What are people's thoughts about changing a workshop's name? (resposted from my blog)

[Kit_L]

Some background. My body of work is presently known as "Stretch Therapy™"; it has a number of streams, including Stretch Teacher, Stretch Therapist, and the Monkey Gym.

A full list of the present workshops on offer (plus a YT video, where I speak abut the different workshops) can be found HERE on my main site. As a side note, you may have seen that this site has inherited the name we were bestowed 26 years ago, and that has been a difficulty in positioning and branding our work, too.

In recent years, a large number of people have attended the Stretch Teacher workshop, in particular, just to do intensive work on themselves, for a variety of reasons, including rehab all the way to simply giving their bodies a deep rest and to experience what true deep relaxation feels like in the body/mind.

Accordingly, a number of hosts have commented that the present name of these workshops (Stretch Teacher) is a barrier to these people wanting to do these workshops because (completely reasonably) the term 'teacher' implies the purpose.

Another piece of the puzzle is the title of my new book (a multi-media product, but still a book to me) is Stretching Mindfully. As well, I have registered two new URLs with this in mind (stretching-mindfully.com, and moving-mindfully.com), the latter to make explicit the third dimension I wrote about earlier this week.

My inclination is to keep "Stretch Therapist": its message seems clear and unambiguous. As well, the Monkey Gym workshops similarly seem relatively easy to understand.

What are your reactions to calling the third stream, the one presently called "Stretch Teacher", by the name of the new product, Stretching Mindfully, and open it up explicitly to the widest possible audience, and add a lying relaxation module to each day? If we had these three streams, anyone wanting to teach this system would enrol in the Stretching Mindfully workshop along with the people who want a body/mind "sabbatical" (and this would give the potential teachers very useful 'ordinary' bodies to practise with, too).

The reason for raising this is that we are now in the "post ANU" phase of the system's unfolding: we can change anything we want and this is the best time to do it. I am going to repost this over at the Stretch Therapy Forums, and make a YouTube clip on this too. My goal is simply to get this work out there as widely as possible, and to teach this system to teachers who can carry this work forward. What are your thoughts?

[Kit_L]

A few further thoughts on this, for discussion by as many here as possible.

One idea that I am inclining towards is to make the Stretching Mindfully three day workshop mandatory for anyone who wants to get involved in the system in any capacity. The idea here is during these three days, the individual can decide whether he or she will pursue the Teacher stream or the Therapist stream. And in the process, all attendees can learn a huge amount about their own body, no matter what their interests.

And as I am sure you can imagine, we would need to do exactly the same exercises, or many of the same exercises, in both streams anyway (hip flexors, anyone?). And the three day workshop is perfectly suitable for individuals who simply want to give themselves a full body holiday.

Following the initial Stretching Mindfully workshop, a person who wants to become a Stretch Teacher would do another three day workshop where the emphasis in on how to teach group classes. So, in brief, a three-day Stretching Mindfully workshop first, and then teachers-to be will do an additional three days tailored to the needs of teaching/programming/class construction and the related matters.

And someone who wants to be a Stretch Therapist would begin with the Stretching Mindfully three day workshop, and then would do the existing five- or six-day Stretch Therapist existing workshop (so nine days training in all). The fact is that there is just so much material that it is simply not possible to do justice to it in a shorter period of time, and most recent attendees of the Therapist stream have commented that they wished this could be longer.

Responses please.

[Jim Pickles]

First cab off the rank - I was prompted to look at this site just having seen the Monkey Gym closing speech, which has lots of very interesting thoughts which I will ponder on at length. Thank you very much for posting it (as well of course for giving it, and devising the system, which as you know has transformed my own life).

I have myself been a bit unhappy about the "Stretch Teacher" name. While I am very happy to be called a stretch teacher, what do I call my classes? What name shows that they are part of this particular system, as devised by Kit and his colleagues?. Stretch classes? (too general). Stretch teacher? (but its for students, not teachers). Its definitely not stretch therapy (because my classes are not therapy). So I have stuck with Posture and Flexibility, which at least is unique and marks it out from all other systems.

My own thoughts and practice and I hope teaching too are also moving increasingly towards mindfulness, so Stretching Mindfully and Moving Mindfully are appropriate for me for that reason too. However I think if you are going out to the public and advertising your classes, those names are not very descriptive if you are going to give a general ST-type stretch class. Mindfulness is only one aspect, and the names (in my view) give too much emphasis to mindfulness, unless mindfulness is THE major aspect. Moving Mindfully implies something like Tai-Chi, which could be an element of any system. However it would be misleading if people thought that they were going to something like a Tai-Chi class when they saw the name.

So I rather like Posture and Flexibility, even though the name rather arose by accident. Guided by the name, I in fact have been including more posture work in my classes (essential in my view), as well of course as flexibility and strength. And it is unique, so is tied to one system.

Just my thoughts, Jim.

[Louise Raisin]

Hi Kit

I agree with Jim, the P&F name is unique and describes the classes we have always taught at ANU very well even with all the teachers individual variations. I like Stretching Mindfully, however, I am not sure it conveys all that the work entails particularly as the various stretch, strength and awareness components come together is one class. I will have to keep thinking this one over and let you know what the kids and I can come up with.

Regards

Louise

[Admin]

Some recent thought and discussion has suggested a different title:

Stretching with awareness

I feel that with the massive upsurge in interest in mindfulness meditation, and everyone and their dog, it seems, attaching 'mindful' or 'mindfully' to whatever they are selling, it will be better to avoid it altogether.

I do understand the Posture & Flexibility aspect/dimension, and its history, but you all know what it is, and all the ANU people were brought up in it. It is a very different proposition, though, to try to explain to people who do not know it what it's all about. This is what led to Stretch Therapy in the first place: I stood on a street corner in Melbourne and asked some passers-by, 'If I said I was a Stretch Therapist, what would that mean to you?" and all the replies were sensible, for the most part.

And (I can't remember who is was) mentioned in passing that the 'therapy' part of the ST name also means it's therapeutic—and that's wholly positive.

Let's keep talking!

[Jim Pickles]

After just a little bit of thought: it seems to me that the basic problem is that the area comprises two aspects: the physical and the mental. These interrelate differently in different people, the degree of interrelation also varies with the amount of experience people have, and people want to get different things out of the practice. It seems that the trend in the above thread is to emphasise the mental more than previously. Is it basically a mental discipline, or a physical discipline? (We all know its both). Somehow the name needs to keep both camps happy.

For myself, I think the physical aspect needs to have the major emphasis, because the physical activity is the vehicle through which the mental aspects are appproached. The physical is the starting point, available to everyone. Once they have been introduced to that, they can (and in fact find they need to) tackle the mental aspects.

Jim.

[justinchien]

Reposted from an email that I sent to Kit and Olivia today. Kit thought it may be useful for others to read this. Also cross-posting in Kit's blog site.

Have a good day everyone!

-Justin

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Justin Chien <justin.chien@gmail.com>

Date: Wed, Aug 14, 2013 at 10:52 AM

Subject: Book title

To: *KitL <kit_l@me.com>, Olivia Allnutt <o_p1@mac.com>

Hi there,

I meant to mention this in my upcoming video to you. It has been a couple of months and I still couldn't find a chance to finish the video. Let me use a note instead then. Especially, it may be timely for your thought process.

You recently mentioned about "Stretch with Awareness", and earlier "Stretch Mindfully" for the book title. Both of them are good. For the sake of offering a different thinking and trying to go for a different route of what folks have been communicating so far, let me share what I have in mind.

"Awareness" and "Mindfully" are good words, and do reflect on what your approach is. I am wondering if it is a bit too New Age. I wonder how about something like "Intelligent Stretch". The reasons:

• What your approach (based on my personal learning/reflection) is bringing out the intelligence within ourselves by applying intelligent and evolving techniques.
  
• There are tons of stretching references out there. Lots of them do promote awareness and mindfulness. It's all good but a bit selling out. I believe your approach is different because it is smart, systematic, and... intelligent!
  
• I still remember your closing remark for the Monkey Gym is: "If there is no student, there is no teacher" - wonderful words. As an analogy, if there is no intelligence of the body/us to begin with, there is no need for any techniques.
  
• The intelligence within can be what people believe to be - physical, mental, and spiritual. It's a personal journey and a discovery. We sort of mentioning awareness and mindfulness without mentioning it with the wording of "Intelligent Stretch".
  
• The word "Intelligent" sounds more technical than New Age. A good selling point for intellectual readers who believe they are intellectual. We got to cover the marketing aspect, right?
  

I was asking myself how I can go for a different route than the current conversation is. My $0.02. I hope this is some-how useful. Have a good rest of the day!

-Justin

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Justin Chien

Justin's Yoga & Flexibility Website: http://justinchien.org

Email: justin.chien@gmail.com

Phone: 978-549-1865