Gymnastics, Sport, and Society: Reversing Body Techniques and their Consequence for Health and Development

This theoretical paper analyses the evolution of physical activity from natural bodily techniques to modern sport within industrial societies, focusing on the reversal of body uses and its implications for health and development. Drawing from historical, sociological, and anthropological perspectives, it highlights the duality of work and leisure underlying gymnastic and sporting practices and interrogates their integration in traditional societies like Burundi. The paper concludes that bodily techniques’ inversion requires a balanced, contextualized approach for sustainable development.