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The Mensendieck System is a
therapeutic A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...
teaching methodology for female physical education claimed to be both corrective and preventive. It was developed by Bess Mensendieck (1 July 1864 New York City - 27 January 1957, born Elizabeth Marguerite de Varel Mensendieck), who was an American
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
teacher of Dutch descent. She is one of the most important founders of early breathing and physical pedagogy in Europe and America.Movement Therapy
at Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. 2009. Retrieved July 2012
Mensendieck published a number of books on the subject starting with the German publication titled ''Körperkultur des Weibes'' (Physical Culture of Women) with practical hygienic and aesthetic tips, 1906.
Jeroen Staring, ''An Alexander Technique Notebook''. Retrieved July 2012


Life

Mensendieck grew up in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and studied medicine in Zurich. In order to complete her practical knowledge of movement, posture and breathing, she took singing lessons in
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and continued to study gymnastics with
Genevieve Stebbins Genevieve Stebbins (March 7, 1857 – September 21, 1934) was an American author, teacher of her system of Harmonic Gymnastics and performer of the Delsarte system of expression. She published four books and was the founder of the New York Schoo ...
in New York. Here she also learned the movement systems of François Delsarte and the Swedish remedial gymnastics of Pehr Henrik Ling. Her particular concern was the improvement of posture and muscle structure of the women of her time. Based on her medical background, she built her gymnastics according to the Mensendieck system strictly on the anatomical and physiological findings of the time. The focus of the bodywork was again and again on the self-perception of posture and movement. In order to effectively demonstrate the exercise techniques and change in physical postures, she included pictures of herself nude before, during and after 3 months of training in her book ''Körperkultur des Weibes'' (
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, 1906) to illustrate what can be achieved with her training. Mensendieck believed that nudity was fundamental in enhancing women's body consciousness, which motivated all activity that made the female body strong, healthy, and beautiful. However, because of the nude content, her published work was not equally enforceable in the same way in all countries. Mensendieck's books exerted a pervasive influence over German women gym instructors into the 1930s. She taught her "Mensendieck System" mainly in Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Austria). In 1910 the first institute for the training of gymnastics teachers was founded. After the First World War, Mensendieck left Europe, worked mostly in New York and gave annual training courses in Germany and Denmark. She spent the summer months in her Norwegian summer house. In the 1950s she lived in
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for a few years and eventually moved back to New York. Mensendieck also worked on the German documentary film ''Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit'' (''
Ways to Strength and Beauty ''Ways to Strength and Beauty'' (german: Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit) is a 1925 German cultural film directed by Wilhelm Prager. The 125 minute full-length silent film was produced by Ufa-Kulturabteilung of Weimar Germany. The film was first ...
''), a silent black and white cultural film about the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
directed by Wilhelm Prager released in 1925, which aimed to show the place of the body in modern society in which both men and women were not caring enough about their physical health. Mensendieck must have been a petite person with tremendous assertiveness and a room-filling voice. In
auditoriums An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
she could be heard clearly in the back row. Mensendieck was one of the few women who combined the ideas and demands of
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
activists with her "Mensendieck System". "Think for yourself!" was the motto of her teaching.


Works published


Germany

*''Körperkultur des Weibes. Praktisch hygienische und praktisch ästhetische Winke.'' Munich 1906, later appeared under the title: *''Körperkultur der Frau. Praktisch hygienische und praktisch ästhetische Winke.'' Munich 1920 *''Weibliche Körperbildung und Bewegungskunst.'' Munich 1912 *''Funktionelles Frauenturnen.'' Munich 1923 *''Mein System. In: Ludwig Pallat, Franz Hilker: Künstlerische Körperschulung.'' Breslau 1926 *''Bewegungsprobleme. Die Gestaltung schöner Arme.'' Munich 1927 *''Anmut der Bewegung im täglichen Leben.'' Munich 1929


America

*''It's up to you.'' New York 1931 *''Look Better, Feel Better.'' New York 1954


Gallery


Norway

Mensendieck School in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Norway, 1950s, photos show women student
physiotherapists Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
training the Mensendieck System. The private college was established for Mensendieck-based physiotherapist education in Oslo in 1927 under the name Norsk Mensendieckskole A/S, and taken over by the Norwegian state in 1979. From 1992, the Mensendieck School was incorporated into the Bislet University College Center (Bislet høgskolesenter) and named the Mensendieckschool in Oslo College of Physiotherapy. From August 1994, it became part of the department of health sciences at the newly established Oslo University College. The education is currently called bachelor in physiotherapy, field of study Mensendieck. File:Mensendieck-skolen - no-nb digifoto 20150206 00084 NB MIT FNR 15980.jpg File:Mensendieck-skolen - no-nb digifoto 20150206 00088 NB MIT FNR 15979.jpg File:Mensendieck-skolen - no-nb digifoto 20150206 00083 NB MIT FNR 15982.jpg File:Mensendieck-skolen - no-nb digifoto 20150206 00085 NB MIT FNR 15983.jpg File:Mensendieck-skolen - no-nb digifoto 20150206 00090 NB MIT FNR 15984.jpg File:Mensendieck-skolen - no-nb digifoto 20150206 00087 NB MIT FNR 15981.jpg


External links

* *


See also

* Physical culture *
Body culture studies Body culture studies describe and compare bodily practice in the larger context of culture and society, i.e. in the tradition of anthropology, history and sociology. As body culture studies analyse culture and society in terms of human bodily pra ...
*
Physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
(physiotherapy)


References

{{Reflist Dance and health History of medicine Physical therapy