Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery

A reference text that explains how to use imaging techniques to improve posture and alignment and release excess tension. Part I discusses the origins and uses of imagery and includes exercises that demonstrate imagery in practice. Part II explains the biomechanical and anatomical principles behind complex imagery and uses exercises to illustrate these principles. Part III provides anatomical imagery exercises to help fine tune alignments and increase body awareness. A further 25 imagery exercises are provided in Part IV to help sculpt and improve alignment.

Table of Contents:
Part I: Posture and Dynamic Alignment; Chapter 1. The Roots of Imagery for Alignment; Chapter 2. Postural Models and Dynamic Alignment; Chapter 3. Body-Mind Interactions; Chapter 4. Individual Patterns of Habitual Movement; Chapter 5. Imagery Categorization; Chapter 6. General Guidelines Before Imaging; Part II: Biomechanical and Anatomical Principles and Exercises; Chapter 7. Location and Direction in the Body; Chapter 8. Force, Gravity, and Mass; Chapter 9. The Laws of Motion and Force Systems; Chapter 10. Joint and Muscle Function; Part III: Anatomical Imagery Exercises; Chapter 11. The Pelvis, Hip Joint, and Company; Chapter 12. The Knee and Lower Leg; Chapter 13. The Spine; Chapter 14. The Shoulders, Arms, and Hands; Chapter 15. The Head and Neck; Chapter 16. The Lungs, Diaphragm, and Skin: Breathing; Part IV: Returning to Holistic Alignment; Chapter 17. Alignment Revisited; Chapter 18. Other Exercises to Create Dynamic Alignment

About the Author :
Eric Franklin has more than 20 years' experience as a dancer and choreographer. In addition to earning a BFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and a BS from the University of Zurich, he has studied and trained with some of the top movement imagery specialists around the world and used this training as a professional dancer in New York. Franklin has shared imaging techniques in his teaching since 1986. He is founder and director of the Institute for Movement Imagery Education in Lucerne, Switzerland, and professor of postgraduate studies at the Institute for Psychomotor Therapy in Zurich, Switzerland. He is a guest professor at the University of Vienna (Musikhochschule) and has been on the faculty of the American Dance Festival since 1991. Franklin teaches at universities, dance centers, and dance festivals in the United States and througout Europe. Franklin is coauthor of the bestselling book Breakdance, which received a New York City Public Library Prize in 1984, and author of 100 Ideen fur Beweglichkeit and Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance (both books about imagery in dance and movement). He is a member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science.

Review :
" """The use of imagery to improve human alignment and movement has been practiced by relatively few adherents, most of them professionals. Now, with Eric Franklin's book Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery, the technique of using imagery is made clear for the general public as well for professionals. Franklin is to be commended for bringing this important work to a wider audience.""" Andre Bernard Adjunct Assistant Professor Dance Education New York University """This is a charming and humorous synthesis of ideas contained in the writings of Mabel Todd, Lulu Sweigard, Barbara Clark, and their students.""" Irene Dowd Faculty, The Juilliard School Guest Faculty, The National Ballet School of Canada """The main purpose of body alignment in dance is to create efficient control of movement. Eric Franklin's book Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery equips readers with the basic knowledge and exercises to achieve a clear and useful alignment.""" Zvi Gotheiner Choreographer and Teacher, New York City "