Ideokinesis

Ideokinesis is an approach to improving posture, alignment and fluency of movement through structured guided imagery, in which a person uses metaphorical visualizations while the body itself remains still. It was originally developed as a form of mental practice for injured dancers and has since been used more broadly in movement training, on the theory that mental imagery can improve skeletal alignment and posture by re-patterning neuromuscular pathways without overt movement. There is reported to be insufficient data specific to ideokinesis to draw firm conclusions about its effectiveness, with only personal and experimental research conducted so far, although mental imagery has broader reported support for sports performance generally.