1947. Central to our action research work with major industries in the 1950-70’s, it formed the core of theory and practice related to ‘sociotechnical systems’ work. This tradition continued within our evaluation activities from the 1980’s onward, and features in several of our current projects. These have received added impetus from the growing interest in complexity theory and its application to evaluation practice, encouraged by our involvement in activities such as the Centre for Complexity in Evaluation across the Nexus (CECAN) and the writing of an annex to the revised Magenta book (Cross-Government Evaluation Group) published on 27 March this year.
This talk on Systems Thinking offers the opportunity for you to reflect with us on what we have learnt from the past, how we are currently applying this – and where systems thinking will be taking us next.
In this talk, Dr Philip Corran explores the challenges of balancing everyday life and policy when it comes to ageing, disability and social exclusion.
In the abstract, the connections between everyday life and the broader policies which govern it (political, economic, etc.) seem clear. However, when exploring regions of everyday life through the eyes of individuals living it, these policies can seem detached and distant. Researchers scrutinising both policy and everyday life must strike a balance between the discourses and realities encountered in each one. This talk is an exploration of Philip’s attempts to strike this balance, drawing on examples from his PhD research, which focuses on the everyday life of older people experiencing chronic illness and disability in London. By exploring how older people defined wellbeing in their own lives, how they experienced social exclusion, and how they understood their experiences in relation to broader social issues, Philip demonstrates some of the difficulties in reconciling the often estranged perspectives of policy and the everyday.
The survey aimed to explore how professionals supporting clients have been affected by the current pandemic situation. Most respondents previously did face-to-face work but now do all work remotely. Working remotely and balancing work with caring responsibilities have been significant challenges for many. Positively, some have found remote work allows for more flexible and international client support. Most respondents reported worrying about others and sometimes finding it difficult to maintain resources for effective work. Next steps include interviews and continuing the survey to reach more respondents.
The document discusses children's hospice care and support for families, focusing on an open systems theory approach to operating children's hospices which aims to provide holistic support through various care, activities, education and bereavement services while also addressing challenges for maintaining staff well-being. It reflects on research opportunities to further understand family experiences and hospice operations as well as comparing leadership issues across different hospices.
Level 3 NCEA - NZ: A Nation In the Making 1872 - 1900 SML.pptHenry Hollis
The History of NZ 1870-1900.
Making of a Nation.
From the NZ Wars to Liberals,
Richard Seddon, George Grey,
Social Laboratory, New Zealand,
Confiscations, Kotahitanga, Kingitanga, Parliament, Suffrage, Repudiation, Economic Change, Agriculture, Gold Mining, Timber, Flax, Sheep, Dairying,
Creative Restart 2024: Mike Martin - Finding a way around “no”Taste
Ideas that are good for business and good for the world that we live in, are what I’m passionate about.
Some ideas take a year to make, some take 8 years. I want to share two projects that best illustrate this and why it is never good to stop at “no”.
Elevate Your Nonprofit's Online Presence_ A Guide to Effective SEO Strategies...TechSoup
Whether you're new to SEO or looking to refine your existing strategies, this webinar will provide you with actionable insights and practical tips to elevate your nonprofit's online presence.
A Visual Guide to 1 Samuel | A Tale of Two HeartsSteve Thomason
These slides walk through the story of 1 Samuel. Samuel is the last judge of Israel. The people reject God and want a king. Saul is anointed as the first king, but he is not a good king. David, the shepherd boy is anointed and Saul is envious of him. David shows honor while Saul continues to self destruct.
3. What are they?
Evolving social purpose
Display of hierarchy
3
4. In cave paintings? - no
Up to 40,000 years ago
In the New Stone Age - yes
10,000 – 4,000 BC
Widespread in Egypt and Mesopotamia
When did it all start?
4
14. 14
Your spine is your core
• What’s your
spine for?
• Which is the
most crucial
joint? – where
your head balances on
top of your spine
(rebalancing up to 11 times
per second)
• Standing on
your sitting
bones
Sitting bones
15. The Use of the Self
How we use ourselves as we work - affects
how we function
Unconscious Habits (slumping, pressing down and contracting)
End-gaining versus paying attention to the
process
Peering forward towards a goal vs being in the moment
Non-doing –
Heightened awareness
Thinking upward (non doing)
Releasing by allowing muscles to lengthen
15
16. Everyday Constructive Rest
16
• Rejuvenating, creating internal space
• NON-DOING: Semi-supine – alert, thinking, non-doing
• 15-20 mins per day
• Head on books, eyes open
• Feet hip-width apart, knees up, not falling inwards
• Hands on your belly, elbows outwards, space in your armpits
17. References
Galen Cranz 1998 The Chair Norton
University of California - Los Angeles. "Sitting is bad for your brain -- not just
your metabolism or heart: Thinning in brain regions important for memory linked to
sedentary habits." ScienceDaily, 12 April 2018.
17
Editor's Notes
Inspired by a book: The Chair by Galen Cranz – prof of architecture at Berkeley and Alexander Teacher.
Love of chairs – not unusual
Chairs have become indivisible from us and so invisible.
In this talk, I will trace the history of the chair through human evolution, the significance and symbolism of the chair, the chair as ‘object of desire’ and seek to begin a conversation around the epidemic of dis-ease around our increasingly sedentary behaviour – what does this mean for how we work and what we produce? and what can we as individuals, organisations and cultures do about it?
SELF-REFLECTION: Awareness of oneself:
Without moving or adjusting - What is your posture now? Turn 50% of your attention inwards
Don’t “correct” yourself, this is your reality at the moment – your habits of tension which make up your posture
Your posture expresses your attitude of mind – how you are thinking, its quality
Where are you carrying your weight?
Notice your sitting bones – can you feel them?
Stay with your breath for a few moments
Notice where you are in contact with the chair, the space between your buttocks/thighs and the seat; the space behind your back and the chair back; the space under your arms on the chair arms…
Ostensibly the function of the chair is to hold a person, to provide support and comfort with a back, arms and legs. They are like us - we use the same words to describe a chair as we do our bodies. We have an intimate relationship but we know little about their effects. We shape them they shape us – unconsciously shaping the physical and the social. Not mere extensions of our bodies but a cultural artefact.
We endow chairs with human values and each says something of the maker as well as the owner.
The right chair for the right social message.
Chairs are not a straightforward response to the bends at our hips, knees, ankles
Not related to genetic, anatomical or even physiological forces.
Few alternatives to the chair – we’re locked into it. We shape chairs and they shape us.
Metaphors – for position, social role and power. chairperson. University profs hold ‘Chairs – positions funded for research and teaching a particular subject.
Country seats, district seats, seats on the stock exchange
A hot seat
Empty chair in christian ceremonies, represents Christ.
each has a different character, a different history and it is immediately resonant of the person to whom it belongs.
An evolving social purpose
a short cut to display hierarchy in complex societies
Can only be understood in their cultural context
Between 1/3 and ½ of the world sits in chairs regularly – all around the world – symbol of westernization and can be a signifier of prestige and power.
Status; Beauty; Comfort
Cultural considerations: Japanese tatami mats for sitting, sleeping etc. Japan’s economic miracle is equated with its rise from the floor to chairs
Cross-legs, squatting, kneeling – all near the floor
Standing on one leg with the sole of the other foot near the knee of standing legs
Low wooden platforms – divans, in Turkey
Cross-legged or kneeling on richly carpeted floors (barefoot – stimulates nerves in soles of feet) Bending/stretching ritually in prayer – good for the spine
Doing things whilst squatting – is aerobic exercise
People who can afford chairs through out Middle east, Asia, Africa and Polynesia don’t necessarily buy them
Chair introduced to China in 2nd century AD – the Chinese called it the barbarian bed (their word for anything foreign. It had association with military camps, temporary travel furniture – more like a cot, never used indoors. It was sat on cross legged to show contempt? 900 years later a new seating type evolved, a folding chair with a back. This chair became acceptable used by all – but called a mat rather than a chair. In contemporary mainland China – a lot of people sit on stools. On a parent’s 60th birthday they dine in a chair.
Sitting, like other postures, is regulated around the world according to gender, age and social status.
squatting toilets in middle east – revulsion/excitement
Architecture influenced by chairs – window openings – we sit at 18 inches high
We mock the lowliest chair of all, the toilet by calling it the throne.
Just how far back does chair sitting go?
We don’t know
40,000 years ago Not in cave paintings in the Old Stone Age (paleolithic). Humans lived in caves/ tents as nomadic hunters and gatherers and revered the animals they hunted – depicting actions and movement. Humans sticklike, hardly any tools, no chairs.
After the Ice Age, Neolithic Age – New Stone Age – 10,000 – 4,000 BC
Flint tools and permanent stone houses – benches and ledges for sleeping/sitting. A large number of pottery models of human figures, all of them female, some reclining on chairs – earliest evidence of chair use.
Were these societies matrifocal? Women doubly fertile, producers of babies and agricultural products. Female fertility symbols dominate the representations of this period.
Chair sitting already widespread in ancient Egypt of 2,850 BC
Oldest actual chairs from Tutankhamen’s tomb around 1352 BC – wood encased in gold in a dry climate. Explicit messages worked into the decoration – providing stories about war, domestic life, gods.
Used by many people not just royalty (from hieroglyphs). Thrones for royalty
Chair sitting continued into Islamic, medieval Egypt
Mesopotamia – humid climate, no chairs have survived. Carvings show frequent chair use by kings and in domestic scenes with attention to rank.
Greek chairs – adopted a good deal of science and culture from the Romans
Word chair comes from the Greek – a contraction of cathedra – in turn a compound of kata meaning down and hedra from to sit.
Word throne comes from Indo-European base dher meaning to hold or support. SIT DOWN or SUPPORT. Throne – being carried on a palanquin. Only a privileged few can be carried.
From the beginning 2 types of chairs developed, the upright throne and the more relaxed Klismos, a chair with a curved seat and modestly inclined back.
Upright – spiritual aspiration - being connected with a higher plane – Pharoahs were supposed to perfect themselves as evidence of connectiion with universal forces – the cultivation of self-awareness. Keeping the spine erect and self-supporting – like the Buddha’s posture.
Klismos – earthly comfort and ease – reclining backwards slumping – general domestic use
Popular with the ladies – high class, reposing languidly. 2 competing ideas about comfort – one about alertness, the other about rest?
Roman furniture followed Greek types Roman chairs
–little furniture few but very high quality
Roman chairs rare decorative items of luxury
2 types of chair – upright back for governmental, scholarly and religious
Reclining to eat, read, write and socialise on a triclinia – couches with pillows for eating from – symbolising freedom
For all classes– the surface might be a pallet on a built in masonry shelf
Dining - master on the couch, mother on a chair, children on stools – status of gender, and age. Later both parents would recline.
The Last Supper would have been a couch affair, not table and chairs.
Visigoths and Germanic nomads no interest in Roman furniture. Furniture development atrophied
Medieval period – squatting, sitting on cushions, on benches with backs to the wall, storage chests.
Chairs evolved from this storage furniture or 3-legged stools.
Political insecurity in feudal households meant scarce furniture, either heavy and built into the architecture or light and transportable to take with you as you travelled, The medieval foldstool
Folding X-Chair.
People went to bed at sunset and lived outdoors as much as possible.
Perhaps one chair for the master of the house – too heavy to move. Trestle and board set up in front of this chair – Chairman of the Board.
Reflection of patriarchal style, power and authority
Chairs in church life – major decisions from special chair – ex cathedra – from the chair
By C15 social conditions more stable, chairs changed – chairs moved from the walls into the centre - freedom
Medieval fold stool evolved for kings, iimportant laymen and ecclesiastics. Perhaps on a dais.
More common – the evolution of the 3 legged stool into three legs with slab like back
By the 1600s – chairs and furniture- carving and inlaid decoration. Foreign influences and decoration from India via colonists and traders. Lacquering from Japan.
By 1700s the term armchair to distinguish chairs with arms from backstools – also known as side chairs or single chairs.
Chairs became more common.,
Upper classes had time for social life – conversation, card games, music.
Chairs became lighter and some specifically designed for women’s dresses.
The Baroque style - ostentatious and sumptuous
Attention paid to comfort and artistic unity – everything had to match wall hangings, including the chairs – fitting into the wall panelling, placed symmetrically
Chairmaking became a distinct craft: Heppelwhite, Chippendale, Robert Adam
Traditional European styling = taste and prestige
Uprightness
For the working classes – dual purpose furniture – chairs into beds
By the 19 century: industrial revolution – factory manufacture, cheaper chairs – more sitting.
Mass production – revivalism – earlier styles from England, France, Green and Roman and Gothic Revival, Elizabethan etc
Industrial work – done sitting. Patent furniture in US,
In Victorian England – chairs became bloated./ arts and crafts reacted to this obsession with padding
. Art Nouveau
Most chairs conservative cf mass social change going on. . Elite markets concentrated on ‘revival’ furniture. Lack of technology – style winning out.
Twenties – social elite adopted physical freedom – women’s corsets rejected.
Modernists – sculptural originality rather than tradition
C20 designers interested in the new rather than improvement in form and function.
Is mimicking the human form the best way to support it?
Until social elite adopts new ideas about posture and comfort, chair design will not emphasize physical and practical needs
Chair design expresses claims to superiority, in art, education, money and power.
How we furnish our home is where people communicate their social identity – the home became the female domain by the C19
Style is how we communicate social identity for the last 200 years – we can be status blinded
Expresses - how one chooses to spend money
What work one does
Gender differences – velvet or leather upholstery
Seating is becoming more feminized because women buy the seating.
Women also now designing chairs – media likes to differentiate but – these designers may be interested in relatedness and physical ease.
The chair acknowledges the individual – one person at a time (cf benches, divans, sofas, platforms)
Chair backs display decoration
Frame the sitter
Turning chairs in one direction or another – the chair back.
One has the option to rest, with a back.
Style – a work of art – shape, line and decoration
Modernists – form follows function – a unification of style, function and status.
Style has shared meaning but we are encouraged to be individual, whatever that means. – to be insecure, therefore spend more. Lifestyle – more than just economic choice.
Handmade, mass produced, craftsman, designer and artist – 5 types
However, trends towards taking us away from concerns of the body. Perhaps these needs have already been met?
Corporate image – luxury
No variation in carpeting, lights, telephones, desks chairs
Ergonomically correct chairs
Chained to the seat
What is considered professional? Can you lie down to ease your back?
Is there space? What would others think?
Can someone visiting your office tell who the boss is without being told?
Are there differences in partition height – amount and location of work space, access to a window
Quality of furniture, upholstery, number of chairs, thickness of carpet?
Subtle ways to differentiate
Clear expressions of status is directly related to worker satisfaction – this may be because it is traditional
The more chairs in an office – more status.
Chairs now – very adaptable – to do with movement. These are more expensive to produce but are associated with clerks. Executives get the cheaper chairs
Creativity – stifled by sitting for long periods.
Eye strain back pain, repetitive strain injury – in front of screens. Integrative complex of chair, keyboard, person and screen – we now part of this machine
To tap into the creativity potential everywhere – companies will have to change their static and status ridden ways.
Home office – could be based on personal physical patterns and rythyms. Could herald the advent of the comforts of home in the office
Sitting is the new smoking
Backpain costs NHS 1000 million per year – low back pain £500 million per year
1m years of lost productivity per year for organisations
About 80% of Americans are expected to suffer from at least one episode of lower back pain in their lifetime, and millions with chronic pain are already lost in the industry, subjected to pseudo-interventions, or taking unnecessary and addictive pain killers.
There is an assumption that sitting at the edge of a seat, upright, without support, is too tiring to sustain.
In other cultures, people sit upright by the hour. We’ve grown accustomed to chair backs.
The C-shape – leaning back, pushes the pelvis forward and down – C-shape slouch. Uncomfortable – everything constrained.
What is the perfect chair, there isn’t one
School – seedbed for sitting badly. Trained to sit for hours at a time – rise of ADHD.
The April 2015 study, “The Effect of Stand-Biased Desks on Academic Engagement: an Exploratory Study," from the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health found that students who used standing desks performed better in school than their seated classmates.
Sitting up straight,
Settle down
Process of passivity – creating a docile population – sedate – comes from Latin verb to sit
20 years ago - outside school – children were never sitting
Children learn early that wide chairs, leather chairs symbolise status.
Now with technology, children for the first time are sitting, lying, looking at phones etc for long periods
Height of children increasing over the years – desks and chairs remain the same or decreasing. International standard adhered to by school furniture manufacturers
Montessori/Steiner – incorporates activity into learning.
Desks could be sloped. Are sometimes too high.
– seats tilted slightly forward – perching
Can we squat?
Movement
In the 1st - Startle reflex leading to collapse
Head back and downChin forward
Shoulders drawn upTorso slumped and collapsing
Hips thrown forwardSagging knees
In the 2nd, - Over-corrected
head back and down; spine ‘straightened’; pelvis tipped, lower back scrunched; hips thrown further forward, knees locked, ankles locked
In the 3rd, all the weight-bearing joints are on a plumb line down the vertical axis of gravity
Muscles are now able to release – be in dynamic tonus, internal organs function efficiently and the spine is lengthening and not compressed downwards (which places pressure on the spinal cord and disrupts the nervous system)
We are constantly balancing: not a static posture - we are moving all the time. look at baby learning how to sit up / stand
Think on your feet not your seat.
Sitting up to 14 hours per day. Sitting as dangerous as lifting weight – sick leave higher amongst admin workers than any other sector.
Going to the gym 3 times per week for a couple of hours doesn’t compensate
Going between your seat and your feet is good for your heart, bones and muscle.
Sitting – more pressure 30% more when sitting than standing.
Not sitting for more than 30 minutes
Our human need to move doesn’t disappear with adulthood – logic movement and memory are in the same part of the brain
Adjustable chairs
There needs to be space for the bottom at the back, to stop the C-shape
Knees lower than hip sockets
Sitting without chair backs.
Tilted chair seat, slightly forward to encourage Perching
Tall adjustable stools to encourage perching
Standing desks that can move up and down for different sized people
Foot rests/ bars
Expense – Guerilla ergonomics
Treadmills
Moving meetings – as in The West Wing walking circuits – trails. Outside space.
The ancient Greeks understood the link between walking and optimizing cognitive function for students. Based on the principle of maintaining a Sound Mind in a Sound Body, Aristotle founded the famous Peripatetic School where teaching took place while walking on pathways around the Lyceum.
Options: so people can move between the different ways to work
Getting back to earth
Lying down and moving around – the best relief for back pain.
Crawling and squatting – in Japan tatami mats provide springy surfaces for movement
We lose our ability to squat from childhood – easy to get back
Squatting prevents spine going into a C – spine can lengthen
Floor surfaces – should be sensitive to knees
Rugs/matting encouraging movement on the floor
Underfloor heating
Working while reclining? Le Corbusier recliner – supports head and back – phone calls / interviews
Narrow platforms to encourage lying down in constructive rest.
Peter Opsvick – toadstools at different heights – for leaning on, forwards backwards, perching – all at the same eye-level
Education – job design and health education as part of hiring and induction
Raising consciousness
The spine is either being compressed or ideally lengthening
Coming back to your back
What are the functions of the spine?
A living changing framework of support - structural support and balance
Protects the spinal cord carrying the central nervous system / protect internal organs, nerve roots
Allows flexible movement
Curves of spine – what they are for?Shock absorber; protection of organs;stabilizer
‘STANDING’ on your sitting bones –
Exercise:
Have a sense of your sit bones – rockers at the bottom of your pelvis - biofeedback
Track the sensations in your back
Explore thoughts that may change your back:
“Sit up straight”
“I’ve not eaten and feel weak”
Notice if your back is aiming up. Feel as though you are falling upwards
Aim your head up – allow your neck to be free, moving away from spine
Allow your belly to drop into your back as you exhale.
How we use ourselves affects our function
Habits: - we build up habits of tension over the years in response to our environment – a big city in the 21st century, full of technology; sedentary lifestyles etc etc
End-gaining – acting immediately without thinking.
Heightened awareness for a moment – bringing your attention back to yourself Non-doing
Accurate sensory appreciation
We have a mental bodymap of what is used for what, where we are and how are doing something which can be more or less accurate
Eg without looking or moving! Are both your feet facing forward? Have a look and see if they are exactly where you expect
Means whereby – the key to stopping over-hasty reactions caused by endgaining – paying attention to the process of doing something.
Directions – a thinking upward (non doing)
are the mental instructions we can learn to give ourselves before and during an action, in order to bring about changes in the way we use ourselves whilst performing the action.
The instructions that are given also indicate the ‘direction’ in which we wish to release and allow muscles to lengthen– for instance, allowing our knees and thighs to release out and away from our hip joints.
How to practise UNDOING
Semi supine: 10-20 minutes per day
Head on books
your eyes open
Feet hip-width apart
Knees up, hip-width apart (don’t let them fall inwards)
Hands on your belly, elbows outwards
Orient yourself, look around (eyes only)
Observe yourself – your inner milieu; what you can see; your peripheral vision
Become grounded - let the ground support you, wherever you are in contact with it
Greet your thoughts and let them pass
Embrace your feelings, see how they change
Be with yourself
Undoing restores the muscular system – by thinking of allowing
the neck muscles to release,
the back muscles to lengthen and widen, and
the knees to point to the ceiling,
the support system can be restored to a condition of elastic toned support.
Looking for the path of least resistance…
Expanding Field Exercise:
Find your left hand, where is it exactly?
Expand your attention to take in your whole arm, then your arms and torso.
Include your head and then your legs so that all of you is in your awareness
Close your eyes and have a full sense of your whole self
Let your awareness include your whole skin and then 1 inch around your whole self, including your back
Open your eyes and notice any difference, still having a sense of 1 inch around you
Expand your awareness to include 30 cm or 1 foot around you
Include the people around you and then the whole room
Expand further to outdoors, the streets around
The limits of London The UK
The whole world including the stratosphere The cosmos, expanding outwards… faster and faster
What did you notice as your consciousness expanded?
University of California - Los Angeles. "Sitting is bad for your brain -- not just your metabolism or heart: Thinning in brain regions important for memory linked to sedentary habits." ScienceDaily, 12 April 2018.