Overview

“I ’stubbed my toe’ on Body Recall. Responding to the Dean of Berea College to offer an exercise class to “Senior Citizens” sent me to the library to see what was written. Although my education at the University of Oregon was thorough and broad in the field of physical education and health, the concept of adults exercising after “school was out” was almost foreign, even as late as the 70’s. Information was scarce and very depressing if adult fitness had ever been addressed by anyone. I knew the work of that semester rested wholly on me. I simply felt my way along, keeping my lesson plans, and analyzing the type of exercise these adult students would accept.

I did not evaluate the health of the students, take measurements, ask for doctor’s permission, take a pulse, check roll, give them a grade or put them through the popular stress test. I did not overwhelm them with fast, quick, tiring, repetitious exercises. This cautious approach to students who were re-entering the arena of organized exercise needed to be accommodated so they would sense the physical well-being forthcoming through regular attendance.

As a senior citizen myself, and an athlete, I monitored my own level of comfort and performance as a result of the change in program delivery. By the second day of class I was already being told how much better their outlook and daily comfort were. I believed what I heard from them and wanted to nourish their enthusiasm with lessons they would accept. You might say, they taught me a sensible and effective way to enjoy exercise and be willing to return for class after class.

The experience, which was meant to be a single semester session, 3 times a week, turned into a lifetime commitment for me and most of my students.” “Beginning level classes increased to intermediate challenges and eventually, advanced classes for those who elected to travel with me as I went out to do workshops. Being before the public inspires students and encourages them to put forth their best effort. Therefore, they reap deeper physical benefits while strengthening their determination to prepare for such ministry.

I encourage all teachers of Body Recall to ’show and tell’ every time they are invited to go, and to open their own doors for this opportunity.” ”It is one thing to attend an exercise class, enjoy the group you are enrolled with, admire the teacher and try to follow directions, but to be motivated to continue simple exercises for life, whether with a group or not, is a test for any program that will help alter a lifestyle that embraces daily fitness planning and living.”

“Body Recall developed into a possible, motivating, pain-free, risk-free exercise program that men and women find pleasant, encouraging, refreshing for the body and mind, as well as sensibly challenging. Today, all ages enjoy the program.

Adults need their own brand of exercise to help them meet their specific needs of living longer in a successful way. They like to learn, to know what is happening as they exercise, to study and broaden their own grasp of their physical expectations for now and in the future, and to experience new things, to be challenged in a safe way, and always feel successful in their efforts.

Body Recall changed the way exercise looks and the way it feels, the “twins” that keep people from wanting it. The program is rich with incentives and musically accompanied exercise sequences that beckon the student along until positive physical changes shortly become noticeable.

I named the program Body Recall because that is what I observed in the students. (Detroit was recalling automobiles for the first time the year I began this program.) The name fit right in with the times. I designed a T-shirt with the words, “This body has been recalled”, which served to let people know we were achieving fitness. Our little Appalachian town of Berea, Kentucky was a front-runner in the move of adult fitness.”

“The word fitness began to change in my physically well-trained mind and body. While I had always been an athlete, and am still pursuing physical interests of my own, aside from Body Recall classes, I know the reason for my continued ability to do so is through the sensible foundation to exercise that Body Recall is: slow, deeply penetrating movement that tugs at the bones of the body and massages the blood vessels exceptionally well wherever movement takes place. This was a fresh break-through for me and one that has encouraged me to search out ways for these by-products to function in all physically active endeavors people might do.”

“Body Recall exercises are not new. They are simply natural motion performed thoughtfully and specifically controlled to maximize potential range of motion, strength, coordination, balance and agility, all of which influence body maneuverability and freedom throughout the day. How we do an exercise is more significant than what we do. Internal fringe benefits come from this different management of muscle action. Research indicates that chemical changes occur even through movement (exercise), and these benefits will take place whether the exerciser is seated in a chair, lying down, standing, kneeling, while stationary or while ambulating. To get a glimpse that it is not necessary to force the body to produce its best daily function and safety is very liberating and gratifying.”

“Body Recall is an education program—-a brain-controlled, movement concept. Teachers of Body Recall are trained to inform, not force or tire the student. Good teaching in this program aims for the will, as well as the muscle. The ultimate goal is to provide the tools that will assist persons to be responsible for their own physical well-being through a body they choose to control.

As simple as this may sound, it is important to recognize that our natural movement is characterized by quick starts, jerks, dumps, jabs, fast, thoughtless actions to accomplish tasks throughout the day. Most of the movement we engineer was never taught us, but we “caught on” through trial and error, actually, before we could talk. We could all have “trained” bodies if leadership is well informed, and the techniques of breaking through resistance to change to re-building familiar patterns can be acceptable. Body Recall training seeks to provide these leadership skills during the week-long sessions at our Headquarters.

The charm and joy of the incentive materials that are part of every lesson serve to apply new movement patterns that offer more beneficial gains for the time spent. These changes take place in the head (brain) and serve to link all action to a more physically profitable management throughout the day. While I know I have been “type cast” for producing this program, I recognize that my physical education background taught me well how significant gravity is as a component and aid to fitness. I have found that few people factor this reality into self-management and thereby expose themselves to preventable accident and injury.

Body Recall provides the movement education so lacking in many exercise programs. As adults from all educational backgrounds and professional skills come for a week of training to equip themselves to lead others into lifetime fitness, they are challenged by their own lack of movement education, and the different emphasis on gravitational influences that alter body management.

As an education program, the textbook, Body Recall: A PROGRAM OF PHYSICAL FITNESS FOR THE ADULT by Dorothy Chrisman, now appearing in its 9th edition, is a strong aid in picturing and describing how safe, fitness-producing exercises can be accessible to all people. The philosophical discussions in the text serve as good reminders and provide opportunities for readers to re-think and apply more positive choices in movement that will influence their lives and those around them.” ”

The tragedy of the health care crisis we are experiencing in our culture serves as a reminder that all civilization is at risk of becoming helpless without outside intervention (i.e., drug therapy) unless we seek and find economical and practical solutions to premature rust-out and collapse. The powerful influence of regular exercise is only recently being recognized as an alternative worth addressing seriously. Body Recall teachers have the privilege of participating in a straight forward solution. We need more teachers and more access with the Body Recall message.