The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Fourth Lecture

[ 1 ] My dear friends, as we have seen, the vowels in eurythmy do indeed have a more or less direct effect on the rhythmic organism. With the consonantal eurythmic movements, the point is that they do indeed also affect the rhythmic organism, but indirectly, through the metabolic organism of the limbs. And of course, the first step is simply to look at the details today, because you can really only gain an understanding of what this is all about if you can go into the details. Now let’s go through the most important eurythmic consonant movements. Perhaps Ms. Ste would be so kind—and Ms. Wolfram, could you demonstrate the “B” for us, and now perform this “B” while walking. Now try to walk in such a way that one leg mimics an arm movement as you walk; repeat the “B.” Now imagine doing this faster and faster and—let’s say, for starters—repeating it correctly for four to five minutes. Perhaps Ms. Baumann would be so kind as to demonstrate the “P” for us in the same way. After all, the difference isn’t that great. Now you should try to do this with your legs as well. This naturally results in a complex leg movement that is very similar to the movements in tone-eurythmy (don’t interrupt here). This must now be done repeatedly in succession by the person who wishes to achieve something through the “P.”

[ 2 ] Now, all these movements related to consonantization are connected to those aspects of digestion that go beyond gastrointestinal activity; so if we consider—not the actual intestinal cavity through which the food passes, which we will set aside for now—but rather the outer wall of the intestine, where the chyme passes through the intestinal villi and so on, and then is absorbed into the lymph and blood—that is, what lies beyond the actual initial digestive activity. So that such movements, as you have just seen performed, actually have a retroactive effect on internal digestion—on all that constitutes digestive activity in the blood vessels, and especially on digestive activity in the kidneys. So if the aim were to regulate kidney function, then you would have such movements performed. It is precisely these movements—which we have just performed as B and P movements—that, in the most eminent sense, also have a regulating effect on kidney function, that is, on urination, for example. These connections are certainly of great interest to anyone who recalls how the entire circulatory system in humans is linked to speech, and how, consequently, a connection emerges between what is fed into the circulatory system through metabolism and this particular form of sound production—the articulation of consonants.

[ 3 ] Now let’s try doing a D. Now try to make the same movement with your legs by hopping, but while hopping, bend your knees slightly so that as you hop, you’re bending your knees at the same time. But you must try to have the patients bend their knees and hop more and more vigorously, and let them jump. Perhaps Ms. Baumann will demonstrate the “T” for us, which would now correspond to a forward hop while attempting to form an “X” with the legs. So you try to hop outward while stepping forward and form an “X” with your legs. That is what must be done. The point here, after all, is to demonstrate the concept. So we have D and T. It is indeed the case that with these exercises, when you produce the so-called “soft” sound, you can address milder issues in this regard; when you produce the so-called “hard” sound, you can address more acute issues in this regard. These sounds, D and T, actually work this way. Of course, you have to have the patients repeat them for several minutes until they get quite tired—with these exercises, the point is really to have them perform the movements until they are exhausted. Then, when one has them perform the exercises to the point of fatigue, these D and T sounds in particular become a force that has a strengthening effect on bowel function—and specifically on the type of bowel function that manifests as constipation. Thus, one can counteract many cases of constipation “to the point of evacuation” (as per the stenographic notation; in earlier editions: “to the point of expression”). For those who understand the physiological connections between the speech apparatus—which, after all, undergoes movement during the process of learning to speak—and the metabolic-limb system, such a concept is undoubtedly clear.

[ 4 ] Well, perhaps you would be so kind, Miss Wolfram, as to demonstrate the “G” sound for us. Now, the idea is that you try again to hop forward in a similar way, with your legs spread apart. The same would apply to the “K” sound (Ms. Baumann). And now you must try to move forward with your legs spread wide apart, just as with the “Q,” but that’s essentially the same thing. Here we have a movement—with the “G,” the “K,” and the “Q”—that has a stimulating effect on peristalsis, on the internal mechanical action of the intestines, and thus promotes the movements of the intestines themselves. The difference in the physiological effect between D and T, G, K, and Q is that with D and T, the effect is more on the digestion of the food itself, whereas with G, K, and Q, the effect is more on the movement of the food through the intestines—that is, when the intestines themselves are sluggish.

[ 5 ] The “S” sound (Fräulein Wolfram) is particularly important and can be used to great therapeutic effect. Now, when you make this “S” sound, the point is that you hop forward—hopping in general while continuously keeping your legs in the “O” shape—and make this “S” sound. And this is in fact—namely because you are constantly landing your legs in this “O” shape—very intimately connected to human digestive activity, that is, to metabolic activity, which in turn affects the entire human organism. And these movements in particular are something that can also be done by children who suffer from poor digestion and, as a result, experience headaches, because this movement has a particularly regulating effect on gas production in the intestines. If this process is not functioning properly—that is, if it is too weak or too strong—then this movement in particular becomes of the utmost importance ^{1Formerly “correct.”}

[ 6 ] Then there’s the F sound (Ms. Baumann). This is a psychological matter. You have to try to execute the jump like this: You get ready to jump and try to move forward, but as you land, step down firmly on your toes—then heels up—then heels up again—then heels up once more. It would be the same with the “V.” Here we have a movement that should be practiced if one finds that urination is not functioning properly. It has a stimulating effect on urination. So if, for whatever reason, one is compelled to stimulate it in some way, then one should perform this movement.

[ 7 ] It is, of course, entirely possible to combine these movements in a wide variety of ways, for when one is dealing with a situation, one will find that one must act by combining one or the other in one direction or another.

[ 8 ] When we make an R—(Miss Wolfram)—and now I ask you to make the R in such a way that you clearly show, as you step forward, that you bend and then straighten again, and then step forward with the left [leg]—[here Rudolf Steiner demonstrated the bending and straightening movement himself]. And while you keep trying to step forward in this way with your legs bent, try to make the “R.” This is how it should be practiced. This “R”—which, when practiced with a person for just a few minutes (though it would need to be practiced several times a day)—is something that regulates the bowel movement rhythm when it is out of balance. It is, therefore, something that directly influences the bowel movement rhythm and regulates it.

[ 9 ] It is also important, in general, for observing the full range of human dynamics to take note of these connections that come to light in this way, even though it is, of course, absolutely necessary that these movements not be performed in an amateurish manner, but rather that, when they are performed, they be carried out properly in accordance with the diagnosis.

[ 10 ] Now an L (Ms. Baumann), again in conjunction with the effort to position the legs in an X-shape and hop forward—contract—do it again. However, hopping forward should be an effort at the same time. Forward movement is absolutely necessary in such a case. This movement has a particularly strong effect on peristalsis, on bowel movement itself. In fact, this movement can also be utilized by having the patient move backward in the same manner. It will be much more difficult for the patient to learn this, but it has a very significant regulating effect on bowel movement and peristalsis—just as all these movements have a regulating effect, extending from the metabolism of the limbs to what is, in this regard, dependent on the metabolism of the limbs, or at least to what follows from it: circulation and respiratory movement.

[ 11 ] Well, a particularly interesting letter is the H—this H, which actually accompanies most vowels. So this H is meant to accompany walking in such a way that you try to adapt your walking to it: You try to start by standing with your legs together, hop forward, and then—while hopping forward—spread your legs apart and bring them back together with your legs open, always moving forward. This is a movement that—please keep this in mind—must be performed quite slowly. With the other movements, it is important to perform them quickly; this movement, however, must be performed slowly, and there should also be rest periods between the individual jumps. This must be taken into account with this movement because it has a very strong effect on the regulation of bowel activity in the area where the stomach transitions into the intestines. Therefore, if you notice that someone is unable to move food from the stomach into the intestines, it is highly beneficial to have them perform this movement; but as I said, it should be done calmly, with a pause after each individual hop.

[ 12 ] Now we have the M (Ms. Baumann). And we’ll do this M using the lapwing step—that is, doing the M with the lapwing step. It’s good to have the student perform one step with one leg and the next step with the other leg (back and forth). You can also have the student perform the lapwing step backward and then forward again with the other leg. This technique—performing the lapwing step backward—is something that should be mastered. This is indeed a movement that is important to study, for the “M” performed in this form has a regulating effect, fundamentally on the entire metabolic organism and on the limbs, and—something that is exceptionally important—it should also be practiced during children’s developmental years. This “M” exercise has an extraordinarily regulating effect—especially on the, I would say, most pressing aspects of sexual life—when practiced during puberty. It regulates the most pressing aspects of sexual life, particularly when practiced during the developmental years. One simply needs to have acquired a certain perspective ^{3In the shorthand transcript, this should be read as “applied,” but Helene Finckh herself rendered it as “acquired.”} to determine whether one should practice it in this way. It is not without reason that the letter M was regarded, in a time when people still understood something of the inner meaning of letters, as an extraordinarily important letter and as the one that concludes the OM syllable of the Orient. This conclusion of the OM syllable of the Orient by the letter M is due to the fact that the entire human being is, in fact, regulated—starting from the metabolic-limb organism—precisely by this sound. And this movement, in turn, has a particularly regulating effect. In ancient cultures, it was quite common to have younger people perform such movements in order to educate them physically as whole human beings and, at the same time, as people who exercise self-restraint.

[ 13 ] Next, we have the “N” sound. You perform this “N” sound while jumping with your knees bent from the start. So you keep your legs bent—your knees bent—and then you jump. This is a movement that has an extraordinarily strengthening effect on bowel function—to the extent that it should be used in cases of a tendency toward diarrhea. This, in turn, can serve as proof or an indication of how the musculoskeletal system influences the metabolic system. This is something one really notices only when one takes into account the connections between the musculoskeletal system and the metabolic system through an understanding of the threefold structure of the human organism. This threefold structure of the human organism truly sheds light on many things, and one can actually say that, on the one hand, one can spend a long time devising all sorts of exercises in which one believes one is taking the soul into account in our present day—when knowledge of the soul consists almost exclusively of words—or, on the other hand, one can focus solely on physical exercise, paying attention only to bodily physiology. One can talk at length about these things, but without an understanding of the threefold nature of the human organism, one will not arrive at clarity in these matters. It was indeed interesting how a contemporary physiologist once attended one of the introductory talks I usually give before eurythmy and then also observed the eurythmy itself. And now I usually say that, in education, this “animated” gymnastics must be allowed to take the place of gymnastics derived solely from physiology. Then the physiologist in question—who is still regarded today as such a great authority on nutrition—said: “Yes, for him, it would not be nearly enough to say that one should not overestimate gymnastics; rather, for him, gymnastics would not be a teaching tool at all, but a barbaric practice.”

[ 14 ] Well, you see, there is actually a very significant symptom of our times behind something like this. It is equally true to say: Gymnastics as such is usually viewed one-sidedly today because it is derived solely from the physiology and anatomy of the organism, just as it is one-sided,^{4According to the transcript: “actually one-sided, at least in turn, is ...”} to say that gymnastics is barbarism. Why? Because if one derives gymnastics solely from the physiology of the body, then it becomes barbaric. Our materialistic education and civilization are what have turned gymnastics into a barbaric practice in the first place. The way gymnastics is practiced today is indeed barbaric. And isn’t it true that the view of gymnastics is associated with entirely false mental images? For example, people believe—though not the experts today, but still many people believe—that if you’ve mentally strained someone and then, as they think, let them recover physically, that constitutes real recovery. That’s not true at all! Whether someone spends an hour doing math or an hour doing gymnastics, they actually get just as tired; it makes no difference. Of course, people know that today, but they can’t properly assess how the soul and spirit must be incorporated into the gymnastic movement, how the movement itself must come from the whole person. Well, isn’t it true that in gymnastics, we’ll have to gradually approach things in such a way that what we cultivate as artistic eurythmy must unite with what can be cultivated as physiological gymnastics. And one can quite easily transition from eurythmy to gymnastics. We must simply always ensure that such eurythmy—which actually plays a role in the classroom as animated gymnastics—is taught with, I would say, a certain sense of humor; in other words, it must above all bring joy to the children. It must bring joy to the children; that is part of it. Teaching eurythmy as a grumpy and dried-up educator is something that really wouldn’t work at all.

[ 15 ] Now we still have the “Sch” (Miss Wolfram). If you now try to do this by accompanying it with a small jump, a big jump, another small jump, a bigger jump, and another small jump—if you let it unfold this way—then you’ll again have a movement in the “Sch” that [...] ^{5There is a gap in the stenographic record from this point on, as well as in Helene Finckh’s transcription.} but this movement, too, must be performed slowly. With the “N” movement, it is not necessary to slow it down particularly, but with the “M” ^{6Clearly “M” in the shorthand transcript, corrected to “H” in pencil in the transcription.} and the Sch movement, it is necessary to perform them slowly, and here, too, after every three steps—when transitioning to the next one (which also introduces a rhythm)—one pauses. Short, long, short—now pause—long, short, long—now pause—short, long, short—now pause. And this movement has a quality that, in appropriate cases—since the movement can certainly be adapted specifically to those initial stages related to the stomach, to the initial stages of intestinal function—is particularly effective, especially when someone has such weak digestion that food remains in the stomach. I have already drawn attention to something similar on another occasion. This is particularly true of the H movement as well, but with this Sch movement, it is especially important to pay attention to whether, for example, stomach acid develops easily and the like, and one should then have this Sch movement performed.

[ 16 ] So you see that consonant articulation is connected to the formation of the human being in a completely different way than vowel articulation. In the case of vocalization, I had to draw your attention, so to speak, to how the inner aspect—that which lies more inwardly—is connected to movement. Here we are dealing with an effect on the third member of the threefold human organism.

[ 17 ] Well, if one applies specifically what we discussed the day before yesterday regarding vocalization, then it is good to try—before having the patient perform the exercise as such with a vowel—to have the patient sound out the vowel in question slowly—that is, slowly for the patient. So that, without singing—singing would be less helpful in this case—without singing, they simply sustain the sound for a long time: sustaining “A” or “I” for a long time. And then, once they’ve done this for a while—sustaining the sound aloud—you have them perform the corresponding vowel movement. And then, after they have performed it, try to evoke in them a mental image of themselves hearing the sound in question—as if they were actually hearing it. You will find that very few people today have this ability—to hear sounds inwardly, mentally and emotionally. So, isn’t it true that you have to tell the patient to enter a state of mind as if he were now hearing the “I”? It is particularly important to understand this point. For you see, when you first have the patient pronounce the vowel and sustain the sound, the organism as such has the sensation that the sound in question is being aroused. If the patient then performs the movement, the movement appears to be an effect of the spoken sound. And if one then listens—that is, sounds the “I,” performs the movement we have learned afterward, and subsequently imagines hearing the “I” resonate—then it is: the arousal of the “I”—that which arises in the movement of the “I”—hearing what has moved, hearing the sound again. So this is something that actually brings a great deal of life into this human etheric body, and indeed, precisely in the directions we have emphasized, it brings true life into this etheric body. And that is precisely the aim of these things, of these exercises—to bring movement into the human etheric body, so that the etheric activity of the human organism is indeed brought into an internally regulated movement. It is particularly interesting to observe how the movement—which proceeds as intestinal peristalsis from front to back—triggers a movement within the etheric body that proceeds from back to front, a movement that then breaks at the abdominal wall—not that it actually breaks, but rather disappears. This latter movement—in most cases, when bowel function is not normal—is, in most cases, also in the most extreme disorder. And this activity, which is opposite to the physical movement, is stimulated in particular, for example, by the R-movement. In this movement, there is a very lively vibration from back to front, and this is precisely what affects the rhythm of evacuation in a very special way during the R-movement.

[ 18 ] This is also quite effective from an educational and didactic standpoint, because the entire human organism is, after all, a unified whole, and everything within it functions in a unified manner. If you observe children at school, for example, you will find some among them who can hardly pronounce the letter “R” at all—who are, in other words, absolutely terrible at pronouncing the “R.” Such children—of course, other factors may come into play, and the situation may not always be entirely clear— but such children are actually always candidates for physical rigidity at the same time, and one does them a real favor by doing with them something like what I demonstrated to you today as the “R” movement, which is beneficial for the rhythm of elimination. It is certainly true that these things can, of course, be utilized pedagogically. In that case, however, one must—I would say—always limit oneself to subtle hints, and one must not go too far. The doctor, on the other hand, can go quite far, for he will find that certain symptoms naturally arise after this has been practiced for days or weeks. But he is, of course, in a position to counter these symptoms—which are bound to occur quite justifiably—by employing other measures. I mean, if, for example, let’s say the effect of the M-movement ^{7In the stenographic transcript, clearly “M”; in earlier editions, “N” [hearing error?].} were to be too strong, then one would ^{8In the transcript, “yes” and “there” are indistinguishable.} simply need to counter it with a D-movement, and one would thereby still have achieved what needs to be achieved. So one can balance one thing with another.

[ 19 ] All I want to say today is that I truly do not want artistic eurythmy to be compromised in any way by the controversies that are bound to arise in connection with eurythmy when it is considered as a form of hygienic therapy. And I earnestly ask the artistic eurythmists to thoroughly forget these things when they practice artistic eurythmy, so that they are not misled by thoughts of digestive activity while they are performing their artistic eurythmy. That would, of course, be a most regrettable situation. However, one must be absolutely clear that human art is also, in every other respect, thoroughly connected to the whole, to the complete human being, and does not merely come from the head. And this, of course, must be taken into account especially when it comes to a movement art.

[ 20 ] That is what I wanted to tell you today. Now, over the next few days, we will discuss a bit more about human evolution—specifically, how certain influences during specific periods, such as exercises involving the child’s organism, manifest as effects in later life.