Not the same way all the time

Thirty-seven minutes and 27 seconds.

Thirty-seven minutes and 27 seconds into the 25th session of his 1972 course, Moshe Feldenkrais utters, “The teaching shouldn’t be done all the time in the same way.” 

The reason I know the precise moment he made this declaration is because I had to replay the audio recording several times to ensure I heard him correctly. I wanted to make sure I’d heard him correctly. I had never read or heard him offer this advice elsewhere, let alone state it in such a plain-spoken, emphatic manner.

Dr. Feldenkrais was teaching what has become known as The Esalen Workshop. As I mentioned elsewhere, the title downplays the significance of this six-week seminar. Rather than simply being a more extended version of the many public workshops he taught around the world, this program was Moshe’s first-ever go at preparing others to teach his unique — and uniquely transformative — group classes. [Indeed, it was during this Esalen course that his foundational approach to somatic education was named Awareness Through Movement (ATM).] 

He wasn’t leading a group of students; instead, he was preparing future teachers. Rather than guiding the participants through ATM classes, he regularly interjected comments about observing and understanding students and offered guidance about teaching and understanding the lessons. In many ways, he was much more candid and forthcoming than in later years.

Among the more than 1,200 recorded and written classes comprising Feldenkrais’ collected works, many versions exist of what we now consider classic lessons.  Some variants contain minor changes, but most of the compositions expand on familiar themes, explore alternative pathways, and often, though not always, lead in new, unexpected directions. Moshe’s proclamation at Esalen proves that these divergences were intentional rather than incidental. 

Unlike nearly all the moving arts and sciences, Feldenkrais’ approach is not based on rehearsing and refining a limited movement repertoire. Instead, the vast collection of lessons he created explores an expansive and diverse vocabulary of positions, motions, and gestures in various configurations, combinations, and contexts. What’s more, it leaves the door open to future development.

When, on that fateful day, he goes on to say that “there should be no routine anywhere for a human brain,” Moshe makes it clear that variety isn’t solely the spice of life; variety is also the spice of learning.