Nancy Lane Wright's PREP! Preparation for Movement: A Transformational Exercise System

PREPARATION for MOVEMENT, or PREP! as it was affectionately called by Nancy Lane Wright's many students, is a transformational series of exercises for athletes, performing artists, and anyone who wants to keep fit and flexible while reducing chronic pain and body discomfort. Nancy developed this highly effective system of movement to get out of her hospital bed and wheelchair after a devastating car accident. The fifty-minute series helps dancers vault into professional careers, shortening the usual training time required to achieve exceptional grace and articulation. It also assists performing artists of all genres to enhance their comfort level on stage and develop movement proficiency. The exercises, mainly performed while lying down or sitting upright, combine Martha Graham's modern dance principles, classical ballet, and yoga with Nancy's unique understanding of human movement and the neurological processes necessary for physical recovery and development.An elegantly simple system that does not use weights or any devices other than the floor and an athlete's imagination, PREPARATION for MOVEMENT works wonders in increasing flexibility and improving skeletal placement. The series also improves posture, core strength, lean muscle development, joint articulation, coordination, and speed without sacrificing precision. Most of all PREP! transforms lives by assisting with scoliosis, bad backs, and physical rehabilitation. Nancy quietly advanced her techniques and her overall approach to movement at the Dance/Theatre Workshop in Chattanooga, Tennessee, during the 1970's through the mid 1990's. Her legacy continues with this highly effective training manual as outlined by Nancy's student of many years Anne Severn Williamson. The author also includes her own observations on alternative methods of healing, a dancer's diet, the future of the arts, and aging while maintaining an athletic lifestyle.The book includes advanced exercises for ballet dancers, breathing exercises for patients recovering from upper respiratory illnesses, and rehabilitation exercises for athletes. In general, PREPARATION for MOVEMENT transforms how we train by working with the nervous system first, then skeletal placement, and finally the soft tissues combined with specific breathing patterns. Highly beneficial, PREP! is an excellent tool for physical therapists, coaches, massage therapists, neuro-specialists, dancers, skaters, gymnasts, cheerleaders, performing artists, and all athletes. Anne Severn Williamson guides the reader through the exercise system step by step with additional notes, variations, suggestions, and her personal experiences involving nearly fifty years of working with PREP! Read more