Finding
Balance
on
One Leg

Larry is teaching Feldenkrais® Summer Camp 2021 — Finding Balance on One Leg — online. 

Summer camp happens entirely on Zoom, a video streaming service, to create a virtual workshop where you can see and hear him and the class attendees (who choose to have their cameras on). You can access every session on a smartphone, tablet, laptop, computer, or Internet-enabled TV; you can, should you choose, also join the meeting on the phone. The choice is yours.

Thanks to your camera and microphone, you’ll not only get to see and hear, but you’ll also be able to interact with him and other attendees. Some of the time, you’ll work with one or more of the other “campers” in a breakout group via the video service.  

Suppose you haven’t had a chance to participate in online learning yet. In that case, the great thing about this technology is that it delivers the benefits of improving your abilities wherever you are, at home, at work, on public transportation, etc. Even though we won’t be in the same physical location, the immediacy of video makes for smooth interaction and an uncanny sense of togetherness and camaraderie.

No worries. 

Because we know you’re busy, we record each session. That way, if for whatever reason, you miss part or all of the meeting or if part of the program doesn’t fit your schedule, we’ve got you covered.

We will make the unedited audio and video files available for you to watch or listen to, usually in less than 48 hours. This will allow you to catch up whenever, wherever, and on whatever device (smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop) works best for you.

Yes.

You’ll receive access to the edited audio recordings via the Mind in Motion online Library by early September, at the very latest.

You’ll do the ATMs, from wherever you are, by following the step-by-step instructions Larry provides. As will all Feldenkrais classes, you’ll be asked to do unusual movements in often unfamiliar situations. These aren’t traditional exercises meant to increase strength, stretch, or develop endurance; instead, they’re a curated sequence of lessons about improving your coordination, orientation, and balance. Above all, Moshe’s method is a suffering is optional approach to learning.

Depending on the lesson, you’ll be lying on your side and your back, sitting, and standing on both legs and one. The lessons start simply and become more incrementally more challenging as the series progresses. 

Larry will be drawing from the lessons Dr. Feldenkrais taught during his weekly classes in the 1950s to 1970s in Tel Aviv. This year’s camp curriculum consists of a curated selection of these classic compositions and adapted specifically for the Summer Camp series . . . along with a few original innovations.

The lessons are relatively easy. 

What’s difficult is that they will, by design, challenge your sense of equilibrium. The series follows a kind of developmental logic, learning the basics close to the floor before doing standing lessons.

Since this year’s Summer Camp is about learning to get better at Finding Balance on One Leg, some classes are done standing — on both legs and one. 

One of the innovations of this series is that it has a kind of safety net built into the progression: you investigate shifting weight while standing on one leg with your back against a wall at first before doing so “free-standing.” 

At any point along the way, you can imagine the actions and still benefit. If you’d like to find out about the role of kinesthetic imagination in learning, please check my blog post about Feldenkrais’ splendid FOOT ON HEAD lesson.

A couple of times along the way, you’ll get a chance to interact with other participants by engaging in interactive learning activities. Not only will you have an opportunity to learn from and with each other, but you’ll find out about how to  take the learning from the lessons into life.

They last anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes.

There are two sessions of Summer Camp, Pacific and Atlantic, each of which covers the same material. You can attend either or, if your schedule permits, both.

That’s up to you. 

Larry aims to teach the workshop so that reviewing the recordings provides a solid basis for learning on your own. That said, as part of our mission to foster a community of learners, we offer these extended live programs to make interaction and collaborative learning possible.

There’s no deadline for completing the course.

Your tuition gives you lifetime access to all of the audio recordings of the ATM lessons as well as the videos of the group meetings and discussions. (So you know, the breakout groups are not recorded.) 

This means you will be able to go through the material at your own pace and on your own time. You can backtrack, review, and proceed as the class unfolds. So, there is no deadline.

Because there are no tests or quizzes, we have no basis for granting certificates of completion.

We have no plan to do so. Larry teaches each Summer Camp once.

However, we will, most likely, be making the recordings available at a later date.

You can check out a recent recording of Larry teaching a recent rendition of ON THE EDGE. A new, updated original version of this lesson will be kicking off Summer Camp.

You’ll find this lesson in the Free ATMs section of the Mind In Motion website. You can access it by:

1. Logging into your Mind in Motion Online (MIMO) account.
2. And then clicking here. 

(If you haven’t joined the website yet, it’s quick and easy to create your entirely free Improve My Abilities (IMA) account here. Your account will give you access to other free lessons, the Lesson Locator, and the digital version of my book, Articulating Changes, all at no cost whatsoever to you.)

• Before you do the lesson, please note that it is neither medical care nor treatment. If you have any concerns about whether you should do it or not, consult with your physician. 

• Should you take me up on my invitation and do this lesson, we’re curious to hear from you about your experience. 

Once you have a MIMO account, it’s easy to find this lesson, along with the many other free ones, later. You do that by signing in to your account, going to the Library section, and then selecting Free ATMs > Original compositions. You’ll find ON THE EDGE V4 on the last page because the lessons are listed in the order we added them. Clicking on the title takes you to a page where you can listen to the recording immediately or download it for later.