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W ith the spirit of a dancer, the vision of an artist, the intuition of a healer, and the curiosity of a lifelong learner, Judith Aston has been a mighty force in the world of movement for more than six decades. She's worked and studied with legends like Moshe Feldenkrais and Ida Rolf, and she's trained many of today's biggest names in the profession. Yet her sparkle shines brightest when she talks about the unique complexity of movement within each individual and how that has fueled her journey in the field of movement and movement therapies. MOVEMENT IS LIFE As the founder of the movement training known as Aston Kinetics, Aston's system "aims to treat a person's physical body as something that is unique to them. Rather than enforce physical symmetry, Aston Kinetics seeks to recognize the asymmetries that are natural to a person's body . . . and ensure that the entire body is in sync with itself" 1 —a concept Aston describes as achieving neutrality. "I see all movement as the opportunity to dance through life," she says, "whether it is the dance of doing Rolfing moves or the opportunity to coach athletes to run faster. This is not 'dance' in a stylized way, but the ability to use the forces of gravity and ground reaction for efficiency, ease, and strength." Part of what makes Aston such an insightful movement educator is her ability to interpret, identify, mimic, and rethink the movements she sees in front of her. It's a skill she remembers having as early as when she was 5, recalling an interaction with her mother. "One day, my mother asked, 'What is this envelope? Who brought this?' I said, 'A woman dropped that by. I don't know who she was, but she walks like this.'" Aston proceeded to imitate how the woman walked and moved and her mother immediately knew who her daughter was talking about. The ability to break down movement into this kind of detail has helped Aston see things most can't—points of weakness or conf lict, and areas of strain and pain buried in the motions. It's something she brings into her workshops to help others develop their abilities to see within the movement. "It has to do with the energy, the strength, the tone, the lack of tone, the speed; it's something that's always been easy for me to read," she says. And it's something profound when she teaches it to others. THE DANCER'S SPIRIT If movement is Aston's poetry, then dance is certainly her language. Ask Aston about dance or her dance background, and she lights up. She can't help but "dance" when she teaches; when she speaks, her body moves lyrically to explain a point, share an emotion, paint a picture. It can be hypnotizing to watch. "I begged from probably age 5 until I was 7 . . . 'Could I please study dance?' But it wasn't in the budget, and it wasn't in the time frame." Finally, after two years of persistence, Aston started lessons at the local dance studio down the street from A B M P m e m b e r s ea r n F R E E C E h o u r s by rea d i n g t h i s i s s u e ! 57 By Karrie Osborn AN INTERVIEW WITH MOVEMENT EXPERT JUDITH ASTON