A - T - M times four

Larry Goldfarb

Larry Goldfarb

· 3 min read
Mind in Motion - A - T - M times four

I was a bad student today.

My dear friend and colleague, Donna Blank, was teaching the morning Awareness Through Movement® lesson at the An AY a day study group for Feldenkrais® teachers and trainees this morning. For the second day of AYAD’s third-anniversary celebration, she chose Alexander Yanai 23: PALATE, MOUTH, AND TEETH.

This lesson — which is about way more than its title reveals, especially when taught by a tremendous teacher like Donna — is the one I remember from the first time I experienced it. It’s one of those lessons that is the Feldenkraisian equivalent of the 1966 sci-fi movie, The Fantastic Voyage, which is to say that these lessons are mind-altering, soma-revitalizing inner journeys. My sense of the proportions of my head, trunk, breath, of myself was forever altered.

Today, as then, I marveled at how the kinds of silly things I used to do as a kid, like sliding my tongue slowly along my teeth, feeling each one, in turn, spacing out (or, more accurately, spacing in) in the classroom, could become the catalysts for such surprising and significant shifts in my felt sense, in how I notice and know myself.

Then it happened. During a moment of rest, I started thinking of the letters A - T - M, about what they could stand for besides Awareness Through Movement. My mind wandered away from the lesson.

What’s worse is that not wanting to forget my meander, I rolled over, sat up, and reached for a pad and paper. 

Image

I left the lesson to scribble down some phrases, scratch out a few words, ponder, wonder, and wander some more. After a bit more writing and rewriting, I looked at what was on the page. Once I’d renumbered the elements of the draft, it was done.

Here’s what I came up with: a poem for my classmate, fellow explorer, and courageous comrade. It consists of four lines, one for each of the decades we’ve known each other.

During the after-class discussion, I read it to Donna and the 150 other members of the international Feldenkrais teacher community on the call. In case you weren’t there, here’s the poem:

A - T - M times four

All tiny movements.Attention to myself.Accessing the moment.Action that's mindful.

Image

Tomorrow, 3 June 2020, Motiv Nativ, also a fine friend, who is, in addition, a martial arts master and Feldenkrais historian, will be teaching the third installment of the AYAD third anniversary celebration. It starts at 8:00 AM US Pacific time.

At the same time, on Thursday, 4 June 2020, I’ll be teaching the fourth and final lesson of the series.

Image

If you’re interested in finding out what happened when 60+ Feldenkrais teachers and trainees voluntarily took part in A TRAINING SEGMENT ONLINE earlier this year, what we learned from this first-ever event, and how I've improved it for the next time around, you’re invited to the free webinars I’m offering this coming Wednesday, the 3rd of June. To sign up for either Zoom meeting, please click on one of the links below:

10:00 AM US Pacific time
Wednesday, 3 June 2020

6:00 PM US Pacific time
Wednesday, 3 June 2020

There will be ample time for Questions and Answers.


Mind in Motion Online parag Separator

Your thoughts?

Please let us know your perspective! Add your comments, reactions, suggestions, ideas, etc., by first logging in to your Mind in Motion account and then clicking here.

Commenting on blog posts is available to anyone with a Mind in Motion Online account.

  • Join in by getting your free account, which gives you access to the e-book edition of Articulating Changes (Larry’s now-classic Master’s thesis), ATM® lessons, and more — all at no charge whatsoever.
  • To find out more and sign up, please click here.
  • Want to share this blog post with a friend? You can email them the web address shown in your browser. Or share the post via social media by clicking on one of the following icons:
Creative Commons Button 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

[This license gives you permission to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially. You may also remix, transform, and build upon the material. You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.]

Responses:

    Please Log in to comment

    © 2025 Mind in Motion, All rights reserved.

    Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Functional Integration®, and Awareness Through Movement® are registered service marks; Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher® and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner® are certification marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America.

    Feldenkrais, Méthode Feldenkrais, Prise de Conscience par le Mouvement, Intégration Fonctionnelle sont des termes déposés par Feldenkrais France.

    I termini Metodo Feldenkrais, Conoscersi Attraverso il Movimento, Consapevolezza Attraverso il Movimento, Integrazione Funzionale, Feldenkrais sono marchi registrati di proprietà dell'AIIMF.

    Feldenkrais Method® is the registered trademark in the U.K. of the Feldenkrais Guild UK Ltd., Reg No. 1563759.

    Feldenkrais, Gilde lizenzierte/r Feldenkrais-LehrerIn, Feldenkrais-Lehrer FVD, Feldenkrais-Lehrerin FVD, Feldenkrais-Practitioner FVD und FVD sind die registrierten Wortmarken für den FVD Feldenkrais-Verband Deutschland e.V.