Course Meeting Times
Seminars: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Optional open gym period: 1 session/week, 1 hour/session
Experimental Study Group (ESG)
This course is part of the Experimental Study Group, a learning community at MIT. The Experimental Study Group sponsors 5–10 six unit pass / fail seminars each spring on a variety of innovative subjects not covered in the regular curriculum. These seminars are open to all MIT students and are intended to be hands–on and experiential in nature.
Description
Mind overworked and body underused? Want to feel more capable and confident in your body to carry and present yourself better?
You may not realize how your body affects your friendships, grades or, indeed, your entire MIT experience. But, how you feel and function in your body means so much; it’s still the most important way we meet and interact with the world, including, of course, other people.
Using the MIT gymnastics facility for the movement possibilities it affords, this class takes a cognitive approach to physical activity and uses a wide range of innovative exercises (e.g., blindfolded movement exercises, trampoline, high-speed video recording and analysis, explorations of your relationship to gravity, etc.) to apply the powers of concentration and problem solving you possess into the body for better bodily awareness. Along the way, you’ll not only develop better balance, strength, flexibility and coordination, but a more robust and better balanced YOU. If you’re interested in improving how you feel and function in your body, this class is for you—even if (especially if) you’ve never been inside a gym.
This class is being offered in conjunction with an MIT research study: The Impact of Physical Intelligence on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which is designed to investigate whether a range of simple, physical exercises can help people with some of the challenges associated with ASD. Students are not required to participate in the study associated with this class, but may do so if they wish. Please contact the instructor for more information.
About the Instructor
Noah Riskin is former champion gymnast, an artist and writer. He was the Head Men’s Gymnastics Coach, a Physical Education Instructor and Director of the Physical Intelligence Initiative at MIT for ten years. Currently, Noah writes and lectures on the meaning of the body to the human experience. He is preparing a forthcoming book, Body of Knowledge.
Motivation
The purpose of this class is to offer students a new perspective on the importance of our bodily experience to our cognitive and social lives. The curriculum is designed to foster a working appreciation for how better bodily awareness can positively affect how we feel in our bodies, carry and present ourselves for improved social sensitivity and more successful social interactions. While classwork includes basic physical training for motor skill development, better balance, strength and flexibility, the greater emphasis is on a “mindful” exploration of our physicality. In the process, students will become more fluent in an inner “language” of sensations and perceptions that constitute an on-going communication between the mind and body in terms of kinesthetic awareness and proprioception. The goals are to frame the lifelong role of the body in cognitive development and pursuits, and to educate physically toward better bodily awareness for improved self-awareness and confidence to positively affect the social dimensions of our experience so important to a successful life and career, at MIT and beyond.
Structure
This class uses the MIT gymnastics facility for all of the movement possibilities this unique venue affords. Class sessions run for 1 hour, 2 times per week, while an optional 3rd session per week—an unstructured “open gym” period—offers students the chance to further explore and practice the exercises covered in class while receiving one-to-one instruction. Each class begins with a warm-up period, which includes a continually varied collection of light to moderate activity such as jogging, balance and light strengthening and stretching exercises, etc. Reinforcing this process, classes often end with a “cool-down” period comprised of exercises that mirror the “warm-up” period. Such exercises are intended to foster a foundation of strength, flexibility, balance and coordination as students develop overall bodily awareness, marking insights and improvements along the way.
The focus of each week’s instruction is a key area of investigation such as, balance, locomotion, proprioception, kinesthetic awareness, perception: space and time, the role of gravitation in our morphology and movement patterns, and the physical basis of emotion. Brief discussions and / or visual presentations introduce basic concepts, while a range of innovative exercises and activities allow students to physically explore, problem-solve and develop the various dimensions of the mind-body connection. Activities and exercises include: bi-, cross- and unilateral movement exercises, blindfolded movement exercises, the use of high-speed video, trampoline, body-mounted LEDs to reveal movement patterns, sight and sound maps, and body–inspired engineering and design.
Attendance
On time attendance and class participation are of primary importance to a successful ES.S71 experience. Please try to be on time and plan to actively participate (please see the instructor if for some reason you’re unable to take part in physical activity). A few minutes will be allotted at the beginning and end of each class that you have time to change.
Absences
Generally speaking, you’re allowed one excused absence over the course of the semester. If you have to travel or observe a religious holiday, etc., please see the instructor ahead of time.
Optional Hour
An optional hour each week will be scheduled “open gym” period for the class. This is a day and time when you can access the gym for additional work on the exercises we’re covering and get individualized instruction (I will be there). Attendance is recommended but optional.
Clothing
Most every day we’ll be moving, doing some form of exercises or physical activity. Please make sure that you’re wearing clothing that allows you to move freely and comfortably. Generally speaking, lots of jewelry, long hair that isn’t pulled back, excessively baggy clothes, etc. don’t work very well. Simple, sensible sweats or the like do the trick.
Video Journals
You’ll be expected to submit a video journal entry, no more than 5 minutes in length by the end of each week. Please see the Assignments section for more information on this assignment / project.
Outside of Classwork
The nature of the work we’re doing in class is such that more is better. The more frequently you can find time to do the few, key exercises where doing at the beginning of class (takes about 10–15 minutes), the more quickly you’ll develop proficiency and transform your bodily awareness. Everyday is optimal. Two–three days a week (in addition to what we’re doing in class) works well. A yoga mat or towel on the floor or the like is all the area you need for the exercises we’ll be doing.
