Acquiring the Feldenkrais Profession

Description

From back cover: "Yochanan Rywerant (b. 1922) was one of the main assistants of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. (Rywerant) ...has worked extensively as trainer in Professional Trainings in the USA, Canada, Europe and Israel. His book, "The Feldenkrais Method, Teaching by Handling" appeared in English in 1983, and has been translated into German, Spanish, Italian and Hebrew. While dealing with the way the Feldenkrais profession can be taught, this book has a threefold function. The trainers who teach the Feldenkrais Method in professional training programs might use it as a compendium for much of the material presented in such programs. They will benefit from the fact that the material is structured didactically and, in a sense, ready to be presented to the students. Furthermore, the hints for building a training program curriculum are a good tool for starting an endeavor, like a professional training program. Practitioners of the Feldenkrais Method might use the book as a reminder and refresher. They might want to look at their work didactically as well, perhaps by asking themselves: "How would I use this work for teaching, or for demonstration in a lecture?" The improved clarity that might emerge by dealing with that kind of question improves the efficiency of the practitioners' everyday work and hence, becomes more satisfying for both practitioner and client. The general reader interested in the Feldenkrais Method will find here not only a general overview of the Method, but also plenty of items, which, on the one hand, constitute an extensive definition of the Method, and on the other, by their mere structure and didactical processing, show how such a complex system as this Method can be taught efficiently. CONTENTS I. Preface II. Introduction PART A: THE BASICS III. Review of various "principles" and "working concepts 1. Habitual and non-habitual patterns 2. Learning by sensing differences 3. Awareness, a way of changing intentional patterns 4. The stages of baby-development 5. Orientation in space and the field of gravity 6. Hierarchy of levels of control, changing of control-level 7. Clarity of the distal and proximal parts involved in patterns of action 8. defense mechanisms (anti-patterns) 9. Communicative manipulation (the manipulon) 10. The force-surface-pressure relation, the "surface-like" style 11. Clarifying alternative choices, versus imposing correction 12. Goal-directedness versus attention to process, learning by "playing" 13. Modes of control: sedate, aroused 14. Neutral position versus extreme position 15. The potent state, or readiness to act versus mere relaxation 16. The efficient use of the skeleton (in gravitational field, etc.) 17. Acceptance of proposed new patterns; the "Aha!"-Reaction 18. The constituents of a pattern of action, sensory anticipation 19. Corollary discharge and "relative conjugate movements" 20. Sensory filtering in habitual patterns 21. Cause and effect vs. stimulus and response 22. Heuristic learning vs. model imitation 23. Using the senses, calibrating the "gain" of the response 24. "What stops me?" as a way to go on exploring 25. Using existing ("ingrained") patterns and responses 26. Agonists and antagonists linked neurologically 27. Muscle groups involved in more than one function 28. Non-normative approach vs. "indoctrinated" (hidden) norms 29. Cortical involvement in unusual contexts and settings 30. Different levels of control addressed by different "languages" 31. Communications as verbal (serial, digital) and as sensory (images) 32. The concepts and functions of monitoring and choice-making 33. Reversibility for improved control and efficiency 34. The role of pain, "measuring" pain, progress and rate of rehabilitation 35. Meta-messages in ATM & FI 36. Supplying the missing constituent in a deficient pattern of action 37. Pattern recognition as a phase of learning 38. Primitive (old) patterns 39. Respecting dominance 40. The view on posture 41. Respecting structure 42. Shearing stress and friction, supporting at right angles to surface 43. Testing, usually by going to extremes 44. Repetition, its rationale 45. Integration through change of environment, position or context 46. Integration through the head, its rationale 47. Keystone-manipulation !V. Review of various themes appropriate for frontal talks ("lectures") 1. The origins of patters of action 2. Communication by words and images 3. Image of action, the map-territory relation 4. Hierarchy in the CNS, levels of control 5. Structure and function 6. The skeleton 7. The Weber-Fechner principle 8. The neutral point 9. On touch 10. Perception of the world 11. Damage of the CNS 12. Muscles 13. The neuron 14. Entropy 15. The two hemispheres 16. Upright stance in the gravitational field 17. Physical principles 18. Passivity - activity 19. Dualism in language and philosophy 20. Recommending a bibliography V. Considerations in ATM 1. "Principles" 2. Strategy 3. Tactics 4. Series of lessons VI. Considerations in FI 1. The style of FI 2. The FI session 3. The limits of FI PART B: Hints of building a curriculum VII. General Outline VIII. A few additional specific items 1. Didactics of ATM lessons 2. Didactics of FI demonstrations 3. Didactics of tutoring FI 4. Didactics of the practicum