Ideokinesis is an approach to improving posture, alignment, and fluency of movement through structured

guided imagery Guided imagery (also known as guided affective imagery, or katathym-imaginative psychotherapy (KIP)) is a mind-body intervention by which a trained practitioner or teacher helps a participant or patient to evoke and generate mental images that si ...

that uses metaphors, such as visualizing an object moving in a specific direction along various muscle groups throughout the body, while lying completely still. Proponents claim that repeated practice of this particular formula of mental imagery translates to improved coordination in dance and in movement in general "based on the idea that imagery can improve skeletal alignment and posture through the re-patterning of neuromuscular pathways in the absence of overt movement". Although there is some evidence that rehearsal-style mental imagery may benefit performance in sports, there is currently insufficient data to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of metaphorical imagery as only personal and experimental research has been conducted on ideokinesis and there are reasons to believe it may be contraindicated as a relaxation technique. Ideokinesis was originally developed as a form of mental practice for injured dancers, but some dance schools have integrated it into a standard

somatics Somatics is a field within bodywork and movement studies which emphasizes internal physical perception and experience. The term is used in movement therapy to signify approaches based on the soma, or "the body as perceived from within", inclu ...

protocol for all dancers because it is thought to optimize motor control and performance by using periods of rest constructively. Known among followers as "the Work", "ideokinesis" is sometimes used interchangeably with other terms, such as "mental practice", "mental rehearsal", "visuomotor behavior rehearsal", "covert rehearsal", and "ideokinetic facilitation", among others. Mabel Todd conceived the ideokinesis approach; Barbara Clark and Lulu Sweigard, and others contributed to its early evolution; later, André Bernard, Irene Dowd,

Erick Hawkins Frederick "Erick" Hawkins (April 23, 1909November 23, 1994) was an American modern-dance choreographer and dancer. Early life Frederick Hawkins was born in Trinidad, Colorado, on April 23, 1909. He majored in Greek civilization at Harvard Univer ...

, Pamela Matt,

Eric Franklin Eric N. Franklin (born February 28, 1957) is a Swiss dancer, movement educator, university lecturer, writer and founder of the Franklin Method, a method that combines creative visualization, embodied anatomy, physical and mental exercises and edu ...

and others lent their influence. Sweigard borrowed the word ''ideokinesis'', composed by two Greek words: ideo (thought) and kinesis (movement), from Bonpensière, a piano teacher, who applied imagery to his methodology. Ideokinesis can be translated roughly as "the image or thought as facilitator of movement".Bernard. A. ''An introduction to Ideokinesis''

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

, accessed 17 January 2021

References

{{reflist Alternative medical treatments Dance and health Somatics