The Feldenkrais Journal #1 General Issue

Citation preview

Autumn

Number One

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1984

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Drowing by Terrence Berns

KRAIS

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?j Issue Number One of the FELDENKRAIS JOIIRNAL marks a special moment for our conmrunity. The nature of our work 1s sueh that we often work alone or in occasional contact with other Feldenkrals practitioners. I.Ie see the Journal as a means to comunicate developing ideas about the work and to stimulate new ideas through dialog and dlscussion. We have one regret: Moshe will not see it. IIe left us just before this fruition of our learning ln the field that he sowed.

internal publication for Guil_d memberS. All aspects of our experlence as practitioners and trainees are welcome for publication: thoughts and lnsights, teaching notes, technical corunents, case histories, research reports; dreams, drawings and poems. Our editorial policy is to facilitate written and vlsual expression; articles submitted will be rninimalLy edited. Different styles and "handwritings" are weLcome, each writer taking responsibility for content and language form. Our purpose i_s to offer an open foruro where members may feel ease in writing and publishing

The FELDENKRAIS JOURNAL 1s an

Constructing a Journal for the Feldenkrais coununity is quite a chalLenge. How can we communicate in writing the evolution of our learning and its subtlety? IIow can we afticulate our thinking? We have here an opportunity to experiment. Surely we will get beEter at talking about what we do, and improve ourselves along the way.

Yvan Joly

Elizabeth Berlnger Co-Editors

AcknowledgemenEs: We wlsh to thank llonique Chamberland, for her dilllgent work on the word processor; Terry Berns, Pat Salmon and David Tabakow, for their openmlnded proof reading and supportive coments; and Solange Courval and Terry Berns for their exciting graphics. Thank you also to each of our colleagues who submitted the texts for thls Issue Number One. And welcome to all of our readers! We invite you to submit your articles and coments for publlcation in future

lssues of the

FELDENKRAIS JOURNAL.

@ LEARNERS NEVER

onf enf s

FAIL

5

by Terrence C. Berns AI.I EGALITARIAN MODEL FOR FELDENKRAIS COII'IINUITE EUJCATION

.. .10

by Ralph Strauch

I

..12

MOSHE FELDENKRAIS VIORK W.TTH !IO\EMB{T: A PARALLEL APPROACH TO MILTOI{ ERICKSONIS HYPNO.iIIERAPY

.

A LESS)N FOR I'IOSHE by Brooke l*{edicine Eagle

...30

by l'lark Reese

34

LEFT HAND RIGHT BRATN

by Terrence C. Berns

hORDII'G THE }ION-VERBAL PRmESS OF ATM OR I JUST SHUT UP

tiHy mN,T

...36

by Yvan Joly

THE FURTHER REACHES OF FUNCTIOTIAL II.TTEGRATIOI.i AITD A}IAP&iESS THROUGH I,,OVEI'1EI.]T AI{D THE TECHNIQUES

OF

F.I.

.

..43

Al.iD ATM

by Josef De11a Grotte, ph.D.

The PELDSIKRAIS

l'4anuscripts,

JCXJRNAL

letters

is published by the Feldenkrais Guild for it,s rnembers. for publication can be sent to:

and other rnaterials

The Feldenkrais Journal c/o Eeldenkrais Guild Post Office Box 11145 San Francisco CA 94101 USA

RTBUTORS

TO THIS E DITION

C. Berns is a Quebec practitioner frqn the Anherst Trainirq. H€ has of teachirq, particularly in Brglish language and @es Iiterature. His personal study of ltoshers way goes back 10 years. TErry is also a visual artist. rJosef ElIa Grotte Ph.D. is a Feldenkrais practitioner frcrn the San FYancisco ffiapist,TaiChiinstructor,andforrrrerUniversityteacher. He conducts a private practice in Watertown Massachusetts. Josef also leads r+orkshops in "Holistic Body-centered Process". \Yvan JoIy is a nember of the Arnherst "batch" of Feldenkrais practitioners. tle F;-rontr6a1 pqgctologist and forner consultant in organizations who likes to (Terrence

practice, write and dance the Feldenkrais

way.

is a native teacher, a lovirg swporter of !'lother Earth, a ffiF.}1.andN.L.P.whotrave1sinternationa1}y,teachirEand lecturirq. She is noe, settled in Oklahqna as trainer, foreman and

rBrooke l.'tedecine_Eaglg +

artist-in-residence.

(Mark Reese who has been a Eeldenkrais Practitioner since 1977, has a rnasters degree in pqTchology and a background in theater and music, In addition to r*orkirg with individuals and groqps, he is actively writing about the Feldenkrais method. He lives in San Diego, California. )Ralph gqqegsb_ has a Ph.D. in mathernatics. He has rrorked as a consultant in mathematics and systqr analysis for the RAND corporation. He conpleted the Amherst TrainirE and practices in Palisades, Californiar

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Laf -oul ond grophics

by Solange

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by Terrence Berns Tle Ouestion of Learn irq

This essay resulted frcm thinkirg about what to say to a group of prospective fosterl>arents of hardicapped and retarded chitdren-. Uy piesentation was of a course :l-"y iequired to take in orrJer io gualify for part this goverurent-subsidized role. ?S-lat f actually said r.ras very-aiiferent frorn rrhat follorys here, but as it occurred to me that ihese people rrere faced with a rcrral clpice bettrcen paid keepers or ge"ui"efy fisterinq their children, I -beccmirg foundrqrse1fref1ectirrg_yLt4ain.ontheq".=ti"-,"ffi.,.segrredtore that the kird of choice-ficed by this q"",6 ;; realIy a choi6e betr*eea learaing and ignorance; I strongly =irry".teE tf,at tire inst-itutional process they ,rere ?1d undergoirg rruuld nct t.1p thdn very *cn i" choosirg. I find that nry o!,n received ideas about teacning, edulation, and leariirq, iogetner experience of scl^roolirg (on both sides oi tf* desk) frequently with ffy cloud the nreanings of these terms as we use thsn in Feldenkrais r*ork. tlie essay is part of my own effort to kns* what f 'rn talkirg about, which, to me anleray, is an irnportant part of knowirg what f , 'in doingl The

Adult as child

The best Ftench lessons I ever had uere frorn two French_speaking Moroccan children, In French I was the novice and thelz were the adeptsr even tholrgh I was twice their age. I will never forqet hor.r easily and naiurally they fel1 into teaching roles. They dealt with speciiic physiolcgicaL rletails such as where to put the tongue, where to placl the voice the throat, and hcx.j to shape the lips {usin their hands ior clarityi, asin weli as with grafirriar and neaning, What was *ore in"portant though was that they were flexible enough tc adapt their speech to my degree of abiiity. The incongn:icy of speaking what, in effect! was baby-talk to a grown-up neant that Lhe whole process involveo a lot of laughirg. I learned nrcre Frencn in one nonth visiting t.heir family than in f ifteen years livir.rg in Montreal.

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There are many reasons for this differerrce but the one that seems nnst relevant to our work is this: I have Rever encountered a Fr:ench_spe.finq adu1, t"i""*t, 9ou1f r9a11y adapt his speech to ry capacity. And before developirg this thexre, I stpr.rld point. ur! that deqrite n-urours of natioralistic to=iifity, ,ry p"i="""f exSrerience has alrrays been with !!!ple rl{p rere clearly *,eri_inti"ti-ir6o,--il"t agryarently trnable_ to ctrarqe suitiiiently to enmmicate wittr rre in 'their language. I say- "aplxrently*, because aqg-orre of these p.opi. sould and uould his speech b tte *eeOs of a chiHl changing pronunciation, *.p: rhyttm, ?rd gramar in ways that are ne, accepted "oici-tilr as vital factors in infant larqu4e learning.

In the case of an adult learnirq_a fgreign larquage, I think part of the reason native sgreakers are often rxrhefpfuf is sirpte ;gnlitesse". tir" that might signal the necessary *rifts are overri&en f,y tiro* th;i ;;nd ",r"= a eertain kird of etiqr:ette, which rmkes it difficult to qleak to an adult as if he were a child rrittput seeming to ingrlt him. .Iust as in4nrtant, fron the Snint of vievr of Feldenkrais roork is the natter of intention,

In a city such as lbntreal, E*ere so rrany Qu6b6eis are bilirgual, unless it is overtly establisH that yoa.r are gcirg taengrye in Gnguag; fEarrrirrg, tle usr:a1

intention to ccnmunicate anO a-arw on with-r6rnra1 cd(es first. t*rat this re;nls, rore often than rpt, ii that a Uiiirq,:afbusiness f;.;+h"ne rill srritch to Brglish rtren doirq business rith anglqtnnes,- fi is often -the lrcst ocrnvenient thirg to do. y.oth"I.??4s, pecpli **= in fact tlsnselves to others' linguistic abilities... #y. Oo gg., ryeakirg ""*a"te il"o larquqe even tlrorgh it is less ccrafortable tfran itrei,"o.:* " *'. irrd, ii aoing so, with the best intentions in the rprld tlrey contriOuie a;--; ig"or;ce-Gy- themselves find objectianable. the

Iirportancre

of Inequali ty

Both llty yourg Moroccan teaclers *! ,,,y eu6b6ois friends have taught ne scnething abort learnirg itself narnely, tfn"-lrrp"rt..o" It is rhen r€ differ frsn each other, ,nhen oi.rr abilities "i-inequality. ur,"qu;f tnaf teaching , ard learning beccrrc ogltional. Blt that cption makes"r" sense in relation to scre rautual interest that is hanpered by our differirqnes! Cegrees-of ability.

In A.€bec I ean sti11 get a:*ay uitlrout good French. In Morocco there l{as considerably 19ss 1eer,ay. If there vas t6 be ccnmunication at aII, English, French, or Arabic had to be taught or learned. Given our desire to talk to each other, we rere nutually har:diiaeqed by our unegual abilities.-orSo in the ,rost natural possible. reqffi-b i ,rrcre el&enary revei ernrunication rfiere trearnirq together ffie real basis far inteiction" r-olll-fiffi#e say learning tp?g!f*. .because I am sure that the lbroccans i*prcrved their abiliEy in tte process. It nas a lot of and veLy effective, because progress nas i:rnediately rerrardirg. l€ crculdfun, talk to each other nore easily.

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I Abili

and necessi

In Feldenkrais rrork, unless He ar9 lealirg with the "officially hardicapped" it is- n9t always obvious that the abilities ke are rorking with are And in terms of quality rre often are rpt dealirq with nlcessity at necessities. all. Ttrough what r,,e do is- pleasurable, the degrees of d6velopment tle Lxplore are rot socially or biologically necessary. ftough rre o.rrselves may be convineed our rrrcrk is intrinsically va1uable, many of us also kn;, perhaps to that our surprise and cost, that nhen it ccnres to presenting our rrork to o-tters, our conviction is rot erurgh. &rprq people, ,.io is a ionction of mutual desire. In that sense, until re respord to a clear need. our rrork is valueless. As !,r:ste hirnself puts it, "tte najority of us achieve a nappylo_fucky nediocrity, l-yst enough to rnake us one of the *6.,y". perhps this i;*ty rmny pecple rm:st first learn the hald rray and get into oUvio,rs Oiificufty befo; Feldenkrais rprk @ins to nrake sense to thenr. EVen so, as often as our students and re ourselrles nay knock our leads against the wa11 befo::e gettirg enotgh sene to use the dor, fo *"y find that the birth of 'sense' ccrres uith recoginition of the curplete-relatiiity of terms like

ability, handicapl and disabilitv rftich tafe ifreir nreanirg oirly froa wtrat re need or *ant to do. rs-E-ffil palry ehild disabted bicause he do htttat I ean do, or because he cannot-Oo what te nants to do? And if cannot I cannot carry_6rt ng-in-tgn1ion at ray s:pposedfy ,ro."-rEG""J-f"""I-of o".r"logtent. am I any less d.isabled than he? These rhetorical qr:estions irply a aorrm,unity of hi:raan interest that nray be both rnore and less eitensive tfr"i* L'roay-thi"k.' In any case, recqnizirg ability as neaningful in terms of interest -he1ps re to clarify tlre radical reinterprelation of teachirg and learnirg that qoei with the Feldenkrais

territory.

Learninq toqether

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Reinterpretirg my role as a teacher, r*rether of Feldenkrais lessons or anythirg e1se, inch.&s distirguishirg bretween trrc very different concepts of education and- learnirg. Ccrr4>aring my lloroccan experieirce in infornral larvguage learning vrith forrnal largu4e educatisr exerplifiei tfre differenc.e. In Horocco, not just I the learner, 6:a-g, beginner and advanced, did re could together and we progre*sed togettrer. In a forrnal scntext itrrhatever is often very 6ifferent. Instead of an excharge or a joint undertakirg, there is a one*ray transfer of information frcrr teacher to sltrdent. (Irc alroiC E:ibbles. it's iorth rrentionirg that in th€ strictest sense this is not tnre. Tlrere is an exchange of infornration in U:at the teacherrs corrections ard the studentrs mistakes piovide feedback, but it seryes the basic prccess of pcn:ring frcrn a full glass into an enpty o*e). Eaeh of these approaches usesr and possibly even geneiates, its curn form of ccrmrunication. Ultimately both ways-may leld to, or at least be directed t*rard, a ccfixron ground, an eqi:alizifo of difference, which could nean equal fl.renqg in a langu€e, or the Ecnienent of a 1imb, or even sfurply knodedge of _lrory high Ht. Euerest i.s. B.it in one approach ccnmunication OepenOs on the student *ratchirg tt€ teacher; and in thl other it deperds on the teacher matching tlre str:dent. l,ly erylerience is that this makes .rot ju"t a difference in effectiveness, but a real diffefence in r+trat. tranryire= uit alorg the vdy, nanely, the difference betr*een doirg scnrething to ssceone or doirg ii witfr fri:n,

-l

The l4ean

of

Ccnmun ication

infornration limited to the idea of a one-*ray flcr* of is also the rt ccnmunicate' tr-ti=-i=-ti't" way nachires

The term ccrmLnicatjgn when

is a reprodu.tiffii'levels' I'ltren one crovr at lc*r, more or llss machine like gives an alarln call' ell the other crcrvrs in a flock is alarned he autcnatically alarm' i'Ione of the crcrrrrs ever steps aside ard req:cd with the sare signs of by that"' strokes his chin and'says, "I ronder rihat he nraant findirq a grrluliqeligl as a process of inequality A :rpre old-fashioned sense of the ruord tne ioea that cqmon gturnd beccrres ""ry ''*i'l ir "*-t-:.ffi-ckL" intentiorr' In such a mutual sfire matters when it prevents us ttcnt-carryirE out start as mutual exploration view, the ccnnrcn ground can be est'OfisfeO fron the difference and progress to frcnr ryi" and develogxlent' in which b"th ;;ti"=-t?l huunan need to i"t both of them' Our vital {hich a nery stale that is differe-ntot-q"=t"ra11y'-is spplies the life blmd snrurnicate, rfrether verbally a inplies This realization' f"t its both the intention and the d;;;;i"" aJ unprettictable than reproductive' process that i; ;ie evocative' anbiguous'dc'\"n hiJviords' and' unlike the crce's' rtote Four htindred years ago ShakeE)earechins and explolitg- !'hat -tre r€ant ever since' people have neen stiorirq ttrlir in tle tfttt he himseft cirarqed and devel4ed Anyore who reads his rprki *'l-* who are still interested' at the other pr€-ess of ,rriifi ttsn, and, for those a similar process @ntinues' erd of *rch a time-spannirtg lire of *ication'

r*ay aninrafs ccnrmxricate

Preconce ived Goals

we endure ia educational institutions' Learning as reproduclion is what'pt4pi1 often as is.a ratter to be corrected' as the disparity bel.,reen teacher and reward' Ttte str:dent is to crcrrE where

not by "et"ioil-;; ;' b":t.i;"6-;xirinsic conf?mirq to an external standard out of his !3;' siate ot ig""i;ce Qr is true that a qlsternrs outputs prescribed oy qo./ertxt€ntal autlro;ity' oio it it to look very far to realize Lhis haye are the criteria of its desig", ddo rctwhich is what students do - a lot! systenr is design&-to prod'ce-ftiiutes Many voices more elcquent than mine have I do not ,xish to belabor tlre point, 'iiiir it is such a pervasive experience criticized tonnal education'it t"ii"t neca-use so heavily on external ccnrparisons {i'e' for rscst of us, and because ccnpared with each otherjor !o the teacher's standards)' the str-ldents' prcgress any of us faces in doir'g Feldenkrais it. Eray r*rell be *te greatest inpedinrenttlrem out beccne habitual' our intentions work. As much as our ways ofO-si" ""'r-tyi'q iutittt'' of workirE totrard preconceived goals also beccne habitual ' Tlre intention" an habitual and hidden "r" be pattern are feelings of impatience' For ne, the cues that l am falting into this the st't'ldent hcrp ta do a thing show tenrd to frustration, and boredsn' I q/ wi:h that of varior-:s !tr1 vork unfa'rorablir directly, and r terrd to conpaieI feel vhat is going onr aloyt bad increasirgt"y Ii.rnir,aries, inclr-,rding l'toshe' student for and, if the f"=s""-&s not "takel' my inctination is to bl-me the his fail-ure.

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n Tf , on tl€ other hand, instead of approaching the rork as the brirqer of light ard tnrth, f @in with the intention of sinply lookirg for what the student ard I might rnake of t!i=- joint transaction, the way is open for startirg right. away r.rith uhat re already have in mfirrsl, and uorkiti tog ltr"r frga that.

I kno^r I anr on ttre righL track, rr'hen f am excited and stimutrated by {hat is goirg on; wtpn, as mrch as I can sense charge in wtrat Ery student can do, f am refreshed Qt charrqe in 4rse1f .

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In this rcde1, satisfaction arrd re'"rard are built into the q/stem. The studentrs increasirg ease, ard fluenqy is sorethirq I sense and enjqg, Instead of beirg teacher ard student, we becune cro-learners, or co+xp1or-rl. Most importantly, we both renrain self-corrective. Even our mistakes becon€ benign, Clroosirg to Learn A bit of ocnrrcn sisfun in chessl>laying circles is that if yo; reaI1y r*ant to improver- ycnr have to play r*ith pecple wtpse ganre is better tGn yours. It sens to re the converse is true too. If you play a good gafie but your olponent is a rank @inner, his progress is as mtrch in your interett as in his. the qr:estion is: wtlat kird of gare will you play with him before te can neet you ur equal terras?

Ib fini*r rith lry-openirg exanple of language learnirg: As hunan beirgs re ray rpt eve.r in our lives accurplish anyttrirq as richly ard elaborate:_y ccrptex as learnirg a hi.saan language. *b all perforned this feat in rrays not even renotely resen{rlirq forral edrrcation. .&rd rpst astonishingly r*e OiO tt}e gro{.rrd,rlork without beiq able to ask questions. Iritlaterrer r€ care to eall that kird of learnirg *ithout qr.restio*s-curiosity, p1{, or exploratory behavic*rr-it did not occur in isolatisr. Ihe stiimrlation of tf!e- accaplisfree qleakers, the grcrrn-{4}s, stp playd yith us r*as essential. Ard no ore r*r has ever *atched an adrltt- p$ifp - *urd ganes sith an infant can &r:bt that tle adult is just as stirunrlated as the bablr.

Para&xically e need inequality. Like varietlz in ttre gere pool, ne need those botlt rrore and less-developed tlran qrrsdlves. It is oc.rr Oittereaces that make learniftT real EEfce. HtGn *e nake that clpise r€ rea11y

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galit arrafi model or Feldenkra i s ontinuing educ ation

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Inherent in the Fetdenkrais lvlethod !s learnir:g is an innate hrsnan activity that should continue thrcnrghoutthelifei&ainthat a healthy beinE. t?lre in general, this idea applies specifically to the Feldenkraishrsnan r*ork itself . b irE the rrork should produce orgoing grcl*th ard anyone r*rc is not cont inually learnirg and gmring is not realLy doing the work. The principal nrcdel of "continuing education,, currently available is a hierarchical one, in rfiich a rpre advanced teacher instmcts less advanceport our oontinuirg prcfessional education ard gmth. Ilo{rr that is done will &pend cn tpw re think about continuing edrrcatiin. The past dcrninanc.e of tlre hierarchical nodel led to an enrptrasis on Advanced nrainirgs by ttoshe and the fsraelis, ard to a neglect of nechanisns for sharirg insighes afiDrxg rembers" I'lhile such ltainirqs are clearly necessarlfr they alone are not sufficient. The egalitarian Eodel $.qgests that sharirg rechanigns are also iry>ortant, and stpuld rank high arrong Guild activities retatirg to c-ontinuing *""".tol,

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er Introduction to the FPer on Ttris paper was written for the occasion of the Znd International Conference ccnrra'rnity gricksonian tt/pncsis and Hlrpnotherapy with, of course, the Eicksonian to ltlostie as its intended audience. I *role the paper as an introductior': as nearly not Feldenkrais's rork, since the Ericksonians atre, as a group, l'iilton about inforri'red about Feldenkrais as the Feldenkrais ccnununity is inforned in Ecsnber of 1983' Erickson's work. At the Phoenix, Arizona conference, held q€re received very lecture{enronslration the paper and Ery infornel to Ericksonians entiruiiLticallyr'indicating a great desire on the part of the learn mcre about the Feldenkrais lvtethod. with l'tilton Since Dennis l-eri encouraged re tc join hi.'n in a teachirg seminar and iaterestirE it ffickson in liovenrber of 1979 l, like many othrers, have found ltly Erickson' and Feldenkrais re*ardirq to cor:sider the many parallelg between Eiy as r-his be taken not paFr shrould treatnreni of the Feldenkrail lretfroC in sense of Moshe's wark as a whol-e, rvcr do I consider its e'nphasis ideally balanced frcrn a strictly Feldenkrais vantage pcint' I strove to find Lhe ccnrron ground between t4oshe.-,'te uilton Erickson, and to articulate it without' I hope' 6etraying the ess,ence and uniqr-reness of either Feldenkrais's or Eri'cksot'.'s life's riork. I am currently uoifi.q on a book'*hich expands upon the thenes oi this paper.

I{YEUCJTIiEFAPY" lo be mi= article ui-1i appear in "Developrrents in ERiCKS&iIAr'l '*rrr*irg: be can arck of the published =""" t-;runLry'Mazet. copies =rcered by Squareu N€w '{crk, N"Y' 1CCC-1' lrunner/Frazel, 19

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FEL}SNKRAI

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Ihe 'rork of l,loshe Feldenkrais and Hilton Erickson epitonizes nastery of tf€ facilitation of hunan learnirq, On the surface their ipproaches are dlssimilar: Feldenkrais r*orks prfunarily in the physical donain of touch ard nrrverr€nt wtrile Erickson r.orked- primarily in the qTmbo).ic dcr-rain of image and larquage. libvertleless, ttrere are strikirg para1lels betr*een these trro rnasters in -th6ir philosophical enphases on huran inaiviOuality, the irportance of learninq, the role of unconscious processes. Rren mrre remarkable are similar innovations "nC of utilization, indirect techniques, and pattern internrptions that eacn errpiqls with a subtlety which defieJ verbal description and itrains the p.ori Lt obsenration.

Tlose who are farniliar with Etickson,s uork will discern nany similar patterns of ccnnmnication in the following excerpt frcrn a Feldenkraii In this iorkstrcp session, Feldenkrais had participants 1ie on thetranscripi, floor on their stqnachs and & various slo,,r, gentle movements related to the early childhood function of crawlirg. After a r*hile peldenkrais asked the qroup to beqin berdirg tte firgers of the right hand "as if yourre goirg to ra[e a fistr" .rrd then as Feldenkrais continued:

n

; ;

Ur& it, as if yo,r.r stogped thinkirq of the fist . . . . That is the easier rcverilent *e can fu. ftf s alrarst like nravirg the eyelid . . . . Close ard as slo*ly, as caafortably, and as 1itt1e as is necessarlr for you to 9pel, feel that 1u.r're rctua1ly tlexirq ard slretehirg (pause) . . : . I€ can & everythirg to our crrn-eonfort. . . . . your11 find tnat in order to be able thrrq mfertably, elegantly, and resthetically right . . . we relst !" d?it a rrith do a mini:rugn of exertion, with the feelirg- of light*ess, the feelirg, t}te sensatisr of lightness, of lightress of tfe rrcrrsrent (pause) . . . You will see that ttle lightness exists only t*hen you flex it i fittte. bit rsre ard cEEn it, but not erylete1y. fn orOer to rnake tl)e hand eorryletely flexed and crpletely ryen, yo'r nave to nrake a real effort, erough effart, but to flex it a litt1e bit rrrre and flex it a litt1e bit . gives you a sensation that is easy, light {pause} . . ilb&r, 1"= easlr, light, ya: please ril1 continu6'thaa nr:vernent . . . ea{, Fing . . . so light tha-t the feelirg of easy, Iight, is cannected actually . .-. it uiItr be . . , -stlether you sant it oi not . . . 1.ou canrt do it otheryise . r . . Your entire notor mrtex, the entire nenrous ryste& is rnq, perraded with that feelirg, light, ard you should kns* ttre hand in oulrbtor crortex occr4ries, next to tle 1ips, the largest area . . . sc very slowly there will bee a feelirg of lightress Eler&€atirg the entire :m:iulature, . . . tlrc entire self, rnakirg it . . . keep on doing it . . , and wtrile you do you feel it's really lightr 1rourll fird q.rt the wtrole alm gets P.l, rfiile light and slcn*Iy you ui11 feel the *eck lnd the slsulder blade . , . over that : . . gettirg soft and nice ard actually prepared to act without preparirg itself . In other rcrds, it's getti.g-relOy for acti*r and you

xill see rden rre get that, h*r quickly, hrm nictly, G wil_l all be rac,vi-ng, doirq tlre sate thing indeperdently, whether you haire arthritis, whether y6u had €rrr operation or not, you will still ncve infinitely better than you started {pause) . , . . br1't stop rovirq the right handl flexirg and . -. s1*r1y, s1c*rly see a re*rarkable sort of thirg . . . . If you feep on doirg. that norranent, it will actually teach you . . . slowly, keep on lrovirg tlrE firgers gent'ly ard on top of Lhat nov&tent. Iift youi'riEhl sbulder and

4a

it

you rdil1 see that the gentleness of the ftov€renL, ttre skill of the racvernent per:rreates otrr entire beirg and therefore yor ri1l see that otler things we do inprerinrantation of Feldenkrais and Erickson. Hoshe Feldenkrais:

His Life and !*rrk

!,b*l€ Feldenkrais was born in krssia in 1904 ard emigrated to hlestire at the age of 13. Like *rarr1r inr:ovators, ie cane to his field by a circuitous route, r*eavirg together nlurrious influences. As a yourq raan, he r,as an exellent athlete, a sccer player, ard self-tatght in jujits.r. IIe did eonstrlction r.ork and tutored probler* stt.dents strile attendirg night sclcol preparirg to sttdy ptrlrsics. lie hd aa early interest in hypnosis and translated Enile Cou6's book on autosl-€gestiqr irlto Elebrer..

In Paris, Feldenkrais earned his doctcrate in physics at the Sorbonne and assisLed Joliot{urie. D-rring his university years he rnet Kano, the oriEinator of judo, and trainecl with Kanc's sLudents to bec-cne a hi-gh ranking black belt and well-kncrrrr jtido teacher, Svading the Nazis, Feldenkrais fled to ts'gland wtrere lre '"orked in antisuhrrarine research during the war, "rrrcte scientif ic papers, trained paratroqers in self-defense technigues, and auehored bks on judo. On slippery subnarine decks he seriously agEravated an oid soccer in;ury tc his knees and beqan the extendeeak - or even its content - is conveyed by changes in a person's npuLh or br"eathirg; and so forth. By extensiar we can conceive flovr, by delieately rovirg a ellistrs scapula, one crculd not only "relax" the musician, br:t much rrore precisely, convey the xeans to bo!, the instn-Erent in a net.l way. EVery rcstor ski1l i.s inscribed in a global pattern of organization in the person's body and nernrous system. tsricksqr pointed out, for exarple, that writing is an action of ttp entire body (Zeig,1980, p.319), Accordingly, our wealth of lifelorq notoric learnirg has created a kinesthetic rnatrix of association as individr:alized as "our o*n linguistic patterns, our crln personal understardings" (Zeig, 1980, p, 78). lhe efficaqg of these indirect learning technigues is therefore de5:erdent on Feldenkrais or a Feldenkrais practitioner's ability to "speak' with the hands in a Hay that the irdividual student k

inesthetically

understands

"

il

t

23

Pattern Internrptions

"Differentiated" and "nonhabitual" novernents form a group of Feldenkrais be urderstcod as analogous to kicksonrs pattern

techniqr.rcs which can

interruptions. Just as Erickson often prescribed out of the ordinary beiraviors an! even ergineered situations in order to shake peqle out of thei; patterns, Feldenkrais often creates sufficiently rovel and unfamiliar learning sltr.rations to do the sorrler "Differentiated" rrevgrents rnay refer to movirg the eyes, hed, stnulders, and pelvis in separate directions; "nonhabitual. rrcvenrents firay consist in srxply reversirg one's habitual way of interlacirg the firqers or beirq asked to 6:erforrr unfamiliar ard familiar nrcvenents in novel politions, ftre situation of learning scnething radically nelrr produces a rnajor snift in the brain ard often indrrces a trancelike state rerniniscent of Erickson's "confusion techniqr.:e". Feldenkraisrs differentiated and nonhabitr:al nrovenents are nndeled on the organic, experinental learnirq of children. Normal rotor development follors a rhytlrnical course of increasirg differentiation and qgnerrgistic integration. for exauple, discrete nrcvenents of the extramities are differentiated fruu global actions involving the entire trunk; ard discrete firger mcvenents are differentiated fron urdifferentiated hand rrcn/e$ents sr.rch as graspirg, with each succeedirg differentiation supported W integrated activity of the rfiole body. fn cases of abnornal &velopnent such as cerebral pa1qF, Feldenkrais rnay initially go nith, and pace a perlon's ryastic, undifferentiated patterns. Gradr.rally G ir,Auces the differentiated functionirg that displays the action of 'highei" neurological inhibition. In cases of stroke or even stress-related nmscular tension, people regress to less differentiated functional states; and differentiation -r*it be reacquired. Again, Feldenkraisrs approach is to "pace and 1ead", shiftirg *t",e"n udifferentiated arxl increasingly differentiated patterns.

lbnhabitr.ral ard -highly differentiated novsnents displac-e a person frcm his or her - slrstomary mirdbody 'set". The person rfio has, to, exanple, back ""9is transported treuble or depression to a rovel sitr:ation rfrere he or sie has not already learned hcw to have tle usuaL problenr (Baniel, lbte g). The ne* r+ay

qf acting is tlrerefore not tainted with recollections of inability and discanfort. l*ten learning, v€ disenrgage frqa custcrnary patterns and awaken to disever ourselves capable of doirg tl,ings fornerly Oeiievee irpossible. tirpnotic Ccnmunication

F\:nctional IntegraEion as described bry Fbldenkrais {IgBt} ertainly iEuge

of trance e:qrerience:

eraokes

tire

Frrnctional Integration turns to the oldest elenents of our sensr1r q/stsn tcuch, the feelings of puil ard pressure, the ira:-nth of the ha,.!d, itscaressing stroke. The person beccnes absorbed in sensirg the dlninishing rnuscular tonus, the deepening and the regularity of Ureithing, abdcrninal e3e, and inprwed circulation in the expandinq-skin, :he p,erson senses his nrcst prlnitive, consciously forr3otien patterns and recalls the reL1-being of a growing ycung child. {p, 12i)

-.t l't

I T

T

T T

I I I

Sirnilarly, the ATM extract at the beginnirg of the paper ca11s to mird rany Ericksonian patterns of hlpnotic cqnnunication irrcl.rdlrg enbedded and irdirect *ggestions. Ard, the effect of the lesson is certainly "tr1protic.. Yet, interestire7-y, Feldenkrais does not refer to "hlpnosis" or 'tranceo either in practice or theory. Ilis larqu4e is situated in the context of hunan nsrentent learnirqr ard it is sensory based. "states of consciousrress" are invoked prfunarily insofar as they are €{nbodied in sensible qr_nlities of activity. fn actr.ral practice this is not as restricting as it may sourd since xcvenrent is aa expression of tte sou1. Feldekraisr substantial cq,triOution to tlre field of trlpnosis thus reurains an irplicit aryect of his rork; ard his "hypnotic st1rle' , W not even *rentioning- hferresij and trancra rentinds us of Ericksonts indirectness and naturalign.

Fbldenkraisr paral1e1 'lrlprotic" approaches rlay be surmarized as folloyrs: (a) trre irduction of a gnsitive, subjective state wtlich is conducive to learnirg, includirg feelings of ease, ccnfort, reduced muscular tonus; (b) the sensitivily to and validation of self-experience; tc) the trainirg of scnatopqlchic skills inagery, EErBlry, attention, physiological anO rreur.crrn:scular control; iryluOirrg (d) $E utilization of life+xperiential and species-erqrcriential krorrrledge; {e} indirect aSprrcaches; (f) pattern intern4rtirg teclrniques; and (g) enphasls'r4pon rrutua1 req)ect, o-dependent interaction ard csnrmnication y*rere practitio;er and student reciprocally learn frcm each other.

An

Illustration

&tce Peldenkrais rrcrked with a middle-aged nan who'd been in a wheelchair for 15 years after an autanpbil_e accident ard subsequent ryinal operatiol-r, Ilis legs l€re spastic and tre sat quite stooped *ith a deprissed look on his fac.e. Feldenkrais @an by seernirqly attenptirg to striighten the back directly, gently pushirg with his hards into Lhe middle of the klphotic cun/e. As long ls Feldenkrais sr.pported him, the man sat erectly; but aJsoon as he took his hands dwdlr he sloirched into his original Elosition. Clearly, the rnan's nel-rous qfstefir would reject any wil1fu1 atte:pt, on his cnrn part or anyorp else's-, to straighten his baek"

LJ

Ttren Feldenkrais asked him to stick out his toltgue ard & the noverent animals do to lap - rater (which involves a navelike fiev€$ent of thrustirg ttle hed forrrard). Itre r,ras asked to repat the rrovenent s1owly, reduci-rg his effort, ard makirg each rrcvernent nrcre mnfortable than the 1ast. After resting, he uas asked !o repeat fhe rrcvenr6nt rith his fae turred to the right, then to the 1eft, ard f inall-y rtrile nsrrirg his tread s1ow1y frsn one side to the other' As his npvelrents gi*,J"ffy inrolved tmre of his spire ard ent'ire self , minute by minute he sat rooie erectl-y in his chair; ard after abo'rt 15 *1nutes, he sat t'ith his head Lreld hlgh arvd aa alert, pleasant look m his fae. Feldenkrais then Srcinted out that his 1qs r*ere relaxed and no longer qrastic. libxt, Feldenkrais had the $tan 1ie &wn on tlre t$le on his track; ard in the 1lrecess his legs becane spastic once again, Feldenkrais asked the mn to think of rtrat lre had been doing with his torque. As the Etan imaqined the rcvenrent of lapirrg rdater' his legs 4ain relaxed. After torkirg ronverbally sith tlre man for about 15 minutesl reldenkrais had htn usqe back to his wtreelchair. B.rt as he started the effort of liftirg hiraself' his legs 4ain becane Erastic- AfEer Feldenkrais rerrirded hirn of the torqLe Ersvenrent, he was tten able to raan4e hi$self ruch xpre easily witlrcut his legs beccmirg stiff'

In order to understard the lnsvs{€nt of }appirq water, oqleriene t}e rrovsaent yourself and obsenre wtrat your head and neck do. You rrill dismver that if you glerforxr the usvenent slowly' gently, ard repeatedly, yoqr entire body ri1l Ueccre involved in the act. litrtice that altler:gh ttle active, intentislal' ard cpnsci.ous npnsrent is to thrust the lread forr.iard as the tcque reac*res for ouater", the relatively passive, unintentional, and urconscious phase reqr:ires straightenirg the cenrical arch ard taklng the fled into its arcst erest gnsition. Ttrus, in light of what has been said, lre can see that this ncrrenrent 1s an indirect techniqr-re of learnirq i:rprorred posture and ryina1 organization; a utilizatisr of the man's fo,n*ard stop in a pleasant feelirq noveroent; a pattern intern4>tion of his usr:al manner of seeirg hi:aself and holdirg himself; a repetitions sovsuents and "naturalistic trane irdustion" involvirg sensory{ased sr.rggestians for increasirg ease, ccrafort, ard satisfactic, ; arrl a utilization of latenl phrlogenetic and ontogeretic neur*otor lntterns involving novsfients of the nouth ard jatr in organic relation to the first ceryical vertebra, the tuqr.re, sr.rallanirg, breathirg, ard locutotisr. Finally' we can see lptr tl€ n€*r Etcr/ement qr:ality can be used as a kinesttetic remir&r - and a forar of *posthlrpnotic s-qEestion" - for the possibility of increased ease ard lightness of npvsnent.

Zb

The

Artistry of Feldenkrais

and

rickson

Peldenkrais and Erickson are artists as lell as therapists and teachers. As artist--ientists, they continually have gone beyord thffiselves ard have never abandoned an experinrental attitude. ylith their str-ldents ttrey mnsistently attenpt to provoke creativity, individuality, ard originality of thinkirg. For exanple, r*hen Erickson says that the practice of pq/chotherapy should be 'charmirg and interestirg', he is goirq beyond a solely practical, ttrera6=utic frare of reference, He is challerqirg himself as an artist to be inventive as rel} as effective. Analogously, Feldenkrais {1981} directly ccnpares his lessons to "procedures . . . in learnirq to 1nint, to play an instrunent' or Pianists of genius wtren practicirq . . . slve a nrathernatical problem . . always . . . discorrer an alternative to the habitual" (p. 95). Thus, over the years Feldenkrais developed literally thousards of different ATil and FI lessans, and Erickson displayed a similar virtuosity of styles ard techniqr:es. A Tteachirg Serrinar deronstrates lrorr Eickson nas able to fird uexpected rralzs to ffitehisstrdentsto*thinkina11directiorrs"{zeig,1980,P. 128); ard Fel&nkrais, like Erickson, te1ls stories to teach flexi-ble thinkirg as ue11 as roving. He relates that te once was seated opposite a man qr a train lrfro bras redirg frcrn a book treld rpside down. After a fet rsnents of ba*ildennent, nondering if tfe rrlan rlere crazy, joking, or only preterdirg to be literate, Feldenkrais asked him why his book was r4>side dc,trn. "Q>side do\m?" the Etan replied. *IIot can a book be r-pside do,rrn?" The man had gone to a sclpol in a sna1l Yenenite village wtere there nas only one book to a class. Ttre children sat each day in a gnalL circle readirg their book frcm "al1 directions" (Feldeakrais, lilrte

I J

{

]

rt.fi

I 2

28

Fel&r$crais, ll. San Frarcisco sQr:est" Mcrksttog, W, 1981. Atll Bemrdirrgs, I.Iasfiin$trt' B.C. Fbr inforxatisr oncerning Feldenkrais's rprk ard trained pr:actitioers, cffirtact the Feldenkrais C*tild Offie, P.O, Ibx 11145, San Ftancim, California 94101,

!{.

Personal scnnnrnicatist, tibverber, L979.

3.

Erickson,

4.

Feldenkrais,

5.

rbid.

6.

Seldenkrais,

7.

Feldenkrai-s,

8.

Baniel, A. Fersonal ailnrnication, July, 1983,

9.

Etsldenkrais,

H. Professisral IYainirg M. l,t.

Prrogram,

Jrrte,

April,

1979.

Personal crcmrunication,

&rptdrlished autobiograply, no date.

U. Persslal samrnication,

l.tarch, L979.

19?5.

REFEREI.TES

Bandler, R ,,

and Grinder, (vol, 1) ,

Erickson, M .D. Blechsctraidt , 1977.

E.

J. patterns of

ltae @innings

H"

,

t

of

Hr-rnan

Life. libl york:

Sprirger-Verl4 ,

77., ard bssi, E. Errpnotherap:r, tibr york: Inrirgton R:blistrers,

Eickson, L979,

Feldenkrais, Ir.t. Universities P:ress,

and

ll. Ar.rareness Feldenkrais, lrl. Itre Elusive h1ry, J' Advanced Ianguages

1971.

of

Brunnerll'lazel, 1980

Zeig, J.K.

Brunner/,lazel,

Ericksonia

International

York: Ilarper & brr, L972. Cq>ertino, CA: t',Ieta fublications, 1981. is ard . libu York: Grune &

Ibvecnent.

Obvious.

of

Seminar

l{ew

fglerlood Cliffs,

the Brain,

Zeig, J.K. (Ed.). A Ibachirq

York:

tlew

1

Pribram, K.

Dbw

york: Harper & br, 1957. Feldenkrais Euile ofii;r.

H. ttre Case of llcra. (o:t or print, buffihe

Feldenkrais,

Behavior.

Mature

Feldenkrais,

Stratton,

of lt{i1ton

the

titf:

kentice-Iiall,

riith t4ilton H. &ickson, !t.D, !h,

to

ard

York:

llen'{ York:

79

l t

eaki.ng students" Oee str-dent wtro ur&rstoodslccess uhen rore ard ease havirg Ilore rry surprise, his anhe was, to a&nitted ard heard a have seen ue though EVen given ltalian1n tere the instructions have rnt seen it rrre certainly $ays, trrds ntany in so te as used lot with !,loshe, all ! Reason 3: tle teacher likes it Qruite outqnkenly lbshe said he talked because he liked it... ard he had a hard ii"e not aoirg 1tt Talking does play a role in keepirg the teacher uell and It happy. Indeed, for myself and sqre of us, t'alking is scnething t'e like' feepl us focused, calrer, and in contact- Like clretritg g*, talking keeps yorr goirg, thus rodulatirg your rtrole sensorial experience. I also tonqure and jaw lik; beirq -neaia a.C listened to. in fact, ATI'{ classes are the ultirate audience since one is standinr3 or sittirg and the others are lyirg on tfte ground, listening ard seldcra ineirn:ptirg. As I am teaching, I also realize I *', ofien talking to myself aloud, talkirg about what I need to learn' overal1, talking serves a PurEpse for the teacher: it may be an imppr'13^1 teacher sel f-nra intenance fi€an.

Feason

4: keepirq in touch, insuring

presenc€

Talkirg &s rrore than ssnunicate tl'ror.rghts. ft expresses relationship' withoul regard to cantent, tlre sfurp1e Presence of an orgoirg voice Eray be for scnE pr4i1!, a reasurirg "Ariadnes thred" in tl:eir vry4e into tlre labyrinth' rtre voiG itself creates the link sith the o:tsi& that rray nake it easier to go inside. A few years ago, as I tsas in the str-dio recordirg Prench t'ranslations of Ruthy alon's tapes' I was havirq a difficult tirl€ reasurirq the paYsel betreen instructions. I rerrsnber t had tte feelirg that by leavirg blank spaees' r res creating a pote*tia1 vaeutxt blr inter r.pt'irg ti€ linkirq flort of rcrds. I nor* realize scne of ttris r*as a by*rodr.ct of Ery a*rr arxiety in this novel activity. Brt arpther part of this ras tJre atftlreness that the voie is the 1ink. On ttre other hard, a contirncus flory of *orrls raay rot leave the space for experiencinE certain insights abolt oners -lf , s€'s life stor,y' or about €tc. In usirg rords or not existential facts like solitl&, death, separationT usirg

Lherrt, r+e r*rst knan

r*rat we do and rant to