Key Definitions

Key Concepts and Definitions

Workflow — Master and Individual Notes

This document is the master narrative for all Baseworks key concepts. Individual concept notes in Key Definitions Repository are derived from sections of this document.

When you edit a section here: check the corresponding linked notes (listed at the start of each section) and update any content that contradicts or omits the revised definition. Notes are content-aligned, not exact copies — definitional consistency is what matters, not word-for-word correspondence.

When you expand a concept note: consider whether the insight should also be reflected here.

Baseworks

Landing page copy: Baseworks is a systematic approach to building body awareness,
perceptual, and foundational movement skills.

Baseworks Practice is a structured application of the Baseworks Method / Baseworks Approach.

---

Catchphrases / Taglines

It’s not about what you do but about how you do it. The way we think about movement changes the way we move. You move in order to feel, not feel in order to move. The first step in overcoming a limitation is to become aware of it. Your guide to Physical Intelligence A quest for better perception A movement practice that makes sense A movement practice that makes sense, control, and adapt. 理に叶う練習 納得できる練習

---

Core Schema

BASEWORKS PRACTICE = Principles (6) ↓ established through the application of Movement Patterns (recurring actions/micro-movements) ↓ applied to Forms (movement tasks/macro-movements and positions)

---

Iterative Refinement, Communicability, and Emergence

See: Communicability · Iterative Refinement · Emergence · Reverse Engineering Update individual notes when any definition in this section changes.

Communicability of Movement

Communicability is the degree to which a movement instruction reliably produces the intended movement across diverse learners, including learners with low body awareness (LBA). The term addresses a fundamental problem in movement education: the motor equivalence problem (Bernstein, 1967), where any instruction under-specifies the movement because the body has far more degrees of freedom than the instruction can constrain. The movement parameters that are not explicitly specified are filled in by the learner’s sensorimotor system based on their existing habits and biases, often producing a movement that seems correct to the student but differs from the intended movement in ways that matter.

Communicability can fail at three levels:

1. Under-specification: The instruction did not provide enough information. The learner simply was not told what to do (or not do) with certain body parts. In typical movement education, this is the norm — instructions specify a target position and leave the path and the rest of the body unspecified.
2. Perceptual capacity limitation (primary bottleneck): The learner cannot access the sensory information they would need to execute the instruction. They may understand the words but cannot feel whether their pelvis is parallel, whether their spine is straight, or whether they are contracting a specific muscle group. Without this sensory feedback, the instruction is not actionable.
3. Habitual override: The learner’s existing motor patterns override the intended movement. Even when the instruction is understood and the relevant sensory information is theoretically available, well-learned movement synergies execute automatically, producing the habitual rather than the intended movement.

Note on the term: “Communicability” is used here in a specific, technical sense. It is not about the clarity of language or the eloquence of the instructor. It refers to the entire chain from verbal/visual instruction → the learner’s interpretation → the learner’s sensorimotor execution → the resulting movement. All links in this chain must succeed for communication to succeed.

Iterative Refinement

Iterative refinement refers to the developmental process (Phase 2; approximately 2009–2020) through which the Baseworks Method was continuously modified in interaction with 10,000+ learners over ~10 years, with the goal of maximizing communicability.

The feedback loop:

1. Teach a movement to diverse learners (including LBA learners)
2. Observe where communication breaks down (learners misinterpret, cannot execute, or default to habitual patterns)
3. Modify both the movement itself and/or how it is instructed to reduce that specific breakdown
4. Teach again; repeat

Prerequisite constraint: Safety was a prerequisite constraint throughout — movements had to be “fool-proof” in the sense that even misexecution should not cause injury. However, safety is not a unique constraint (most responsible movement practices optimize for safety). What makes Baseworks unique is that, with safety as a given, the additional optimization criterion was communicability — not performance, not tradition, not therapeutic outcome.

What was modified: Both the movements themselves and the instructional approach, though the line between the two is blurry. Specifically:

• Forms were simplified and organized into step-by-step progressions (which eventually formalized into FSA)
• Symmetry and spatial constraints were imposed on forms, changing their appearance (which eventually formalized into GS)
• Identified bottlenecks were targeted: when students consistently struggled with a particular aspect (e.g., sensing pelvis orientation, isolating trunk movement from limb movement), that aspect was given more training time — even if this meant more students would fail within a single session — because the bottleneck needed to be addressed for long-term communicability
• Instructional redundancies were introduced: cues like “draw the shoulders down” were applied across all movements as a default, even in contexts where the biomechanical benefit was unclear, because consistency made the system easier to teach and learn
• Foci emerged: as elements like GRAVITY, TRANSPOSE, and EQUATE began appearing across forms with different movement dynamics, the understanding of what was being trained in each form shifted from a macro-movement goal to a perceptual/control goal

The movement pattern / macro-movement distinction emerged gradually. Early instructor feedback was intuitive (“there’s too much silence — you need to keep talking” or “the whole body needs to be active, and your instructions aren’t delivering that”). Over time, these intuitive corrections were pushed toward distinct, nameable principles.

Emergence

The key scientific claim about Baseworks is that its focus on perceptual skills was not designed — it emerged. The iterative refinement process was driven by the pragmatic question “how do we get everybody to perform the same movements?” It was not driven by a theory about perceptual training or sensorimotor neuroscience. Yet the method converged on techniques that:

• increase sensory signal (DA: widespread low-level co-contraction generates proprioceptive input that would otherwise remain below conscious threshold)
• maintain sensory clarity and prevent habituation (MM: continuous subtle adjustments keep sensory channels active)
• provide explicit spatial reference frames that reduce movement goal ambiguity (GS, FSA: gridlines and step-by-step isolation specify degrees of freedom that are normally left uncontrolled)
• prevent conditions that degrade sensory access (NB, IM: keeping arousal low and intensity manageable preserves the conditions for sensory discrimination)

This convergence is what makes Baseworks a naturalistic model system (or “model object”) for sensorimotor research: it is a real-world practice that independently arrived at principles predicted by motor control theories (Cisek’s affordance competition hypothesis, Grossberg’s Adaptive Resonance Theory), without being designed from those theories. This gives it a different epistemic status from a top-down designed intervention — it is closer to a natural phenomenon that confirms a theory than to an experiment that tests one.

Anecdotal illustration of “unusual” outcomes: A newcomer to Baseworks, even one with a strong background in exercise science or movement, typically encounters multiple features that trigger “why on earth do I have to do this?” For example: Why keep contracting ALL muscles in ANY movement? Why insist that the heel of the back foot in a Z-lunge points EXACTLY toward the ceiling, when it doesn’t change how much the hip flexors are stretched? Why break down a simple weight shift into multiple isolated steps when the whole thing could be done in one smooth motion? These features are not arbitrary — they are what survived the iterative refinement because they reduced communicability failures — but their rationale is not self-evident from a conventional fitness or biomechanics perspective and required the reverse engineering of Phase 3 to explain.

Note: Emergence as used here — the scientific claim that Baseworks’ focus on perceptual skills emerged from iterative refinement without being designed — is distinct from Emergent Outcome, which refers to the broader phenomenon of an attainment recognized retrospectively only after it has been achieved.

Naming and Conceptualization History

Not all Baseworks terminology was created during Phase 3. When the reverse engineering began (~2016), several terms were already in active use by instructors and in narration:

• Distributed Activation (活性化した状態を全身にめぐらす)
• Micro-movements (ミクロな動き、細かな動き) — originally referring specifically to spine/ribcage movements
• Natural Breathing (自然な呼吸)
• Intensity Modification / Moderation (強度を加減する)

Gridlines & Symmetry was present as specific cues (“don’t open the hip,” “round over the midline not the leg”) but not yet conceptualized as a single principle. FSA was present as step-by-step progressions and stabilization cues (“keep the foundation of the legs when you lift the upper torso”) but not named as a principle.

Phase 3 contributed: the unification of specific cues into named principles, the macro/micro movement distinction as a formal category, the identification of the three perceptual skill domains, the SENSE-CONTROL-ADAPT framework, the Focus framework, and the theoretical grounding connecting Baseworks mechanisms to neuroscience literature.

---

Core Concepts

Movement Patterns

See: Movement Patterns Master · Movement Patterns Update Movement Patterns when this section changes.

Movement patterns are actions in Baseworks that we repeat over and over across different movements, or, we apply movement patterns across different macro movements. for example:

• Drawing the shoulders down
• Pulling your legs away
• Stacking the ribcage and pelvis

These instructions are repeated hundreds of times in a typical Baseworks class. Similar to how a checkerboard pattern can be applied to a shirt or a cup, Baseworks movement patterns can be applied to different positions of the body. Movements/positions of the body or Baseworks forms can also be seen as “empty shells” / contours that are “filled” with Baseworks movement patterns, like coloring contours in a coloring book. So, Baseworks practice can be imagined as the practice of applying Baseworks movement patterns to different movements.

Critically, movement patterns need to be executed simultaneously.

Macro- and Micro-Movements

See: Micro- and Macro-Movements Update Micro- and Macro-Movements when this section changes.

A key concept in Baseworks is to distinguish between macro and micro movements.

Macro-movements are visible movements that result in a visible change of body position. Examples include “bend your knees,” “lift your arm,” or transitional movements between positions. These are the movements typically emphasized in conventional movement practices.

Micro-movements are movements that are almost invisible, involving subtle adjustments that maintain or refine a position without obvious positional change.

Although this is not a rigid classification, micro-movements can be subdivided into three subgroups, related to:

1. Contraction: Micro-movements that result in Isometric contractions with no change in limb position ( for example, drawing the shoulders down )
2. Position: Reaffirms and refines the current position ( for example, making sure that the torso is extended in line with the back leg )
3. Relaxation: Signals to relax specific muscles ( relatively rare in Baseworks, for example, making sure that the neck is relaxed )

Key distinction compared to other practices : Baseworks instructions disproportionately focus on micro-movements, dedicating approximately 60% of instructional time to them (compared to 27% in Feldenkrais and only 1% in Pilates). Within micro-movements, Baseworks emphasizes Position (70%) and Contraction (27%), with minimal focus on Relaxation (3%), while Feldenkrais is focused on Relaxation (64%) and Position (36%). Therefore, relative emphasis on micro and macro movements can be seen as a signature of a particular practice’s narration.

This unusual emphasis on micro-movement in Baseworks serves multiple functions:

• it enhances conscious muscular mechanosensation, increasing the amount of sensory input to the brain
• reduces instructional ambiguity by anchoring attention to specific sensory experiences,
• and supports the development of refined sensorimotor discrimination.

The interplay between micro- and macro-movements in Baseworks creates a pedagogical structure where students develop perceptual skills through micro-movements (primarily targeting proprioceptive awareness) while applying spatial principles through macro-movements (targeting spatial awareness).

**The Six Principles

See: The Six Principles · Distributed Activation · Micro Movements · Gridlines and Symmetry · Fixing-Separating-Isolating · Natural Breathing · Intensity Modification Update individual principle notes when any principle definition changes.

The following principles were defined through analysis of recurring movement patterns in Baseworks and can be mapped onto the perceptual skills they primarily target. The Baseworks method can be conceptualized as applying these six principles to any kind of movement that can be performed without momentum.

Catchphrase: Baseworks is not about WHAT your are doing but about HOW you’re doing it.

1. Distributed Activation (DA)

Type: Micro-movement principle
Perceptual skill: Proprioceptive (muscular mechanosensation/localized proprioceptive)

Activate as many muscles as possible at the same time in any movement, but at a low level of intensity.

This is usually achieved through performing multiple movements at the same time that result in isometric contractions - either using surface traction (tractioning the feet against the floor → isometric contraction in leg muscles) or using “opposition of forces”, where movements cancel each other (in a squat, the knee is pressing in, the elbow is pressing out into the knee → isometric contraction in leg, arm, back muscles). This also goes beyond simple isolated movements; for example, “imagine someone is pulling your arms toward the floor” add-on to “draw the shoulders down” should result in a movement that requires knee extension, hip extension, ankle and spine stabilization, to counteract collapsing onto the floor.

This principle creates a baseline of whole-body engagement that enhances conscious awareness of muscular sensations and provides stability for more refined movements. DA is hypothesized to enhance muscular mechanosensation by increasing the signal available for conscious processing. Also, pre-activating muscles makes it easier to engage muscles in new ways (reducing the inhibitory bias from basal ganglia).

Note: the ideal intensity of DA is a dynamic value. More activation means that more sensory information is going to the brain and it’s easier to feel the muscles (desirable), but too much activation means potential sympathetic hyper-activation or getting tired (undesirable), or, certain movements may apply too much strain onto certain joints resulting in compression or pain if performed at excessive intensity (undesirable). So, the intensity of DA is subject to Intensity Modification

2. Micro Movements (MM)

Type: Micro-movement principle
Perceptual skill: Proprioceptive (muscular mechanosensation/localized proprioceptive)

Keep “repeating” the movements that establish Distributed Activation, as if “tracing” around the current macro-position. This continuous subtle adjustment maintains sensory clarity and prevents habituation to the current position. MM amplifies conscious awareness of muscle states and is thought to contribute to sensory discrimination refinement, potentially leading to phenomena such as sensation “splitting” reported by experienced practitioners.

3. Gridlines & Symmetry (GS)

Type: Macro-movement principle
Perceptual skill: Spatial

In any macro-movements, imagine gridlines in your peripersonal space and trace those gridlines with various points of the body, such as the hipbones, the bottom of the ribcage, the base of the neck, etc. Examples of gridlines:

• The Midline (the nose, chin, sternum, pubis line), which is organizes “the Rectangle” of shoulders and hips around it
• T arms = Arm line, where arms are spread out at shoulder height, forming a straight line through wrist-shoulder-shoulder-wrist
• Hip-width apart parallel lines - when we hinge in a squat, the ankles, knees and hips move strictly within the sagittal planes projecting from these lines
• Torso-Thigh/Leg line. In a lunge, we lean forward to align torso with the back leg
• Straight ankle. Whenever the floor is off the floor or on the tip toe, the ankle is straight, avoiding inversion/eversion This principle creates clear spatial reference frames, reducing ambiguity in movement goals. GS is hypothesized to refine frontoparietal action maps and enhance affordance perception, potentially contributing to enhanced aesthetic spatial experiences.

Sometimes, GS → DA:

• In movements which are naturally asymmetric, forcing the symmetry results in more widespread muscular activation (example: constraining pelvic movements in various lunges)

4. Fixing-Separating-Isolating (FSA)

Type: Macro-movement principle
Perceptual skill: Spatial

Whenever moving, isolate one joint movement at a time, moving with a struct step-by-step progression, which results in forward kinematics rather than inverse kinematics. Use Distributed Activation to stabilize the non-moving parts prior to moving. This principle approximates motor primitives and creates a more explicit, segmented approach to movement that reduces the motor equivalence problem. By moving one joint at a time in a specified sequence, FSA establishes clearer movement goals that can be more reliably communicated and executed across diverse learner populations.

At the level of an entire form, FSA at each step chains steps together into a pattern, where the entire movement sequence is strictly controlled, including all the transitional movements. We enter the form and exit the form in exactly the same way. “Releasing” or “exiting the form” is done by reversing the movement.

Some “steps” involve moving the center of gravity rather han a particular effector or articulating a joint. Example, when sitting on the floor with knees bent, leaning back eventually “unlocks” the ability to lift the legs off the floor; the “leaning back” movement must continue until the weight of the legs can be counterbalanced by the weight of the upper body.

5. Natural Breathing (NB)

Type: Regulatory principle (applies across micro- and macro-movements)
Perceptual skill: Interoceptive

Keep the breathing “natural,” such that you could comfortably have a conversation throughout, even when doing more challenging movements like planks or squats.

This principle serves as a continuous interoceptive monitoring task that prevents excessive effort and trains self-monitoring skills. NB contributes to interoceptive awareness and is associated with stress regulation and well-being outcomes.

6. Intensity Modification (IM)

Type: Regulatory principle (applies across micro- and macro-movements)
Perceptual skill: Interoceptive

Modify the intensity of the movement (in terms of range of motion or load) to comply with: (1) Natural Breathing, and (2) Gridlines & Symmetry and Fixing-Separating-Isolating. Specifically, stop progression of the movement when you “hit” a morphological limitation; don’t allow another joint to be moved to increase a perceived range of motion, and don’t break the symmetry. IM trains discrimination of internal limits and creates a self-paced learning environment that prioritizes perceptual clarity over performance metrics.

intensity modification can be subdivided into IM for Safety, Effort, and Form, where the stop signal is, correspondingly, pain/compression, exhaustion/deeper breath, loss of control over movement

Forms

See: Form Update Form when this section changes.

Forms are movement tasks / basic units of organization of Baseworks Practice (e.g. Squat, Star Tilt). They can be conceived as “empty shells” / contours that are “filled” with Baseworks movement patterns, like coloring contours in a coloring book.

”Set” and “Sequence” — Terminology

See: Set and Sequence Update Set and Sequence when this section changes.

In general English, “sequence” means things arranged one after another. In Baseworks, the word is used in a specific, restricted sense: it refers to the precise ordering of movements within a form. When executing a form through FSA, each movement must occur in a defined order — this ordering is technically important and cannot be changed without altering the movement itself.

For the arrangement of forms in a practice session, Baseworks uses the word “set” instead. The form practice portion of a session consists of a set of forms, not a sequence.

The distinction matters. When a practice session is described as “a sequence of forms,” the forms tend to become automatic — attention shifts to moving through them, one after another, and the practice starts functioning like any other movement routine. What gets lost is the actual purpose: to go through familiar material and discover it in more detail in the current perceptual state.

The word “set” (as a DJ arranges a set of tracks) reflects a different relationship to the material: forms are arranged in a particular order, and that order may be deliberate, but the purpose is to experience each form — not to complete a list.

Practical use:

• Say “a set of forms” (or simply “the set”) when referring to the arrangement of forms in a practice session.
• Reserve “sequence” for the ordered movements within a form.

Focus in Baseworks

See: Focus Update Focus when the framework description changes. Update individual foci notes in foci/ when individual foci descriptions change.

The “Focus” framework in Baseworks explains what we are trying to achieve in every particular form, especially at the level of macro movements. The Focus framework parses the range of common movements/exercises in way that is significantly different from common sports/fitness objectives.

Currently, we have 12 Foci:

STRUCTURE GRAVITY ASCEND TORSION CONVERGE EXPAND INFLECT INTENT EQUATE TRANSIT TRANSPOSE ISOLATE

1. STRUCTURE Forms with this focus include very basic bodily positions which serve as a foundation for most of the movements we perform on a daily basis (e.g. standing with feet hip-width apart; standing with feet wider than hip-width apart). The goal of practice is to use the DA and MM to explore what it feels like to be in these basic positions, so that we can find the same limb configurations when the body or body parts are not vertical (different direction of gravity).
2. GRAVITY In forms with this focus, the body or some body parts are not vertical (various tilts and planks). The goal is to arrange some body parts in exactly the same position as if they were vertical, comparing what we feel with what we remember from the STRUCTURE forms (e.g. being able to stack ribcage-pelvis in a tilted position).
3. ASCEND The ASCEND movement dynamics include step-by-step progression and rely heavily on FSA. The progression is built in the upward direction. Example: from Z-lunge, being able to lift the upper torso without changing the position of the legs.
4. TORSION Similar to ASCEND (step-by-step progression with FSA), but involves turning around the spinal axis movements. Example: in a lunging position with arms extended to the sides at shoulder height, twisting the spine left or right without (1) changing the position of the legs, (2) breaking the line of the arms in relation to shoulders.
5. CONVERGE Working with the overall body flexion, as well as strengthening a “hollow body” pattern. Antithetical to the concept of “core strength,” the goal is to use DA, thinking of the front of the body as one continuous muscular sheath.
6. EXPAND Expand forms work with the overall body extension. These forms work on the awareness and control of the subtle movements of the feet, legs, hips, pelvis, ribcage, chest, shoulders, neck, from within different positions in gravity, to explore the compounded expansive potential of the body. Antithetical to the concept of “back bending,” the goals is to use DA, MM, FSA to systematically work on the mobility of each joint involved in the overall body extension. Example: in a kneeling position, feet on tiptoes, tuck the pelvis, pull the ribcage in, grip the toes back (trying to extend the knees, opposed by trying to keep the centre of gravity over the base of support), draw the shoulders down, lift the arms, and then, while wiggling the ribcage, lift the sternum diagonally forward, only to the point where there is no compression in the lower back.
7. INFLECT In forms with spinal flexion-extension-flexion dynamics, INFLECT focus is about the details of these spinal movements. Example: from a cross legged positions, lean back (arms forward). While gripping the edges of the feet forward, start rolling in forward, rounding the spine (flexed upper spine). From there, keep the lower back/pelvis in their position and begin to extend the upper spine and opening the shoulders until the spine is straight and shoulders are away from each other and the upper body become flat (extended upper spine). From there, chin in, and begin to flex the upper spine again (flexed upper spine). When you cannot flex anymore, begin to tilt the pelvis back, allowing the flexed upper body to follow.
8. INTENT In forms with spinal flexion-extension-flexion dynamics, the goals is to use DA to discover how intentional muscle co-activation can be used to improve flexibility.
9. EQUATE The goal is to dynamically equalize forces created by pressing into each other two parts of the body while fixing the third point. We will cover the EQUATE focus as well as all foci I just mentioned in this segment.
10. TRANSIT The goal is to achieve fluidity and control in movements where we significantly change the position of the legs.
11. TRANSPOSE The goal is to develop a visceral understanding of the center of gravity in relation to stability. Example: from a standing position, being able to bring teh weight above the heels and shift pelvis further back, hinging in the hips and keeping ribcage-pelvis stacked.
12. ISOLATE The goal is isolating the hip movements with fixed position of the pelvis. Example 1: from a supine position, bring one leg up (above the pelvis) and then abduct it, lowering the leg closer to the floor, without moving the pelvis. Example 2: from a standing position, shift the weight onto one foot and the lift the opposite foot of the floor, while keeping the pelvis parallel to the floor.

Note: despite being explicitly antithetical to fitness concepts, CONVERGE and EXPAND foci are probably the closest to the common exercise and fitness view of physical training, because, after addressing all the safety and injury prevention concerns, they are more about addressing the physical prerequisites and structural limitations than building awareness and skills. Notably, in Baseworks, there are forms that have both CONVERGE and EXPAND foci.

Why we need the Focus framework? Physical movement is inherently goal-oriented. However, what we perceive as a “goal” is not the same as how goals are defined by the motor system. (e.g. If I say “lift your arms” and show a movement where I move my arms forward and up only to the point where my clavicles and scapula don’t move, most people, following these instructions, will bring their arms much higher, allowing the clavicles to lift, scapula to rotate, ribcage to flare, because their implicit understanding of “lifting their arms” is bringing the hands high above the head; even if verbally specify that I don’t want the ribcage/shoulders to move, some people will not be able to supress these habitual movements).

In any movement modality, instructions are often incomplete (under-specified). The movement parameters that are not explicitly specified will have to be specified by the motor system of the practitioner based on their past experience and learning history. When people come to Baseworks, the come with habits and preconceptions about movement goals.

The Focus framework help to conceptualize the macro-movement tasks in terms that are different from common fitness goals.

Perceptual Skills and The 3 Types of Body Awareness

See: Perceptual Skills · 3 Types of Body Awareness · Interoceptive Awareness · Proprioceptive Awareness · Spatial Awareness Update individual notes when any definition in this section changes.

Perceptual skills are sensory discrimination capacities. in the context of Baseworks, we are focusing on sensorimotor discrimination capacities (i.e. not visual or auditory).

A more lay term for perceptual skills is body awareness. However, it is not precise for Baseworks for two reasons:

1. most research and common understanding of body awareness focuses either on the (A) interceptive awareness in the context of stress reduction/working with trauma or on (B) positional sense
2. the common conception of body awareness relies on a lay view of perception, where perception is decoupled from action.

Conversely, in Baseworks, we distinguish between three distinct types of body awareness: Interoceptive, Proprioceptive (= localized proprioceptive, i.e. localized sensations in muscles and joints), Spatial (positional sense and simulation).

The term perceptual skills emphasizes the pragmatic nature of body awareness (the brain develops a capacity to be consciously aware only of sensory information that has salience and practical importance. If a task can be handled without conscious awareness of certain sensory metrics, they are likely going to remain very subtle and unconscious ).

Sensory resolution is the granularity of one’s sensory experience in a particular modality (e.g. “Can you feel distinct sensations in gluteus medius and gluteus maximus, or do they feel like one lump of sensation somewhere in your butt?” for localized somatosensory or “Can you tell that your spine is straight without looking in the mirror?” for spatial).

The Iterative refinement → perceptual skills connection: Optimizing for communicability forced the method to address perceptual skills, because the main bottleneck to understanding movement instructions isn’t cognitive (people understand the words) — it’s perceptual (people can’t feel what their body is actually doing). You can tell someone “keep your pelvis parallel to the floor” but if they can’t sense their pelvis orientation, the instruction is meaningless. So the method converged on techniques that increase sensory signal (DA), maintain sensory clarity (MM), provide explicit spatial reference frames (GS, FSA), and prevent conditions that degrade sensory access (NB, IM). This is why it’s worth presenting at scientific meetings: Baseworks is a naturalistic model system — a real-world practice that independently converged on principles predicted by motor control theory (Cisek’s affordance competition, Grossberg’s ART), which makes it both a validation of those theories and a potential experimental tool for testing them.

SENSE-CONTROL-ADAPT Framework

See: SENSE-CONTROL-ADAPT Update SENSE-CONTROL-ADAPT when this section changes.

SENSE – CONTROL – ADAPT is both a catchphrase and a conceptual framework that captures the purpose of Baseworks practice. Everything in Baseworks develops the capacity to better sense, better control, and better adapt.

Mapping onto Baseworks concepts:

• SENSE → Perceptual skills (the 3 types of body awareness), sensory resolution
• CONTROL → Movement vocabulary, movement quality, the ability to execute movement patterns simultaneously
• ADAPT → Intensity modification, cycling, self-regulation of effort and arousal

The Dyads

The deeper structure of the framework emerges when each pair is read in both directions. The reversal of each pair captures a distinct mechanism in Baseworks:

SENSE → CONTROL (sense in order to control) To control something, you need information about the state of the system. Most people lack fine-grained sensory access to their own movement — the trunk feels like a rectangular block, the hip feels like a single joint. Without this sensory information, precise control is impossible. Increasing sensory resolution enables more refined motor programs.

CONTROL → SENSE (control in order to sense) This is the more counterintuitive direction and arguably the core mechanism of Baseworks. We control muscles and movements in specific, somewhat unnatural ways (DA, MM, FSA) not primarily to achieve a movement outcome, but to generate sensory information that would otherwise remain below conscious threshold. The deliberate, structured movement creates the conditions for the brain to “present” proprioceptive and spatial information to conscious awareness. This is why Baseworks feels different from conventional exercise: the movement is the tool, the sensation is the goal.

SENSE → ADAPT (sense in order to adapt) The body constantly adapts to environmental demands, often without awareness (stress patterns, postural habits, tension from prolonged immobility). These automatic adaptations are frequently maladaptive. By increasing awareness of signals from the motor system — muscular tension, joint load, center of gravity, posture, the gradient of exertion — practitioners can make more conscious decisions: when to stop, when to rest, when to reduce intensity, when to change approach. This is the mechanism through which IM transfers from Baseworks into daily life (reported as improved self-regulation and stress management).

ADAPT → SENSE (adapt in order to sense) This dyad operates on two timescales: Acute (within a session): High-intensity exertion hyper-activates the sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis, triggering endorphin release that reduces sensitivity to pain and diminishes fine sensory discrimination. No surgeon would breathe heavily and jump around before performing an operation requiring maximum concentration. In Baseworks, the deliberate reduction of intensity (through IM and NB) is not a concession — it is a prerequisite for sensory access. You must adapt the conditions of practice to become receptive to the information you are trying to perceive. Chronic (across weeks and months): Sensory adaptation is a form of neuroplasticity that requires time. Simply “bringing awareness to the body” does not produce lasting changes in sensory discrimination. Like taste recalibrating after reducing sugar, the nervous system needs sustained, repeated exposure to lower-stimulation, higher-attention conditions before finer proprioceptive and spatial signals become perceptible. This is why experienced practitioners report perceptual refinements (such as sensation “splitting”) that beginners cannot access — their sensory systems have structurally adapted to detect subtler signals, not just learned where to direct attention.

ADAPT → CONTROL (adapt in order to control) As sensory and motor skills develop, each newly acquired capacity becomes a building block for more complex skills. In Baseworks, all movement tasks are designed so that at every level of performance there is space for improvement, and every form can be adapted to any skill level through IM. Adaptation is also about expanding one’s capacity to tolerate challenge — not through pushing harder, but through incremental, step-by-step accommodation to higher demands (both physical and attentional).

CONTROL → ADAPT (control in order to adapt) Intensity Modification is fundamentally an act of control in service of adaptation. We control range of motion, effort level, and movement parameters based on real-time sensory feedback (fatigue, loss of precision, breathing changes) to keep practice within the zone where learning and perceptual development can occur. This is the mechanism that makes Baseworks self-paced and individually scalable.

Broader scope: While developed to describe Baseworks practice, the SENSE-CONTROL-ADAPT framework applies broadly to any thriving living system — organisms that sense their environment, control their responses, and adapt to changing conditions are the ones that survive and flourish.

What ARE Sense, Control, and Adapt?

They’re not abstract categories imposed from outside. They’re functional capacities of the nervous system — things the nervous system actually does, that can be measured, that vary between individuals, and that change with training. Specifically:

• SENSE is sensory discrimination — the nervous system’s capacity to detect, differentiate, and consciously represent signals from the body. This is measurable (two-point discrimination thresholds, joint position sense accuracy, interoceptive accuracy tasks). It varies enormously between individuals. It changes with training. In Baseworks, it corresponds to perceptual skills and sensory resolution.
• CONTROL is motor precision — the nervous system’s capacity to generate specific, intended muscle activation patterns, to sequence movements, to independently control body segments that usually move together. This is also measurable (force matching tasks, movement variability, coordination indices). In Baseworks, it corresponds to the movement vocabulary — the ability to execute movement patterns, to do FSA, to perform DA.
• ADAPT is self-regulation — the nervous system’s capacity to modulate its own activity based on internal feedback: adjusting effort, managing arousal, scaling responses to current conditions. This is measurable too (heart rate variability, cortisol reactivity, behavioral measures of self-pacing). In Baseworks, it corresponds to Intensity Modification and the broader capacity to adjust behavior based on sensed conditions.

So if someone says “this is too abstract,” the response is: these are three things your nervous system does all the time, mostly unconsciously. Baseworks makes them more conscious and trainable. You can sense your muscles (or not). You can control your spine segment by segment (or not). You can tell when you’re pushing too hard and adjust (or not). These aren’t philosophical concepts — they’re capacities you either have at a given resolution or don’t, and they can be developed.

Physical Intelligence (PQ)

See: Physical Intelligence Update Physical Intelligence when this section changes.

Physical Intelligence is an umbrella concept used in Baseworks to describe the integrated set of capacities that the method develops. It can be broadly defined as the ability to intuitively understand the body, be comfortable with it, read its sensory signals, know how to engage muscles, effortlessly maintain good posture, and learn new movement skills.

Relationship to other terms:

• Body awareness emphasizes SENSE only and is commonly associated either with interoceptive awareness (stress/trauma contexts) or positional sense. It misses the CONTROL and ADAPT dimensions.
• Perceptual skills (the preferred Baseworks technical term) captures SENSE and CONTROL but does not fully encompass ADAPT — the self-regulatory capacity to adjust effort and activity based on one’s current condition.
• Physical Intelligence is the most inclusive term, spanning all three dimensions of SENSE-CONTROL-ADAPT, and it parallels the IQ/EQ framework as a distinct domain of intelligence.

Distinction from related concepts:

• Gardner’s Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence focuses on coordinated body use for expressive or goal-directed purposes (athletes, dancers, surgeons). It emphasizes performance — what the body can do (i.e. the CONTROL dimension). PQ as used in Baseworks emphasizes awareness and self-regulation — what the body can sense, and how that sensing modifies behavior.
• Physical Literacy frameworks focus on competence, confidence, and motivation to be physically active across the lifespan (CONTROL dimention + motivational aspects outside the SCA framework). PQ is more specific: it concerns the quality and resolution of one’s sensorimotor experience, not participation or competence in physical activities per se. Within the SCA framework, the motivation arises from how the ability to sense and control movement affords lifelong engagement with physical practices.
• Common intuitions about “physical intelligence” typically suggest developed movement skills (coordination, agility, sport-specific ability) - the CONTROL dimension. The Baseworks usage is distinct because it foregrounds the SENSE and ADAPT dimensions — the perceptual skills and the capacity for self-regulation, knowing when to stop, adjusting intensity to condition — which is rarely included in popular conceptions.

Who benefits from raising PQ? Someone with low PQ may lack coordination, feel disconnected from their body, or have limited body awareness. They often experience discomfort and dissatisfaction with their physicality and face challenges in mainstream exercise or movement classes, which can demotivate them from continuing. Baseworks is designed to be accessible to such individuals through its use of Intensity Modification and its emphasis on perception over performance.

Limitations of the term: “Physical Intelligence” can sound vague or grandiose to outsiders unfamiliar with the method, and is already used by others to mean different things (often synonymous with athletic skill). For internal and technical use, perceptual skills remains the more precise term. PQ is most useful as an accessible, outward-facing concept that communicates the breadth of what Baseworks develops — beyond just “body awareness” — to audiences who may not yet have the vocabulary for the specific capacities involved.

---

Pedagogical considerations

Describing the performance/practice:

Baseworks is a set of techniques and principles that can be applied to almost any movement or body position that can be performed without momentum (e.g. common exercises like squats, planks, lunges, etc.).

For instance, a Squat (form) might be practiced while maintaining Distributed Activation with Micro-Movements, applying Gridlines & Symmetry to hip/ribcage tracking, and using FSA to sequence the hip-knee-ankle movement—all while monitoring Natural Breathing and using Intensity Modification if the legs become tired/breathing labored.

The core curriculum (which has been filmed, and by the nature of having been filmed and existing as video clips) is a set of approximately 80 forms. Forms can be practiced as a set or individually, and the practice involves applying Baseworks simultaneously applying movement patterns to macro-movements and macro positions of the body.

The challenge of simultaneity

See: Simultaneity Update Simultaneity when this section changes.

The simultaneity adds a learning challenge. One has to (1) learn the movement patterns, their names and how to perform them, (2) learn to perform them simultaneously. While it is possible to do this with a limited number of more foundational/introductory forms, until (1) and (2) are complete for movement patterns, the learner is not really performing the same Baseworks practice as an experienced practitioner. This is different from most movement modalities, where the process is more linear and by performing simpler techniques you are already performing the practice.

The function of instructions The role of instructional cues in Baseworks is somewhat different than in other practices. Since so many movement patterns and Baseworks are applied simultaneously, it is physically impossible to mention everything that needs to be done.

Example: in a movement from Z-lunge (a lunge where the front bent knee is above the top of the foot, the back knee is on the floor, hands on the hips, upper torso upright), to instruct 2 additional macro movements that together take about 3 seconds to perform - (1) leaning forward to bring the torso in line with the back thigh (GS) and then (2) lifting the back foot off the floor and bringing it closer to the buttock without moving the rest of the body (FSA), - we’d have to mention that we need to

• create distributed activation by pulling the legs in,
• watch the gridlines and symmetry by ensuring the front knee is above the toe,
• adhere to the midline, keeping the rectangle of the shoulders and the pelvis,
• in order to establish a foundation for fixing-separating-isolating,
• while not forgetting to draw the shoulders down,
• and perform the micromovements with the ribcage,
• and performing intensity modification for safety by stopping before the sensation of compression in the lower back,
• and performing intensity modification for effort by coming out of the form ,
• and performing Intensity modification for form by only bending the knee to the point where we can keep the foundation intact,
• while maintaining natural breathing,
• and you do all this simultaneously. Just to list this requires at least 40 seconds at a fast pace, and out of approximately 70 non-function words, over 40, more than half, are terminology that is either unique to Baseworks or is used in a significantly different way compared to its common use, which means that it requires prior learning to understand.

Therefore, after the practitioner learns the key cues, what they mean, and how to perform the movements, the instructor is still never able to give all the cues and will only give some. The practitioner has to infer what they need to be doing without being told (e.g. drawing the shoulders down all the time, not just when the instructor mentions it). The system is very consistent, so it’s relatively easy to infer, but requires some getting used to and practice.

So the instructor narrates the change in macro-position (this is similar to what instruction in other movement practices does), while selectively adding micro-movement cues to ensure the principles are applied.

How is this different from other practices? While many practices teach techniques/moves that become automatic to the point where instructor can just name the technique and the practitioner can execute a complex movement or even sequence of movements (a complex sequence becomes a chunk that can be instructed using one word), Baseworks has a very difficult approach: the macro-movements become more automatic, but the micro-movements still need to be applied consciously (requires concentration and effort) and simultaneously. Movement patterns never chunk into a single action.

Describing the teaching approach

See: WHILE-NOT-IF-DO · NODAA Update individual notes when either framework changes.

There are 2 frameworks:

• WHILE-NOT-IF-DO instructional algorithm
• NODAA ( narrate, observe demonstrate, assist, assess ) framework

WHILE-NOT-IF-DO instructional algorithm is a logic for how to deliver layered verbal instructions that aligns with sensorimotor control architecture, providing explicit positional and sensory cues that reduce ambiguity in movement execution and prompt simultaneity.

• Since many movement patterns and Baseworks need to be performed simultaneously, and the natural tendency is to perform actions sequentially, Narration in Baseworks emphasize the simultaneity (“WHILE drawing the shoulders down, bring your arms to the shoulder height”).
• Since the motor system is biased to perform movements in a particular, well-learned way, the NOT instructions bring attention to avoiding habitual movements (“Making sure that your rib cage does NOT move, bring the arms diagonally up)
• Since people come with different physical prerequisites and conditions, the exact manner in which each movement is performed may be different for different people. The IF layer of instructions has the form of “If A, do X; if B do Y.” (IF you feel compression in your lower back, extend the spine to the point where you don’t feel the compression)
• The DO layer comes at the very end and specifies what actions needs to be performed. Most other physical approaches have their instructions consist of primarily this layer. (“Bend your knees”)

NODAA is a framework for instructors that encourages them to use different channels when instructing:

• Narrate (primary vehicle of instructions)
• Observe (to decide which instructions to add based on the needs of the student(s))
• Demonstrate (visual channel)
• Assist (non-physical - pointing out what’s not working and encouraging the student to self-correct; physical - touching the person to help understand)
• Assess - the cycle of reflection on how the teaching went, what went well and what could be improved.

---

Outcomes

The method targets three categories of perceptual skills—interoceptive, spatial, and “proprioceptive” (muscular mechanosensation)—through structured application of six core principles. Students report developing “body awareness” (86% of practitioners), improved performance in other physical modalities, enhanced aesthetic perception, stress regulation, and sensory discrimination capacities.

---

Baseworks Practice

Baseworks Practice is a structured application of the Baseworks Method.

Structure of a Practice Session

A Baseworks Practice session can be Open or Complete.

• Complete Practice Session: Ignition → Form Practice → Assimilation
• Open Practice Session: Form practice only (no Ignition/Assimilation)

Recommended approach: Complete sessions, as Ignition and Assimilation directly affect process and outcomes of the main practice. However, Open sessions accommodate tight schedules or specific goals.

Standalone use: Ignition/Assimilation can be practiced independently for mindfulness or relaxation when needed.

Critically: 6 principles and movement patterns do not apply to Ignition and Assimilation.

Ignition Practice

See: Ignition Update Ignition when this section changes.

Purpose: Marks session beginning and establishes conditions for effective practice. NOT a warm-up (Baseworks uses intensity modification, requiring no physical preparation beyond what household chores need).

Four Functions:

1. Attentional shift - Clearly demarcates practice time, aids habit formation
2. State observation - Provides baseline awareness to inform intensity modification choices during practice
3. Tension release - Movements, stillness, or static contractions reduce unconscious muscular holding
4. Priming through stillness - Different ignition types (dynamic, seated, standing, with/without effort) create varied conditions for experiencing stillness, which optimally reveals internal subtleties

Varieties: May include slow controlled breathing (for awareness/control development and breathing capacity), but different formats create different priming effects on subsequent practice quality.

Assimilation Practice

See: Assimilation Update Assimilation when this section changes.

Purpose: Marks session end and optimizes learning consolidation. NOT a cool-down (if recovery is needed, intensity modification was insufficient).

Primary Function - Learning Consolidation:

• Brief wakeful rest improves motor and cognitive skill retention
• Promotes spontaneous neural reactivation and reduces cognitive interference
• Works best with somatic attention, but mind-wandering or sleep also acceptable
• Evidence-based strategy for enhancing learning outcomes

Secondary Functions:

1. Autonomic flexibility - Accelerates heart rate recovery (HRR), increases heart rate variability (HRV) through supine rest, diaphragmatic breathing, body scans
2. Specialized techniques - Self-applied cervical traction during supine rest; seated practices develop posture awareness and mindfulness foundation
3. Session closure - Marks completion for habit formation and routine establishment

Key Insight: The word “assimilation” refers to absorption/processing of experience—both visceral and psychological. Baseworks aims for learning, not just muscle engagement, making post-practice integration time essential.

Ignition and Assimilation vs Fitness Context

Ignition and Assimilation are not warm-up and cool-down. “Do you warm up before opening a language app and a cool-down after you close it?”

Why the Warm-up/Cool-down Framing Would Hurt Practice

The problem with “warm-up” thinking:

• Implies physical preparation for intense exertion (which Baseworks explicitly avoids through IM)
• Positions it as merely preparatory rather than intrinsically valuable in assessing one’s state
• Misses the cognitive/attentional shift that’s the actual purpose

The problem with “cool-down” thinking:

• Implies recovery from exhaustion (which shouldn’t happen with proper intensity modification)
• Frames it as passive recovery rather than active consolidation
• Completely misses the learning consolidation function and focuses on unfocused relaxation

---

Baseworks Practice Modules and Learning Formats

See: Module Update Module when this section changes.

Historically, when Baseworks Practice was delivered in public class format at the studio in Tokyo, the studio offered 4 types of classes, corresponding to 4 modules: Foundation, Elements, Strategy, Integrate. A module is defined by (1) forms that are included in its curriculum, (2) learning objectives. While the basic physical demands of the 4 modules increase from Foundation to Integrate, they were not meant to be hierarchical, and students were encouraged to attend all classes that they feel physically able to attend and “cycle” between them.

• Foundation and Elements strictly follow the 6 principles and movement patterns to develop perceptual skills and movement vocabulary
• Strategy and Integrate were less focused on the 6 principles (especially, less FSA, more fluid movement), and included forms with more physically challenging movement dynamics.

Currently, we don’t have the Tokyo studio anymore, and we focus on teaching the Baseworks method at the Foundation / Elements level, with the implicit understanding that the role of Strategy and Integrate will be fulfilled by other practices in the practitioner’s life.

---

Cyclicity and Cycling

See: Cyclicity Update Cyclicity when this section changes.

Task-Level Cycling

Core Concept: Repeatedly revisiting the same movements/tasks to explore them with progressively refined awareness, rather than linear progression to harder tasks.

Rationale - Challenging Automaticity: Most basic movements (trunk rotation, knee bending) are already at the “autonomous stage” of motor learning—performed automatically without conscious attention. However, automaticity ≠ optimal awareness or control. Well-learned movements often contain unconscious habits and patterns we’ve lost access to.

Baseworks Approach: Intentionally returns practitioners to the “cognitive stage” even for familiar movements by:

• Breaking movements into smallest components
• Asking detailed sensory questions (e.g., “Are your arms truly aligned on one line in Star Tilt?”)
• Training perception of body geometry/symmetry that culture doesn’t typically develop
• Building internal feedback literacy (versus relying on mirrors/teachers)

Key Insight from Motor Learning Research: Physical training doesn’t just improve muscle control—it changes perceptual resolution. Like the kitten studies showing environmental exposure shapes visual perception: if you never needed to sense arm alignment in all positions, you won’t easily feel those lines. Baseworks is “tuning up the resolution of the camera” for somatosensation.

Practice Application: When repeating a Practice Lab, you’re not “just doing it again”—you’re:

• Catching unconscious habits
• Noticing muscles working in new ways
• Discovering more efficient movement strategies
• Building awareness skills applicable beyond Baseworks (any physical learning, daily life)

Session-Level Cycling

Core Concept: Moving between different practice session types (varying in focus, intensity, forms included) rather than following linear beginner→advanced progression, to deepen learning and adapt to current state.

Philosophy - “How” Over “What”: Baseworks doesn’t categorize sessions as “beginner” or “advanced.” In the Tokyo studio, beginners and senior teachers practiced the same sessions simultaneously. Skill level determines depth of engagement with the same material, not access to different material.

Two Types of Cycling:

1. Cross-Activity Cycling (Baseworks ↔ Other Practices)

• Practitioner’s background (runner, dancer, golfer) shapes what they notice in Baseworks
• Insights from Baseworks inform how they return to their primary activity
• Changes in other activity then inform next Baseworks session
• Creates cycle of learning where practices mutually enhance each other

2. Within-Baseworks Module Cycling

Historical Context (Tokyo Studio 2007-2022): Four modules offered simultaneously, not hierarchically:

• Foundation: Detail-oriented, deep focus on awareness/precision, strict adherence to 6 principles
• Elements: More complex movement dynamics, less observation time per detail, strict adherence to 6 principles
• Strategy: Less FSI emphasis, more fluid movement, physically challenging dynamics
• Integrate: Advanced physical demands, integration across all principles

Students encouraged to cycle between all modules they felt physically capable of attending.

Current Context (2022-present): Platform focuses on Foundation/Elements level with understanding that Strategy/Integrate roles are fulfilled by practitioners’ other physical practices.

Contradicting Fitness Logic:

• Traditional fitness: avoid high-intensity when tired, take rest days
• Baseworks logic:
  • Tired → choose low-intensity session OR choose high-intensity but adapt through Intensity Modification
  • Key skill: not avoiding challenge, but adjusting approach to challenge
  • Reported life impact: changes how practitioners handle stress/difficulty in work, relationships

Practice Application: Cycle through sessions of different intensities/focuses rather than “graduating” from one to another. Each session provides unique lens for exploring movement and awareness. Stay mindful, maintain calm breathing, adapt to daily condition.

Note on the evolution of the concept of Cyclical Practice:

The idea of cycling between modules was present from the beginning of the Tokyo studio period, but it originated more as an operational stance rather than an explicit pedagogical philosophy. The immediate problem it was solving was a fitness-industry default: the assumption that you start at the easiest level and graduate toward the hardest. In Baseworks, that framing was explicitly rejected — modules were not steps on a ladder, and even the most physically capable practitioners were expected to attend all accessible modules. “Cycling” in this original sense simply meant: don’t fixate on one module, keep moving between them.

What was already implicit in this and often explained to students/junior instructors — but not yet explicitly labeled — was that the value of cycling came from cross-referencing (currently captured in the concept of “revisiting”, as in the Primer’s “Smart Revisit” feature): the experience of one module changed the quality of attention brought to another. The same mechanism operated at the cross-practice level (what a student brought from their yoga or athletic background changed what they noticed in Baseworks, and vice versa), but this was understood mor informally (often surfacing in various discussions) rather than framed as part of the method.

The Primer formalized the concept across multiple dimensions simultaneously — task-level cycling (returning to the same form to discover it more finely) and session-level cycling (choosing between different types of content based on current state) — as an attempt to capture what had always been implicit in the Tokyo approach. These operate in different dimensions: session-level cycling is about how you allocate practice time; task-level cycling is about the attentional quality within that time. Both serve the same underlying mechanism: cross-referencing generates learning that linear progression cannot.

The concept thus evolved from a practical studio policy (“attend all modules”) into a pedagogical philosophy applicable beyond movement practice.

Notes

Ambiguous goal-setting in movement instruction → Goal setting is ambiguous because there are too many degrees of freedom, and instructions explicitly specify only a limited number of parameters. Most of the parameters are left unset by the instructor, and end up set by the actor’s sensorimotor system based on existing biases.

---

References

Bernstein NA. The co-ordination and regulation of movements. Oxford: Pergamon Press; 1967.

Related

• Method Admin