Movement Foundations/Body Mapping

As a licensed Body Mapping Educator, I incorporate body mapping lessons into both individual and group classes in the studio. I am also available for giving workshops and private sessions designed specifically for your movement needs. Whether you are a professional musician recovering from an injury or a non-musician who would like to experience more comfort and ease in your daily activities, body mapping is an essential part of your journey to discovering the highest quality of movement.

What is Body Mapping?

Body Mapping is a method of movement re-education developed during the 1970‘s by William and Barbara Conable, both Alexander Technique teachers. 

The purpose of Body Mapping is to teach musicians and others to develop awareness of the quality of their movement, to make adjustments to their body maps based on observations about the truth of the body’s design as seen in anatomical images, anatomical models and as felt by palpating one’s own bony structure and performing a variety of movement activities.  Body Mapping is used throughout the world to aid in the healing and prevention of injury and pain. Through Body Mapping, musicians experience an enhanced ability to express themselves at their instruments with ease. 

What is the Body Map?

The body map is a literal map (neuronal representation) in our brains of how our bodies are put together. This map dictates how we move. The body map can change over time based on experience, knowledge and awareness. It is not something that is "fixed", but rather it can grow and change throughout a lifetime. When the body map is accurate, representing the true design of the body, then the movement it produces will be free, easy, balanced and coordinated. When the body map is inaccurate, movement will likely be uncomfortable, labor intensive or forced and may eventually lead to injury. Since musicians move their bodies to produce sound, it is absolutely necessary that they include the study of movement according to the anatomical truth governed by an accurate body map.

Private lessons:

I am available for private lessons working with injured musicians who are working to retrain their movement. Body Mapping enhances and informs many other movement approaches such as the Taubman Technique and the Alexander Technique. Body Mapping puts musicians on a secure somatic foundation. Musicians who work with this movement modality come away knowing that their job is to move their bodies with the highest quality of movement in order to create a variety of sounds at their instrument. Body Mapping develops a musician's ability to observe their own quality of movement and to make adjustments as needed in order to move with the greatest of ease and to create the highest quality of music.

Workshops/lecture-demonstrations:

"What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body"

"Movement Foundations for Music Educators"

"Awareness and Movement matter: Finding the lesson time to inspire children to cultivate inclusive awareness and move well at and away from the piano."

All workshops are available online currently to fit the needs of your group. All educators, athletes, instrumentalists and vocalists are welcome to attend. 

Workshops geared toward non-musicians and athletes looking to enhance their quality of movement are also available. This modality simply leads to greater ease in movement and enhanced joy in experiencing the myriad of movement one makes in daily life. Healthier ways of approaching tasks such as typing at a keyboard, bringing more variety of movement into the office and home setting can result from the incorporation of Body Mapping into one's pursuit of physical well-being.

UPCOMING COURSES:

January 2025, Body Mapping for Every Body, Holualoa, HI                       Click here to register: Registration for Holualoa Course January 2025

March 2025, Intro to Body Mapping for Private Music Teachers, Brentwood, CA

PAST EVENTS:

  • October, 2024, Alder Commons, Portland, OR: What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body 
  • August, 2024, Sanders Studio, Portland, OR: What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body
  • May, 2024, Sanders Studio, Portland, OR: What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body
  • March, 2024, Sanders Studio, Portland, OR: Intro to Body Mapping for Studio Music Teachers

TESTIMONIALS:

"I just attended Monica's excellent Body Mapping Workshop and it was very helpful for me as a teacher! Her class was full of specific information and practical tips that teachers can use immediately to introduce body awareness to their own students. She made us all marvel at the mechanical perfection of our own skeleton!! The big take-home lesson for me was that it's possible to have an inaccurate body map and that the map can change over time. Monica helped me find my way to discovering a more accurate map - really understanding what's going on inside." - Gaye Thomas, pianist and piano teacher, Portland Oregon

"I am so glad I took this course and would recommend it to all musicians! The information I learned greatly increased my awareness and understanding of the way my body moves at the piano (as well as in everyday life). I also left the course with confidence in my ability to communicate these valuable insights to my students." - Jessica Bell, pianist and piano teacher, Portland, Oregon

Please contact me if you are interested in scheduling a workshop for your organization or group!

For more information visit: https://www.bodymap.org/