I started to write a long reply to what you wrote, but then stopped. I found myself getting muddled in my thinking and also tired. I will need to wait for another day. I will say quickly that reading about the method and it’s principles is quite different from experiencing it (more accurately, experiencing one’s self at a particular moment). But even so more written material will be welcome. Though I can easily imagine people arguing about the words and concepts without experiencing the work..and missing the point.

Have you read any of the books or research by Yochanan Rywerant? One that I can recommend, is The Feldenkrais Method: Teaching by Handling. Yochanan would have been one who could have written a textbook on the work. As could’ve Mia Segal. But they chose not to. There might be something to that.

Yochanan was sidelined by the young american students. He was shunted to the side though he was experienced and a master in his own right.

Good luck out there. I may write something longer and more coherent when I am more energetic.

Ryan

Despite my complaints, I am really pursuing my study of Feldenkrais on my own. I want to figure it out. I believe it is so useful and can not believe that so many great minds missed it. In the mean time I’ll do some ATM based on Moshe’s published movement exercises. I’m currently reading about basic human anatomy, neuroanatomy, physiology, cell biology, brain structure and function. And I keep on reading Moshe’s writings/books. My background in Artificial Intelligence (computer science) is helping me understand the mechanisms in the neocortex. But I am very far away still. If there is any suggestion on what else to read or do, I would appreciate highly. Thanks.

Thanks Robert. I agree whole heartedly with the two statements below and will do my best to keep them in mind:

I can’t waste time changing the system, let’s create, as you proposed in the past, different more efficient ways of learning.
I still believe some of my Feldenkrais teachers are very good but their in a system that does not work.

cheers!

Ryan

Hi Mac – I just want to add that I do not partake in these Feldenkrais Awareness weeks and celebrations of Moshe’s birthday for the same reason. It feels a bit too “culty” to me. One year, 100’s of practitioners put a picture of Moshe as their profile picture on Facbook. yuck! I think I will pass on that.

Ryan

Hi Lisa – Thanks for commenting. I had a similar experience with emotional and anxiety-type issues. In 2009, I began doing 2-3 Feldenkrais sessions daily, as many days as possible, in the belief that I could “finally” work myself out of some issues. Two years later, I started having the nagging feeling that Feldenkrais simply was not going to help me and that I need to look else where.

When I bumped into Peter Levine’s work and the work of Pat Ogden, I realized that I had traumatic experiences and chronic fear responses that Feldenkrais was not helping me with. And I have slowly but surely begin to deal with them, very gently,bringing more of myself “online”and in the present moment. And interestingly enough, like the work of Moshe, the various body-based trauma treatments are process-based, non-judgemental and very respectful of the individual and his experience.

Getting back your comment, I hope more practitioners get licenses and such to help people who need to use insurance.

I hope you are doing well out there.

Ryan

Hi Mac – Thanks for the comment. Your writing may have felt harsh, but I didn’t feel harsh to me when I read it.

Amongst the many things that you mentioned that I agree with, having a categorization that makes sense to people and that they already have positive associations to , ie. “Physical Therapist” can go a long way towards building a practice and name recommendation. In the English-speaking world anything of than “Feldenkrais” would be an improvement.

And virtually any type of Master’s degree or other post grad training can help someone positions themselves and their work within the larger history of ideas and science. Moshe, unlike many of the Guild Trainers, was deeply versed and skilled in many different scientific areas. The work did not jump out of his head fully-formed.

Much more, I could say, perhaps more later.

Thanks!

Ryan

Having a rigorous background in anatomy, physiology, pathology and how to interpret research strikes me as clearly relevant to the daily practice of a Feldenkrais Practitioner. Even if you choose not to utilize the interventions and various schools of thought within mainstream PT, there is still an incredibly important basic science foundation that trainings do not require, provide, or even encourage (in my own training, an in depth knowledge of A&P seemed discouraged because it would promote “reductionistic thinking”).

Aside from the educational advantages, there are visibility issues. People have a general idea of what a PT does. No one knows what Feldenkrais is, and interest in it continues to decline. There is much more positive regard for PT as a profession. Physicians will refer to you. You don’t have to have an awkward “felden-christ?” conversation with every potential client (say you’re a PT and save your specialty for later) . You don’t have to convince someone you’re not a member of a cult right off the bat.

[ASIDE: If you want people to believe that you are a member of a profession and not a cult, then you should not spend a whole week celebrating the birthday of your Guru thirty years after he died.]

And then there’s just the basic economic advantages. You can accept insurance and Medicare. This drives decision making for a lot of people. If things go poorly, you can pick up some per diem work while getting a practice up and running. You don’t have to live in poverty or depend on a benefactor for 15 years while you establish yourself. You have a lot of bodies on which to practice your manual skills.

Being a PT is helpful for a multitude of reasons. Maintaining that it’s not and that your success is rooted in your own artistry and sacrifice…well, I think that’s a lie, and it’s cruel to people who don’t have those credentials and struggle with obstacles you don’t have to deal with.

But I believe that this trainer really does believe what he says. He has to. Once you’ve been making money off the training system for a while, and you see the throngs of failed practitioners and failing practitioners, you have to ask yourself “What am I doing with my life? Am I taking advantage of these people’s trust?”.

It would take a steely resolve to answer that honestly. Most people let the cognitive dissonance bail them out: I’ve succeeded and these other people who’ve paid me to train them haven’t…It must be that I have some inherent artistry and they don’t. I must be willing to suffer more and longer for this craft than they are.

Because otherwise, you are a fraud. And that’s a hard pill to swallow.

***note: i just reread this and see the harsh tone of it. I’m generally a happy guy these days and excited to be moving forward with the profession of physical therapy (which has slowly been and will continue to adopt the useful insights of MF, adding to them and leaving the rest behind). The guild system is a dysfunctional backwater and thinking about it dredges up all sorts of emotions. Your utah blog helped me confirm my suspicions about the guild pretty early on, and it saved me an enormous amount of time and suffering. I think that’s why I feel compelled to write about this. To let those few lonely souls out there know: You aren’t the crazy one.

And I thought, what a shame, I just finished my Feldenkrais training and have a feeling that I just went through the opposite logic.

I have a feeling that knowledge is either withheld or at least some teachers pretend they know a lot, make students insecure and perfect docile customers.

A friend from Holland told me that after research it came out that only 7% of Feldenkrais practitioners in Holland where doing it professionally.

And when I questioned an assistant trainer, who was organizing a training, about the fact that only 30% of students , that finish a Feldenkrais training worldwide practice Feldenkrais professionally after, she laughed and told me that if their are 20% it’s already a very high number.

I can’t waste time changing the system, let’s create, as you proposed in the past, different more efficient ways of learning.

I still believe some of my Feldenkrais teachers are very good but their in a system that does not work.