The stages by which a child learns to achieve upright posture and the full range of motor skills is a remarkable journey from the most primitive to the most advanced forms of balance and locomotion. As adults, studying these developmental movements makes it possible to effect improvements in the working of the muscular system, to gain insight into how to move efficiently, and to progress from more basic to more advanced forms of balance and support.

This Fall, Ted Dimon will be offering an in-depth course on the principles of developmental movement.

Topics to be covered:
  • Observation and description of developmental stages
  • Vertebrate evolution and design (head/trunk, tensegrity)
  • Neural organization and sensory systems (touch, proprioception, autonomic nervous system)
  • Anatomical systems (extensor/flexor systems, spirals of trunk and limbs)
  • Embryonic and infant development
  • Pedagogical elements
  • Observation and the practice of non-doing
  • Directing and the organization of awareness
  • Study of infantile sequences
  • Exploration of postures and their relation to sensory and autonomic function
  • The study of movement, proprioception, and inhibitory control


This will be an intensive course, with both practical and theoretical material. There will be readings from Ted's book, Principles of Developmental Movement: A Manual on Bodily Awareness and Control, and a great deal of practical exploration in every class. We will explore five key stages:

  1. Prone and supine, or lying fully supported on the ground
  2. Primary crawling and foetal positions (elbows, knees, forehead)
  3. Crawling on all fours
  4. Clambering and four-footed support of the trunk
  5. Rotational movements


Course overview: Beginning Monday, September 14, 2026. Classes will be held at 10:00 AM NYC time, Mondays and Wednesdays, with a review each Thursday, for a total of 16 classes and 8 review sessions. Classes will be 90 minutes long; reviews will be 60 minutes long.

Each live session will be recorded, and the recordings will be posted here to allow students to view them later.

Tuition: Please note the options above to make use of extended payment plans.

Weekly Schedule

Begins Monday, September 14th

Week 1 - Basic Principles of Sensorimotor Awareness

Week 2 - The Sense of Touch

Week 3 - Proprioception: Identifying Tension

Week 4 - Crawling

Week 5 - Clambering

Week 6 - Vertebrate Evolution and Our Tensegrity Design

Week 7 - Rotational Movement and the Spiral Musculature

Week 8 - The Spiral of the Limbs