I had always thought that my first trip to
Europe would be something romantic; a trip with my husband through the canals
of Venice, the view from the Eiffel Tower and all those other touristy
clichés. Instead, it took me to Denmark
to meet my peers at IASK’s first Meeting of Professional Associations of
Specialized Kinesiology and I’m so glad that it did!
On April 30, 2013 representatives from fifteen
different associations gathered in order to connect, see what challenges SK
practitioners from other countries were experiencing and compare notes for how
we can all move forward to keep this International Association alive and well. The IASK board had painstakingly compiled the
data from a questionnaire that had been sent out to all of the associations
into a chart that allowed those in attendance to easily compare answers from
one country to the next. This means that
at a glance I can see which associations require a minimum number of modalities
to join, or how many hours of ethics training each require, or whether they provide
members with insurance. This information
helps me to better direct my association’s future endeavors and connects me
with people who can answer my questions.
The conference days were long, running
until 6:30 each night with workshops scheduled in the evening. On the night of Charles Krebs’ workshop, he
kept going until after 11:00pm. But, being Charles, he was so fascinating that
no one really wanted him to stop!
Attending presentations and workshops from leaders in our field like
Charles, Adam Lehman and Harold Blomberg was great, but what was really
wonderful was getting to hear from people who don’t have a presence in Canada
yet; practitioners and innovators that I would never have heard of without this
conference. One stand-out example of this
is Thierry Noens who had the entire room up and moving around with Sankyogo,
which he describes as a way of exploring Educational Kinesiology principles
through martial art drills. The room was
filled with shrieks of laughter as we faced off with his dance-like movements.
We can learn so much from each other! In some parts of the world (Canada included),
SK work is still part of the ‘fringe’.
We don’t always fit in with the business world, or the medical world,
and sometimes this career choice can be a lonely one.
It is wonderful to have a group of people
that you can look to as a resource, who understand the challenges you are going
through and who can become friends. I
met so many wonderful people at this meeting and at the Conference that
followed and I am looking forward to seeing some of them again in January in
Lisbon. We hope you can join us there!
Sankyogo souvenir from the Conference
