Therapeutic Eurythmy-movement therapy.
The word eurythmy comes from the Greek root meaning beautiful or harmonious rhythm. From the 1600s to the 1800s in England, it meant rhythmical order or movement or graceful proportion and carriage of the body. In 1911, the word was given new meaning by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who with his wife developed drama performances at the Anthroposophical Society’s summer gatherings, and incorporated the art of movement into the dramas. This art form was integrated into the Waldorf education system. Later it was incorporated into anthroposophic medicine, that contends humands have four aspects needing treatment: spirit, soul, life, and matter. Eurythmy treats the “life” aspect and involves movements that are adapted to the condition of the person being treated and may be conducted with the patient lying down. It is claimed such therapy brings about “re-integration of body, soul, and spirit”. There is no alpha level scientific evidence of effectiveness for this treatment but there are a few uncontrolled studies with positive results, but these are subject to bias of the authors. The recommendation of this author is that Eurythmy may be an add-on to other therapies, but if expensive, should not be relied upon given the lack of scientific validation of method. However there are a few low level studies that do support its use