Length and support

Last month, I had the honor and pleasure of teaching the first hands-on lesson from the extensive MASTERING THE METHOD (MTM) program to a group of engaged, enthusiastic European colleagues in Paris.

I love this lesson because it reliably and repeatedly gives students a clear sense of how their internal support affords effortless uprightness and length. The compositional structure repeats a similar stratagem in various places in combination with test movements you keep returning to that, like the refrain of a song, develop a more profound meaning over time. The indirect nature of the underlying game plan means that there’s never the slightest sense of imposing, allowing learning to accrue slowly and easily, like something being revealed rather than forced.

Taking the time to explore the techniques, teaching tactics, and pedagogical strategy while experiencing the underlying organization firsthand and working with colleagues gives each person ample opportunity to get to know the lesson well enough to make it their own. The lesson is also beautiful because it develops the artful self-use the teacher needs to receive the benefits of the lesson while giving it.

After I returned home, I heard from the organizer that the participants wrote about how excited they were to easily remember, adapt, and teach this Functional Integration session to their students. Here are a few of the other comments they sent along:

• I found Larry’s teaching very generous, intelligent, and subtle, with something powerful and refreshing in the best sense of the word.
  
• Relevant and valuable to clean and clarify the fundamentals of the method in our intention . . . and in our hands.
  
• What I learned gave me a fundamental understanding of how to think about Feldenkrais and how to apply it. I also learned how to make myself comfortable and why that’s crucial.

Over the decades of teaching MTM, I have witnessed how this comprehensive, unhurried approach consistently makes it possible for colleagues to realize their potential to become the teachers they always knew they could become.

From December 7th to 11th, a small group of colleagues from around the world engaged me to teach this course for them in Santa Cruz, California. They kindly agreed to allow others to join. However, participation is limited to ten, and only a couple of openings remain.

If you’re interested in this unique opportunity, I encourage you to respond to this post or email me at your earliest convenience to secure your spot.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Myriam Audin for capturing the essence of the Paris program in the beautiful photo featured at the top of today’s post.