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Trail Guide to Movement: Building the Body in Motion
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- GenresNonfictionHealth
265 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2014
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153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 21, 2015
Received a complimentary copy this week - excellent work Andrew Biel! Very helpful information I will soon be integrating in my classroom.
August 29, 2024
Trail Guide to Movement provides a full step by step description of the human body's anatomy. The approach is genius: starting by the elemental building blocks of the body, the book guides us in how the different parts are built and how they interact together to allow movement. The last two chapters of the book, i.e. posture and gait, describes the challenges and wonders of being able to move head over feet.
It is a very detailed description of the body, and in my case it took several weeks to go through it (on and off), having now a first overview of the content, but indeed needing to go through it a couple of times more to receive the full of the information contained in the book. Indeed, there are a few concepts that are easy to grasp, but also an extensive list of vocabulary, mostly about human anatomy, that I am not that used to hear in my everyday life. Therefore it would be beneficial for me to come back to the book again in a couple of months and deepen my reading.
I appreciate the structure of the book, divided in 15 chapters, plus an appendix with a multiple choice questionnaire for self study, a glossary of terms, a joint range of motion chart, bibliography and index of terms.
The book is structured as follows:
1. Introduction
2. The essentials of movement
3. & 4. Connective tissue parts 1 & 2.
5. & 6. Joints parts 1 & 2.
7. 8. & 9. Muscles parts 1, 2 & 3.
10. & 11. Nerves, parts 1. & 2.
12. & 13. Biomechanics, parts 1 & 2.
14. Posture
15. Gait
I'd like to quote two paragraphs in the last chapter that called for my attention. Perhaps because it is the last chapter and it is fresher in the mind. In any case, it's relevance is such, that I need to remind myself of this fact:
page 222. 'Furniture and Clothing'
"Many millennia ago, a proto-human rose from a squatting position to sat his buttocks on a boulder. From that point on, posture and movement were never the same. In that moment - and in most advancements of furniture since then - the desire for short-term repose trumped functional integrity. (You were designed to squat, not to sit. )
Later, when the first deer pelt was draped over shouldres for warmth, things really got interesting. Comfort again eclipsed postural balance. Right up to the present day, humans have long found ingenious methods to position and adorn themselves."
Page 230. describes a practical exercise that consists in observing posture and gait of people around us. This exercise is part of the physical theatre education that I did in The Commedia School in Copenhagen in the fall of 2020. It is very useful to remind myself to practice the exercise once in a while, both observing others posture and gait, and observing and recording my own posture and gait.
'Taking a look around: assessing posture and gait of yourself and others'
"Now that you're fully constructed and have mastered upright posture and gait, let's go for a walk. The intent of our jaunt won't be to test out your legs, however, but to consider posture and gait in everyday life. Observing and assessing how other individuals stand and mobilize can serve as a big window into the tissues and joints of the body.
Granted, if you're a student, you and your classmates could simply put on some swimwear and analyze each other's stancese and walking styles, and there's great value to that. But there's something truly authentic - more warts and all - about initially venturing out into the real world and observing ordinary folks stabilize and mobilize as they go about their business. Come on, let's go.
Turning down a busy street, we notice that not two people walk or stand the same. Everyone's posture is unique and their ambulations and positions seem to reflect aspects of their inner character.
As we notice things, we're careful not to judge or point. We keep our minds open and our eyes soft. We're just looking at the 'big picture' and gathering first impressions. We cease seeing the body as a group of parts and pieces, but rather as one entity that (hopefully) moves with unity and synchrony.
If you're inexperienced at such an exercise, this might prove challenging at first. But like any learned skill, it's all in the practice. Let's sit down at this park bench and consider matters a little more specifically.
[...]
Posture:
1. What's you rinitial thought about the posture?
2. What do you literally see?
3. Do you sense any postural symmetries or distortions?
4. Can you visualize the person's skeleton?
Gait:
1. What is in the walk's character?
2. Which parts of the body move?
3. Which portion of the body leads?
4. Can you visualize a person's stationary posture as you observe its gait?
5. Is the gait (or posture) symmetrical and balanced?
"
I'd like to thank Andrew Biel and Robin Dorn, plus all the cooperation team for this rich, entertaining, informative, enlightening and well worked out book. It's been a pleasure and also a bit of a challenge to go through it, and it has definitely planted a seed in me to deepen my understanding of the body in its anatomy, physiology and motion.
It is a very detailed description of the body, and in my case it took several weeks to go through it (on and off), having now a first overview of the content, but indeed needing to go through it a couple of times more to receive the full of the information contained in the book. Indeed, there are a few concepts that are easy to grasp, but also an extensive list of vocabulary, mostly about human anatomy, that I am not that used to hear in my everyday life. Therefore it would be beneficial for me to come back to the book again in a couple of months and deepen my reading.
I appreciate the structure of the book, divided in 15 chapters, plus an appendix with a multiple choice questionnaire for self study, a glossary of terms, a joint range of motion chart, bibliography and index of terms.
The book is structured as follows:
1. Introduction
2. The essentials of movement
3. & 4. Connective tissue parts 1 & 2.
5. & 6. Joints parts 1 & 2.
7. 8. & 9. Muscles parts 1, 2 & 3.
10. & 11. Nerves, parts 1. & 2.
12. & 13. Biomechanics, parts 1 & 2.
14. Posture
15. Gait
I'd like to quote two paragraphs in the last chapter that called for my attention. Perhaps because it is the last chapter and it is fresher in the mind. In any case, it's relevance is such, that I need to remind myself of this fact:
page 222. 'Furniture and Clothing'
"Many millennia ago, a proto-human rose from a squatting position to sat his buttocks on a boulder. From that point on, posture and movement were never the same. In that moment - and in most advancements of furniture since then - the desire for short-term repose trumped functional integrity. (You were designed to squat, not to sit. )
Later, when the first deer pelt was draped over shouldres for warmth, things really got interesting. Comfort again eclipsed postural balance. Right up to the present day, humans have long found ingenious methods to position and adorn themselves."
Page 230. describes a practical exercise that consists in observing posture and gait of people around us. This exercise is part of the physical theatre education that I did in The Commedia School in Copenhagen in the fall of 2020. It is very useful to remind myself to practice the exercise once in a while, both observing others posture and gait, and observing and recording my own posture and gait.
'Taking a look around: assessing posture and gait of yourself and others'
"Now that you're fully constructed and have mastered upright posture and gait, let's go for a walk. The intent of our jaunt won't be to test out your legs, however, but to consider posture and gait in everyday life. Observing and assessing how other individuals stand and mobilize can serve as a big window into the tissues and joints of the body.
Granted, if you're a student, you and your classmates could simply put on some swimwear and analyze each other's stancese and walking styles, and there's great value to that. But there's something truly authentic - more warts and all - about initially venturing out into the real world and observing ordinary folks stabilize and mobilize as they go about their business. Come on, let's go.
Turning down a busy street, we notice that not two people walk or stand the same. Everyone's posture is unique and their ambulations and positions seem to reflect aspects of their inner character.
As we notice things, we're careful not to judge or point. We keep our minds open and our eyes soft. We're just looking at the 'big picture' and gathering first impressions. We cease seeing the body as a group of parts and pieces, but rather as one entity that (hopefully) moves with unity and synchrony.
If you're inexperienced at such an exercise, this might prove challenging at first. But like any learned skill, it's all in the practice. Let's sit down at this park bench and consider matters a little more specifically.
[...]
Posture:
1. What's you rinitial thought about the posture?
2. What do you literally see?
3. Do you sense any postural symmetries or distortions?
4. Can you visualize the person's skeleton?
Gait:
1. What is in the walk's character?
2. Which parts of the body move?
3. Which portion of the body leads?
4. Can you visualize a person's stationary posture as you observe its gait?
5. Is the gait (or posture) symmetrical and balanced?
"
I'd like to thank Andrew Biel and Robin Dorn, plus all the cooperation team for this rich, entertaining, informative, enlightening and well worked out book. It's been a pleasure and also a bit of a challenge to go through it, and it has definitely planted a seed in me to deepen my understanding of the body in its anatomy, physiology and motion.
August 17, 2022
its a book for studying. Use it very often during becoming a fitness coach.
Amazing book, very details and very fun. It comes in handy
Amazing book, very details and very fun. It comes in handy
September 28, 2022
I love all of the Trail Guide to Anatomy books and resources. Every guide I have read is super easy to understand, the pictures are relevant and up to date. Even if Kines is a hobby for you, this book is great for beginners and on.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews