Deepening The Twelve Senses
With Dr. Lakshmi Prasanna
Developmental Pediatrician
10, 17, 24 September & 1 October 2022, Saturdays
7:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Fee: Rs.7,000 INR or $ 105 USD
Image and translation: J-M. David
“A helpful lens on human development was provided by Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the Waldorf education movement which now numbers some 1000 schools worldwide. We work with the picture that we have much more than the five traditional senses… in fact, twelve! If you’re like most people, you might initially have a mystified or puzzled reaction to hearing someone say humans have twelve senses—not just the five that science usually describes. However, the twelve senses approach – first described by Rudolf Steiner 90 years ago – is similar in many ways to the “Multiple Intelligences” education theory popularized by Harvard professor Howard Gardner in the 1990s. In any event, the idea of the 12 senses isn’t meant to be analyzed in a literal or scientific way, but rather to be carried as a picture that might shine new light on how parents and teachers can contribute to the healthy growth of children. The particular definitions for the capacities to be described as the spectrum of 12 interrelated senses, can be quickly grasped by placing them in the light of ‘common sense’ everyday expressions.” – Movement for Children
What can you expect to take away from the workshop?
– Taking up the picture of twelve human senses can give us fresh insights into the task of nurturing healthy childhood development. One insight is that, for each of four “lower” senses—senses that appear in the first day of life and grow throughout childhood—there is a companion “higher” sense that appears later and represents a transformation or flowering of the lower sense. Another way of saying this is that “the Lower Senses develop the Higher Senses.” Expressed in a positive way, this means that any activity that helps one of the four lower senses will also be vital to the development of its companion higher sense.
About Dr. Lakshmi Prasanna
Dr. Lakshmi Prasanna is a pediatrician (neonatologist) with 25 years experience.
She founded Little Hearts Children’s Hospital and also the Saandeepani Centre for Healing and Curative Education in Hyderabad, India for children with special needs and developmental delays. She was the President of Anthroposophical Medical Society in India, and is very well regarded across multiple geographies for her integrated approach to health and well being. Her approach includes consultation, teacher training workshops for schools,
child development workshop for parents, and family meetings. She has worked extensively in India, Nepal, Singapore, Australia and, more recently, the US. The primary focus of her work has been with Steiner schools in Australia as a school doctor. Since 2007 she has worked extensively in Australia as a lecturer and health educator, particularly within school communities.
