I have asked several teachers: Who coined that expression.
Michael Linton:
"Interesting question - Patrick Macdonald used it all the time, but I
don't recall any mention of any origin."
Halvard Heggdal:
"Head leads, body follows" comes from Rudolf Magnus
"It is possible to impress upon the whole body different adapted
attitudes by changing only the position of the head ... the mechanism as a
whole acts in such a way that the head leads and the body follows."
Tim Kjeldsen:
"The phrase 'head leads and the body follows' originates with Rudolph Magnus
(1873-1927) the neurologist who first identified righting reflexes.
Alexander mentions him in UCL and identifies Magnus's discoveries with his
own 'primary control'"
Bruce Marshall:
"The 'head leads, body follows' beyond discovery of Magnus, seems to have taken to be, at least from my experience a framework to which Marj Barstow and coterie of students and teachers emphasized, though unfortunately to a degree of what I considered cliche"
Well, to begin with, it seems that Magnus righting reflexes are somehow controversial. In my opinion they do not exist; this would be funny if it weren't a tragedy.
Back to "the head leads ... " in my view, every attempt (either doing or imagining) of carrying out this instruction is counterproductive.
In the best case, it could be a description of how a well coordinated body is observed moving from the outside. Outside could mean an observer or ourselves when watching our image reflected on a mirror.
So, forget about "the head leads ... " and try instead with this one:
"the body leads and the head follows".
or with this one:
"the head moves with the rest of the body"
The important word here is WITH. Neither lead nor lag behind.
