“Let’s take off our shoes, and put them underneath the bench …sit tall, straight back,…… feet flat on the floor….. “ and then raising the arms, and without verbal directions, the class collectively takes the traditional Body Recall deep breath. Class begins.

Body Recall students in Ghana.

Body Recall instructor Lisa Revell leads her class.

You can also read more about their work in mission at gone2ghana.com/

Interested in becoming  a Certified Body Recall Instructor or know someone who would make a great instructor?
Body Recall has added a wealth of information about becoming an instructor under the Become an Instructor link.
The page covers topics including a brief history of Body Recall, frequently asked questions for potential instructors and a new online application form.
Potential instructors can use the form to enroll in any of the scheduled instructor training sessions in 2012.
The staff at Body Recall is still happy to answer any questions you may have by emailing info@bodyrecall.org or calling us at 859-986-2181.

Body Recall founder Dorothy Chrisman was remembered as a woman of faith and an inspiring and demanding leader in adult fitness, enriching the lives of thousands of participants in the Body Recall program.

A memorial service for Chrisman was held on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Berea, KY, where she and husband John taught at Berea College, raised their family, and created a pioneering program of adult fitness. Dorothy Chrisman passed away on Nov. 14 in Berea at age 86. John Chrisman, 90, preceded her in death just five short months earlier.

Dorothy and John, who were married for 59 years, “made beautiful music together,” said Bill Ramsay, a former administrator at Berea College and a longtime friend of the Chrisman family. John, a music professor at Berea College, provided the music for the Body Recall exercise program that Dorothy developed in 1978 while a physical education instructor at the college.

“She considered it her mission,” Ramsay said.

That mission included creating Body Recall Inc., the non-profit organization that trained hundreds of teachers in the pain-free, practical and possible methods developed by Dorothy. As part of that mission, she assembled a demonstration team to travel the country in a van to recruit instructors and students to the Body Recall program.

Joan Bates became a member of the travel team after joining a Body Recall class in 1989.

“Dorothy was special to me – so full of energy and ideas,” Bates wrote in a collection of memories about Dorothy during a gathering at Body Recall headquarters in Berea the day before the memorial service.

Lisa Meredith of Louisiana and Julie Ward of South Carolina were longtime Body Recall trainers who recalled the rigorous training required to become a Body Recall instructor.

“We also learned to persevere,” Meredith said. “She wanted us to be excellent.”

Meredith recalled that Dorothy told the Body Recall instructors that they were not doing anybody any favors by letting them get by with anything less than their best.

“She gave us her all,” Meredith said.

Ward met Dorothy in 1987 and remembered being struck by her “passion and vitality.”

Dorothy’s passion for fitness included an emphasis on fall prevention and fall recovery to ensure people could live independently as they age.

“Exercise was not just for the classroom, but for living,” Ward said.

Pat Rogers is an instructor at the Body Recall headquarters that Dorothy helped establish.

“I still see miracles of Body Recall movements in each session, and all our lives are changed for the better,” Rogers wrote at the memorial.

Dorothy Currier was born in Big Bend, Ore., on Aug. 27, 1925. Her life included teaching physical education, dance and choreography. Among the many awards and recognitions she received included being named the Berea Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year in 1980 and being given the Berea College Service Award in 1997.

Said Ruth Ann Barr, Dorothy’s niece, “she was a dynamic woman with a pioneering spirit and visionary wisdom. Our lives are richer because we knew her.”

Jeff Rubin, Executive Director of Body Recall said Dorothy impressed him as a “pioneer and visionary” whose program was “ahead of its time.” As an aging society we’re just catching up to the mission and message that Dorothy and Body Recall espoused, Rubin said. “The best way we can honor her legacy is to continue to train more instructors and make Body Recall’s message of health and wellness available to today’s and tomorrow’s generations.”

Dorothy Chrisman

Jeff Rubin, Executive Director, shares thoughts and observations with Carolyn Walter, Certified Body Recall Instructor, and Alane Mills, New Director of Training and Program Development.

Peggy Campbell, Body Recall student and Demonstration Team Member, admires articles about Body Recall from years past.

Body Recall founder Dorothy Chrisman touched thousands of lives. Some of those fortunate enough to have met through Body Recall gather at the Body Recall headquarters on Dec. 9 to share memories of her vitality and passion for life and for the Body Recall mission of lifetime fitness.

During the afternoon,  members of Dorothy’s own family stopped in as people watched video of Dorothy demonstrating the exercises that have helped so many. Visitors also got to see how Body Recall is carrying on the mission of pain-free, practical and possible movement for people of any age or ability.

Dorothy Chrisman passed away on Monday, Nov. 14. She was 86.

On display at Open House, Peggy Campbell admires mural created during Body Recall's Intergenerational Grandparents Day 2011 Celebration.

Symerdar Baskin, Body Recall Board Treasurer; Loretta Powell, Former Board Secretary; Carolyn Wallace, Certified Body Recall Instructor engage in conversation at Body Recall Open House.

BODY RECALL LEADERSHIP TRAINING SESSIONS: 

WINTER                          

SUMMER 

FALL

Training will include:
Participation in the Berea-based adult laboratory class
Training in Body Recall movement and philosophy
Study of resource materials and visual aids
Study of sociological and psychological adaptation of adults to exercise and current trends in adult exercise
Practice teaching, program planning and implementation