In our world we can watch videos of master performers — dancers, athletes, musicians — and marvel at their balance, agility, economy of movement. We watch in wonder, especially while our own bodies change as we age.
An experiential anatomy curriculum was developed at Middlebury College in the 1970s to provide young dancers and athletes with knowledge about their own bodies. Beyond preventing injury, the curriculum emphasized how body systems support each other to achieve balance and graceful movement. Since the 1970s, Susan Borg and Richard (Rashi) Nessen have expanded the experiential anatomy curriculum to include children and elders.
Through active inquiry, focused attention, and gentle movement, we will explore how our body systems support each other as we make our way through our daily lives. Many of us were raised in cultures that discouraged learning about our bodies except in clinical settings, so the changes we experience with age can be bewildering. This class is an opportunity to engage your curiosity about your own body in a safe environment.
Instructor Susan Borg was a member of the team who developed the experiential anatomy curriculum at Middlebury College in the 1970s and 1980s. Susan Borg and instructor Rashi Nessen also taught experiential anatomy as adjunct faculty at Burlington College and St. Michael’s College in Vermont. They developed and taught versions of the experiential anatomy curriculum for children and elders. Susan and Richard also taught experiential anatomy as part of the Resonant Kinesiology Training Program for bodyworkers and medical professionals in Burlington, Vermont in the 1990s.