Long-distance and hands-on
Later this month, I will be teaching the classic Functional Integration® lesson called The Artificial Floor at the Feldenkrais Institut Wien (also known as the Vienna Feldenkrais Institute). During this hands-on session, the teacher uses a wooden cutting board or a rectangular piece of clear plastic to touch and move a student’s feet. This evokes a newfound feeling for standing and an easy, efficient, enjoyable way of walking by tapping into the foot’s neurophysical influence on the entire body.
THE ARTIFICIAL FLOOR is one of my favorite advanced training programs because it gives me a chance to revisit this exemplary FI with colleagues, one which we are already familiar with and can, therefore, come to appreciate from a deeper, more advanced perspective. Over five days, we walk through the steps of this stunning score, exploring its scope, and uncovering how and why it works so well.
After giving this lesson to students of all ages in all sorts of situations, I distilled the essential skills. Thanks to learning if from — and teaching it to — many colleagues over the years, I’ve figured how to make the process of learning to give this FI® a chance to develop your dexterity, improve whole-body coordination, and refine the listening touch. The thorough curriculum of demonstrations, explanations, hands-on practice, and relevant ATM® lessons reveals the thinking behind this lesson and makes it so that it becomes yours.
While the coronavirus pandemic has upended so many other plans, this course will be happening at the end of this month. This is possible because, as an official essential service, the Insitute is permitted to remain open during the current level of shutdown in Austria.
It’s incredibly good news because this particular FI doesn’t require direct contact — and, thereby, allowing the teacher and student to maintain distance while simultaneously creating a deep sense of connection — seems spot-on hands-on lesson for these strange times.
Having figured out this past summer how to make it work so that folks can participate both online and in-person simultaneously, the team from the Institute and I have come up with a plan. We will be offering THE ARTIFICIAL FLOOR in a hybrid format:
If regulations allow it, you can attend in person at the Feldenkrais Institut Wien. If you do, you will be able to practice with colleagues in an appropriate socially-distanced manner.
Alternatively, you will be able to attend from home via Zoom.
You will also have the option of smoothly transferring from attending in-person to attending via zoom and back.
Both those attending on-site and those participants on Zoom will meet at the same time. I will be teaching from my home studio; the video feed will be simultaneously broadcast via Zoom and “beamed into” the teaching room at the Institute. (Zoom is a two-way communication channel, making it possible for both in-person and online attendees to converse with Larry and get their questions answered.)
Thursday, 26 November 2020
15:00 to 19:30 European time
[Two short breaks and one 30-minute break]
Friday through Sunday, 27 to 29 November 2020
15:00 to 19:00 European time
[Two short breaks and one long break]
Monday, 30 November
15:00 to 17:30 European time
[One short break]
This schedule allows for incremental learning, providing ample time to practice. For those attending in Vienna, the Institute will also be open before so that you can practice with other participants. Sascha Krausneker and Joy Ackwonu, both members of the Institute’s faculty, will be present to provide assistance and support.
Friday through Sunday, 27 to 29 2020
Open practice with coaching
13:30 to 14:45 European time
Monday, 30 November
FI exchange
10:45 to 13:30 European time
All participants will receive access to the complete advanced training recordings, including audios of the ATM® lessons and the videos of the FI® demos.
You’ll find more information about the course at the institute’s website:
If you have questions and if you would like to enroll now, you can email the Institute by clicking here or call them at +43 699 1133 1043.
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