Movement and the Will: How Eurythmy Strengthens Life-Force and Inner Discipline

I love presenting this to my children during class. The first class of every block, every single year, I ask them the same question, “What is Eurythmy? And why do we do it?”

I get so many answers about the various different activities we’ve done through the years. Now and then I have a student that remembers! I ask this question every year because every year, it grows and changes. It’s also important to keep this answer in our focus as we go about our movement and activities for the block. The simple, quick answer is this: “Eurythmy is exercise for the soul.” And what does that mean? This answers the ‘why’ of eurythmy: when we do eurythmy, we strengthen our life force, or our will-power!

What got you up this morning? This is a question I often ask my children next. It wasn’t your mother; she’s buff but not that buff. It wasn’t your cat; you don’t own a tiger! It wasn’t your little brother; he’s not a body builder! And it definitely wasn’t your alarm clock; it doesn’t transform into a robot! These things may have woken you up, but they did not get you up and out of bed. It was you; your will-power, or life force! As we work to strengthen this force, we increase our capacity for the desire to do the task that is best for us, keeping it in our focus.

When we talk about focus, we often think first of the mind: attention, concentration, the ability to stay on task. But in childhood, focus is not only a mental skill. It is something that grows out of the whole human being, especially through the body. Again, it is willpower, or life force. It needs to be exercised to become stronger and more resilient to the temptation to do the easy thing that will surely present itself.

We often speak about the development of the “will.” This is not willpower in the sense of forcing or pressing. It is not something we push ourselves to do because we have to do it, or we've failed. Rather, it is the capacity for desire to begin something, stay with it, and bring it to completion. It is the foundation of follow-through, perseverance, and inner stability. And for children, the will develops first through doing.

Movement is one of the most natural ways to strengthen this capacity of will. And eurythmy provides a special way of moving that strengthens the will even further! “Through the geometry, choreography, and all you have to memorize, you strengthen your thinking; through the poems and music, the gestures for the vowels, and so forth, you cultivate your feeling; through having to actually move these things, you develop your will. In this way, all of you is enlivened and integrated.” — Reg Down

All of this is life force.

In eurythmy, the children are asked to move with intention. A gesture is not random. A form is not accidental. Each movement asks for clarity, presence, and follow-through. Children must listen, observe, begin, adjust, and complete. Over time, this strengthens not only coordination, but also inner organization.

One of the most powerful things about eurythmy is that it provides repetition with meaning. When students move a gesture or form over the course of the block, they experience something important: growth does not come from doing something once, but from returning to it again and again, each time with a growing, new awareness. Children begin to notice that their movements become clearer, more confident, more intentional. This gives them an experience of progress that will in turn support confidence and resilience.

Across the grades, this strengthening of the will looks different. Younger children experience it through joyful participation: starting together, stopping together, and holding rhythm through copying what the teacher does. Middle grade children begin to work more consciously with accuracy and spatial awareness, being brought through their feeling life. High schoolers have an even greater responsibility for presence, precision, and artistic intention through their reasoning and logic. At each stage, the movement meets the children’s capacity without overwhelming them. We do not demand more than they are ready to give. We simply utilize what we've built and encourage it more and more, until their abilities grow!

What is especially meaningful is that this kind of discipline does not rely on external pressure. Instead, it grows from inside the child. When movement has meaning, children often naturally want to improve, refine, and complete what they began. This creates a foundation for focus and will that carries into academic work, relationships, and daily life.

In a world that often asks children to manage increasing amounts of information, the ability to stay present, to follow through, and to remain steady in effort is invaluable. Eurythmy supports this not through lectures or reminders, but through a living, breathing experience.

When children practice moving with intention, clarity, and completion, they are not only learning a form or a gesture, they are practicing how to meet life itself with steadiness, presence, and quiet inner strength.

Ms. Tiffany
Eurythmy Teacher

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