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This is a verbatim transcript of Dr. Feldenkrais' teaching of week 4, June 30-July 3, 1980, year 1, of the Amherst training. This volume is packed full of value that will whet your appetite to go further in your practice and continuing education.  

Highlights of Moshe's talks include:

· Parasitic Movement
· Thinking to Remember
· Altering Habits
· the Importance of Doing ATM on One Side
· and his famous talk on Love and Violence about the effects of note-taking on our learning.

There are several series of ATM lessons that are excellent for your own development as well as adaptable for giving to the general public: 

· Rolling with Hand Holding Chin
· Rolling the Fists
· Tilting the Knees
· Tilting Crossed legs
· Diagonal Pressing and Lifting.

As you read this transcript you will find new gems of understanding in his talks and ATM lessons that offer direction toward choice, self-reliance, and autonomy.

Editor Bonnie Rich Humiston reminds us, "It is easy to understand him when it's something familiar and we know what he means, but if what he's saying doesn't make sense, perhaps we are not ready to understand him."

 

Tribute to Michél Silice-Feldenkrais

by Rob Black and Cliff Smyth

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Michel Silice Feldenkrais. Michel, the nephew of Dr. Feldenkrais, was responsible for managing the Feldenkrais estate and it was his vision that the original materials of Dr. Feldenkrais be made available to all practitioners at affordable prices

Dear colleagues, we are writing to commemorate and celebrate the life of our colleague, Michél Silice-Feldenkrais who passed away April 20, 2009 in Tel Aviv. Michél was a member of FGNA, friend of all Feldenkrais® associations, and supporter of the Feldenkrais Method®.

About Michél's connection to Moshe:
Moshe and his brother Baruch did not have any children. Moshe’s sister, Malka, had two children who grew up in France; one of the children was Michél. When Moshe died, the family gave Michél the task of protecting and furthering the legacy of his uncle, including continuing the Feldenkrais Institute in Tel Aviv.

Michél was an Assistant Trainer assisting in a number of training programs, more recently with Eli Wadler.

He continued to run the Feldenkrais Institute in Tel Aviv for many years – first at Nachmani Street and then at a new venue that allowed more space, including for training programs Evan as late as 1992 people used to drop by the Institute to ‘study with Moshe’ by doing ATM classes from the Alexander Yanai recordings. Michél also dreamed about setting up an archive and audio-visual center there for people to come and study Moshe’s teachings. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, the new Institute had to close. It was a very sad day for Michél.

Michel and the International Feldenkrais Federation (IFF):
Michél was a strong supporter of the IFF from the beginning. He saw it as a way that the whole Feldenkrais community could move ahead and all parts could be included. Right from the beginning he advocated that the IFF should be involved in locating and archiving all of Moshe’s teaching – something followed up on in a serious way. He was a man of many strong views, some about things that we are still discussing! For example he strongly believed that the IFF should be a forum were issues and concerns about training in the Feldenkrais Method should be discussed. Michél was a strong supporter of the inclusion of the practitioners trained by Mia Segal and Yochanon Rywerant in the IFF community, and spoke for their membership many times.

He organized and sponsored the third IFF Assembly in Tel Aviv, which included an evening public celebration of Moshe’s life – with talks from many of his earliest students, which was recorded for Israeli television.

Michél and Moshe’s Legacy:
Michél’s great contribution, as you all know, is his commitment to making the teaching materials from Moshe’s legacy available to the community. First by ensuring that Moshe’s books remained in print, sometimes publishing them himself.

Also, Michél had, over the years, many people approach him to publish materials, like the Alexander Yanai lessons, but he waited until there was a body like the IFF before releasing these materials. Partly this arose out of the strong bond that formed between the IFF’s first President, François Combeau and partly out of Michél commitment that the materials be available to all practitioners – that meant sold in all countries, and including to the practitioners trained by Mia and Yochanon. He would have loved to see more materials translated and often asked me how the German translation of AY was going and when the others were going to happen! I think when we started all of us had no idea just how big all these projects would be.

The decision to enter into contracts with the IFF, representing the greatest number of organizations of practitioners, was an important one for the Method and the community. Michél might have made more money – and got products produced sooner – if he had sold the rights to others, but he was truly committed that the core of the materials be available to all practitioners. He could have sold them to anyone, but by working with the IFF he made it possible for the professional community to decide who primarily has access to the materials, and when it is more appropriate that some materials are for sale only to practitioners who have been trained in the Method. This is a gift from Michél to our community, for us to have control over much of the primary teaching materials, such as the Alexander Yanai, and the San Francisco and Amherst materials. Many people have said that the publication of the Alexander Yanai lessons has been one of the most important events in the development of the profession and the Method.


In the end:

 

Michél was not always the easiest man. In fact he was often difficult. His strong convictions and his strong personality meant he had arguments with many people in the community – even with his friends. Yet he could also be a good friend.
It is years now since Michél was able to go to an IFF Assembly and most of those who knew him through the IFF have also moved on, in their work for the community and in their lives. And yet we would not have the international community that is it today without Michél’s input, without his commitment, without his generosity, without his representation of his family and of Moshe’s legacy.

---

Rob Black is the former Vice-President of the IFF, currently Chair of the IFF Distribution Center and a former and current member of the FGNA Board.

Cliff Smyth is former President of the IFF and member of the Board of the IFF Distribution Center.

 

 

 

All products are now 25% off. For example, order one Alexander Yani volume, regularly $85, and save  $21.25! (25%)

It's like getting 4 for the price of 3!

Sale ends Wednesday, August 6th, 2009 (at the FGNA Conference).