I have already written about Habeus Corpus twice so this post is number 3. The words are Latin, usually translated into English as "You must have the body". The Latin words are used as the name of a particular type of judicial order. If my cousin is imprisoned, my lawyer may launch a writ of Habeus Corpus in an effort to find out where he is being kept, what sort of condition he is in, what he is charged with, and related facts. But the English playwright Alan Bennett used the words as the title of a play about sexual relations. Through most of our years, we tend to have strong urges for sex activities and there are times when bodies enter into our thinking quite vividly and into our actions in a fundamental and life changing way.
As I mentioned in a recent blog post, I was shopping books suggested by Amazon.com as being related to schooling and the education of young people. Finland has been the focus of educational thought, research and analysis for nearly two decades. One of the books mentioned a few simple ideas that feature strongly in Finnish educational practice. One of them is plenty of physical exercise.
American school over the past two centuries tended to require students to sit at individual desks in class, all facing toward the teacher. All the students were to be quiet and listen to the teacher. There may be a recess or two during the day but otherwise "listen and learn". Since the late 1800's right up to today, many people have pointed out that learning often takes place better, faster and more pleasantly if the students move around. Western schooling has emphasized the mind and denigrated the body. The body and its needs and actions are sinful, embarrassing and beastly, in the view of many authors (mostly men!).
So, we are going through a big change of heart today when we emphasize the interaction of the brain and the body. The Finns realize the need to move. The gerontologists realize the need for elder people to move. The many yoga teachers realize the need to move. The books by Dr. Joan Vernikos emphasize the need for astronauts and all of us to move, to stand, to bend and stretch, to jiggle, to step out and push off. The body matters and life is more fun if it gets good use.
