{"id":4648,"date":"2012-11-02T12:25:49","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T17:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=4648"},"modified":"2015-11-12T08:28:53","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:28:53","slug":"exploring-movement-and-the-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/exploring-movement-and-the-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring movement and the mind"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Carol Tennessen (l), executive director emerita of the Center for 21st Century Studies, engages in Alexander Technique exercises with dance students Libby Schmitz (m) and Devin Settle (r). (Photos by Alan Magayne-Roshak)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do you dip your head when pushing up your glasses? Stoop while brushing your teeth? Slouch when grabbing the phone?<\/p>\n

The 100-year-old Alexander Technique helps you become more aware of psycho-physical habits that can waste energy in everyday activities.\u00a0Increasing awareness, theoretically, can help you learn how to retrain your body to move more naturally and efficiently.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dance Professor Luc Vanier (l) and Kinesiology Professor Wendy Huddleston (r) work with dance major Kymberly McDaniel (m) as part of their ongoing research project on the Alexander Technique, and its application to the dance and physical therapy professions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But how does that newfound awareness affect the brain? That\u2019s one of the questions being explored by Luc Vanier, associate professor of dance in the Peck School of the Arts, and Wendy Huddleston, assistant professor of kinesiology in the College of Health Sciences. The pair are collaborating on a project titled\u00a0 \u201cIntention and Attention: Transmodernism and Integration in Human Movement Studies,\u201d which is funded by a $50,000 Center for 21st Century Studies Transdisciplinary Challenge Award.<\/p>\n

The two-year project has the potential to \u201crevolutionize how dancers understand performance and would redirect how physical therapists would consider their thoughts on activity while working with patients,\u201d the researchers wrote in their grant application.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of research on this method has looked at efficacy \u2014 do you fall less after using the Alexander Technique,\u201d Huddleston says. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at the neurophysiology, and I think that\u2019s our niche.\u201d<\/p>\n

First developed by F.M. Alexander in Australia in the 1890s, the method is often used by actors, dancers and others in the arts. Vanier, co-author of the book \u201cDance and the Alexander Technique: Exploring the Missing Link,\u201d first discovered the method in 1994, after a crushed disk and chronic back pain halted his work as a principal ballet dancer. He became so intrigued with the method that he started the three-year, 1,600-hour process of becoming a certified Alexander Technique teacher.<\/p>\n

When Vanier later joined the Peck School of the Arts, he hoped to connect with a basic scientist engaged in the fields of attention and neurophysiology; a colleague introduced him to Huddleston. Huddleston, who directs the Visuomotor Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology, has long been fascinated by the cortical activity underlying intentional movement. She and Vanier started talking and immediately clicked.<\/p>\n

People tend to see dance as a series of steps, and physical therapy as a series of exercises. But both disciplines could benefit from a more holistic approach, the researchers say.<\/p>\n

\u201c[With the Alexander Technique], it never matters what we do, it always matters how we direct attention,\u201d Vanier says. \u201cSo that connection for us is at the crux of what\u2019s possible and what I think is very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Awareness first, movement second<\/strong><\/p>\n

So how does the Alexander Technique work? Huddleston, who took Vanier\u2019s class on the method, describes it as very different from traditional PT because it focuses on awareness instead of specific exercises or stretches. Sometimes you might not even realize that your muscles are working against your desired movement, instead of working together smoothly and efficiently.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone who is somewhat fighting themselves may feel that they\u2019re standing upright, but through some awareness and some Alexander work you might realize that you\u2019re not,\u201d she says. \u201cEven things as simple as getting off a chair, or getting on and off the floor \u2014 if you\u2019re fighting yourself, you might land on the floor hard, whereas if you\u2019re working more efficiently, the movement might be a different quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of their first tasks is establishing a common vocabulary. In the spring, the researchers will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine cortical activity in people trained in the method and those unfamiliar with it. The control group will be retested six months later after Alexander training.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re both excited to see what the fMRI work will reveal. \u201cIf someone is moving with more efficiency or fewer bad habits, is that represented cortically, and how does the brain adapt to a more fluid movement?\u201d Huddleston asks.<\/p>\n

While the initial fMRI study will focus on dancers and actors at UWM, they plan to use their pilot data to apply for National Institutes of Health funding so they can eventually expand the fMRI study to include other populations.<\/p>\n

Next year they will also focus on education around the Alexander Technique, including a mini-symposium. PT and dance students will work together to observe movement from different perspectives, and Vanier and Huddleston will cross-teach in each other\u2019s classes.<\/p>\n

The interdisciplinary educational approach will be an asset to doctor of physical therapy and MFA and BFA dance students, the researchers say. Ultimately, they hope the results find their way into dance studios and clinics around the world.<\/p>\n

Says Huddleston, \u201cIt\u2019s one of the few collaborations where it really feels like there\u2019s a lot to gain on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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