Pop Quiz: ​
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1. Whose body is this?

Answer: no one

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​2. What about this one? Who is this?

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Also, no one in particular. Though I like the organ fiesta feel.
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ok last one...
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​3. Who is this, and how did this happen?

Once upon a time, I bought 4-way stretch Brazilian fabric and had some leggings custom-made in NYC.

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I did not request this uncannily anatomical crotch decoration. But wow, did they give it to me!
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​(these leggings have not gone to the gym, FYI. )​
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The images above are anatomical models. (At least two of them are intentional.)​
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In science, a model is a simplified representation of a system used to describe, explain, or understand something that can't be experienced directly.
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Models are very helpful for learning the body terrain- but, they are not actual people.
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​If you've ever heard or said cues about movement, you are encountering not just words, but someone's model for how bodies work.
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For better or worse, the body model you're working with shapes what you can feel, what you protect, and how you move.
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I'm a gal of many models- just look at a snippet of my Pinterest 📌

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There's one model I'd like to tell you about that isn't so well known and is extraordinarily useful for understanding the structural basis of bodies.
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It's rooted in:
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• biology
• structural engineering
• geometry
• topology (the study of what stays the same when you squish, stretch, or twist something)
• systems theory /complexity science
• embryology
• and soft matter physics (⇠ that's us, Reader. soft. mattering.),
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That model is... six syllables incoming…
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biotensegrity.

Allow me to introduce you to two legends of body-thought:
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• Mary Bond, author of New Rules of Posture*, and Body Mandala*
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• Susan Lowell de Solórzano, author of Everything Moves: How Biotensegrity Informs Human Movement*

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Their books are a treasured part of my book collection.

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When I was asked to present alongside them as part of the Biotensegrity Interest Group (BIG) online event, my reaction was:
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​me? i think i need a few more decades before i’m ready for this.
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and also: yes 🥹​
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What I’m covering in my 🆓 10min video called Moving as a Whole: Applied biotensegrity in dance and movement
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⚠️ How common fitness-based language can accidentally make people feel more awkward
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🕸️ What cueing the "whole body web" has to do with dance and acrobatics
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🧪 Simple language shifts that help movers FEEL themselves- rather than making them feel like a stranger to their own flesh
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If you’re new to biotensegrity (most people are), there’s a free mini course inside to get you started.
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🔗 Register here​
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​See the event IG​
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​*these are affiliate links. when you purchase, I get a %.
This does not increase the price for you, nor does it reduce author pay 🥂