Elastic Connections along the front (English with Spanish translation)

Working with the Idea of Longitudinal (Fascial) Connections

Please note: New participants can join any segment. You do not have to have visited the previous segments for joining us later.

In Feldenkrais lessons we use many wonderful tools to help people rediscover connections within themselves and to find ways of sensing the synergy of movement-planning and movement-action. Using images to enhance our students’ awareness of relationships and coherence is one of those techniques. I have found that thinking about specific pathways of elastic connection along the length of the body can provide an integrative and accessible tool for sensing the coordination of well-distributed action.

In these workshops we will explore how imagining connective tissue and its tendency to overlie and overlap other structures allows a different way of interpreting the global coordination of movement.

In ATM this might give us, as teachers, an additional way of observing our students and new cues to offer. It might deepen our understanding of what we are doing, doing, enhance our own self image and allow our attention to encompass relationships that we were not previously aware of. We will also play with the idea of offering these images to our own students as a tool for sensing themselves differently or becoming aware of patterns of thought that are less connected.

In FI demonstrations I will offer suggestions for using the idea of specific longitudinal pathways as a way of giving your student a sense of connection. We can use this as an “inward tool” in the back of our minds to inform the way we are thinking, sensing and observing our student. And we can also use this as an idea for creating a specific, coherent lesson map.

In this online format we will ask you to invite someone to come at specific times so that you can explore these ideas whilst working with them. This will most likely be from 14:00-15:00 on Saturday and from 13:00-14:00 on Sunday, but we will confirm the times with you closer to the date of each workshop.

The structure of this advanced training series

WORKING WITH THE IDEA OF LONGITUDANAL (FASCIAL) CONNECTIONS is an advanced workshop, divided into individual segments held once a month on weekends. New participants can enter any segment. The segments do relate to each other and are offered in logical sequence; however, each segment is complete in itself and it is not a problem if you have to miss one. Of course, you can always sign up anyway and use the recordings to „fill the gaps “. This is also the case if you are not able to have someone there for the practice sessions.

The segments are designed specifically for Feldenkrais teachers who want to:

• Play with new ideas to enhance their teaching of ATM
• Find an easy way to observe connections in their students when teaching
• Give their FI work new depth and meaning
• Adapt their lessons and their thinking to take the idea of connective tissue into consideration

In the first four segments we will look at connections along the back, the front, and the sides of the body, as well as spiraling connections which wrap around us.
In segments 5, 6 & 7 (planned for 2022) we will explore the way our arms connect into our body, the functional relationship between arms and legs, and the deep supportiveness of our inner core.

About Kathryn

Kathryn is renowned for her use of imagery in teaching Feldenkrais. Her ability to bring movement to life using a rich vocabulary of words and images make her lessons colourful and meaningful. Kathryn originally trained with Mia Segal in Ubbergen, Holland, graduating in 1999, and has been an avid Feldenkrais teacher ever since. She has a huge amount of teaching experience from her practice in Hamburg. This has given her a large field in which to play with different teaching strategies.