ABSTRACT
All our life we perform actions of flexion and extension without giving it a thought, usually because such actions occur for other reasons. Many of us curl up when going to sleep at night and enjoy yawning and stretching in the morning. General physical flexion also occurs when one is very cold, the body curls up to keep warm. These and other examples are rather personal actions, not usually performed for an audience. In contrast, putting on socks or tying a shoe lace also requires doubling up, and reaching into a deep closet or up to a high shelf requires physical extension. For each of these movements of flexion or extension there is an outside object or purpose for which the action is performed. Without an external reason older students (in contrast to children) often feel embarrassed when being asked to explore the actions of flexion and extension for their own sake without any pantomimic action to provide motivation.
