Developmental Movement: The Evolutionary
Origins Of Yoga
I have been very influenced by Body-Mind Centering®, the
work of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, especially by her beautiful work in
human developmental movement. Evolutionary Yoga™ is based on the evolutionary
origins of movement. The development of movement in human beings follows
the same progression as the development of movement in the animal kingdom
from the one-celled animals through the primates. Ontogeny (human development)
and phylogeny (the evolutionary development of animals) clearly show
the evolutionary, organic origins of the yoga forms. By viewing yoga
asana and pranayama through the lens of developmental
movement, one can see where an individual’s development may be inhibited
or partial. As adults, we can bring our awareness to these Basic Neurological
Patterns while revisiting them experientially. Developmental movement
repatterning is a way by which each one of us can establish an integrated
movement foundation, thus freeing ourselves from difficulties at a root
level. The scientific view that each one of us embodies evolutionary
history within ourselves supports the yogic view that we are all one.