BODY MAPPING FOR MUSICIANS
Stephanie is a huge advocate for healthy movement when playing or singing music, which is why she became licensed in Body Mapping for Musicians, a form of somatic education that helps promote facility and prevent injury when practicing and performing. She teaches individual and group sessions on this somatic information and derives great joy witnessing the transformation that the information can provide.
"Body mapping" is the term given by William and Barbara Conable to the process of constructively applying an understanding of anatomy to improving how we move. It emphasizes the importance of having an accurate understanding of how the various parts of our body fit together. I like to state it as "if you change what you think, you can change how you move. And if you change how you move, you will change what you feel."
Body mapping works directly on the "embodied and awareness" end of this equation - the only end with any real "leverage" for making changes. By changing our conceptions of how our parts fit together, we can change how we move them. The accompanying feeling can be one of enormous relief - and fascination with the wisdom underlying our creation.
The Association for Body Mapping Educators (ABME) is a not for profit organization of music educators committed to saving, securing, and enhancing musical careers by providing accurate information about the body in movement. Body Mapping Educations use an innovative and specific technique called Body Mapping to enhance musicians’ abilities and to help those in pain or discomfort.
Clear, concise, and practical information about how the body moves in order to make music is presented in the course “What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body” or you can learn more about Body Mapping in private lessons with an AMBE member like Stephanie.
Body Mapping Educators train musicians and music educators to accurately support and enhance movement in practice and performance with the goal of increasing ease while reducing and eliminating injury.
All ABME members are musicians dedicated to helping other musicians understand the struggles, both physical and mental, that musicians face in their careers. It is the hope of all body mapping educators that this method of teaching will encourage wellness and enhanced performance among musicians.
Stephanie teaches Body Mapping for Musicians at Portland State University, and also hosts group classes and individual sessions for specific injuries.
For more information about body mapping group classes, or to set up a private session, email Stephanie at stephanielynnebernards@gmail.com.