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Embodied Wisdom: the Collected Papers of Moshe EMBODIED WISDOM The Collected Papers of MOSHE FELDENKRAIS Foreword by David Zemach-Bersin Edited by Elizabeth Beringer "Moshe Feldenkrais was one of the twentieth century's most original thinkers. This volume presents Feldenkrais's most concise and cohesive statements on the theory behind his work .... I hope the publication of this important and long overdue book will help bring his ideas the recognition and the critical analysis they so deserve. I believe the Feldendrais Method® has the potential to help millions of people." -from the Foreword by DAVID ZEMACH-BERSIN, cofounder of the Feldenkrais Institute of New York ore than fifty years ago, Moshe Feldenkrais began developing the extraor­ M dinary movement-based learning method that bears his name. Embodied Wisdom is the first collection of Feldenkrais's articles and interviews published in English, and includes some of the most accessible examples of Feldenkrais's writing. Taken together, the writings form a diverse and textured whole, offering many dif­ ferent points of entry for those unfamiliar with Feldenkrais's ideas and at the same time providing long-time students of the method new territory for in-depth study. "This is the most sophisticated and effective method I have seen for the prevention and reversal of deterioration of function." -Anthropologist MARGARET MEAD on the Feldenkrais Method "The Feldenkrais exercises are ingenious." - SIR YEHUDI MENUHIN, KB E, renowned violinist "Feldenkrais has studied the body in movement with a precision that I have found nowhere else." - PETER BROOK, aBE, theater and film director "Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais's method will be of great benefit to all of humanity. From my own experience I know the remarkable results achieved." - DAVID BEN -GURiaN, first Prime Minister of Israel "Feldenkrais's work is innovative, gentle, and often strikingly effective .... I recom­ mend the Feldenkrais Method to patients whose movement has been restricted by injury, cerebral palsy, stroke, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. I also believe that the Feldenkrais Method can help all of us feel more comfortable in our bodies." - ANDREW W ElL, MD Somatic Resources Berkeley, California www.feldenkraisresources.com US $ 17.95 / $21.50 CAN ISBN 978-1-55643-906-3 Health/Bodywork 795 jii;) North Atlantic Books '-J Berkeley, California www.north atlant icbooks .co m 9 Also by MOSHE FELDENKRAIS Body and Mature Behavior: A Study ofAnxiety, Sex, Gravitation, and Learning The Potent Self: A Study ofSpontaneity and Compulsion Awareness Through Movement Body Awareness as Healing Therapy: The Case ofNora The Elusive Obvious The Master Moves Practical Unarmed Combat Judo: The Art ofDefense and Attack Higher Judo: Groundwork EMBODIED WISDOM The Collected Papers of MOSHE FELDENKRAIS Moshe Feldenkrais Foreword by David Zemach-Bersin Edited by Elizabeth Beringer Somatic Resources Berkeley, California North Atlantic Books Berkeley, California Copyright © 20 lO by Somatic Resources and the Feldenkrais Estate. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means--electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise-without the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books. Published by and Somatic Resources North Atlantic Books 830 Bancroft Way P.O. Box 12327 Berkeley, California 94710 Berkeley, California 94712 Cover photo by Lionel Delevingne Photos © 2010. See page 221-222 for photo credits. Cover and book design by Suzanne Albertson Photos on 36, 40, 61, and 65 are used with Printed in the United States of America permission from the International Feldenkrais Federation. Photographs © by Michael Wolgensinger appear courtesy of the Wolgensinger archive, [email protected]. "Bodily Expression:' Somatics, Vol. 6, No.4, Spring/Summer 1988. Translated from the French by Thomas Hanna. "Bodily Expression (Conclusion):' Somatics, Vol. 7, No.1, Autumn/Winter 1988-89. "On the Primacy of Hearing:' Soma tics, Vol. 1, No.1, Autumn 1976. "Man and the World," Somatics, Vol. 2, No.2, Spring 1979. Reprinted by permission of somatics magazine. Feldenkrais, Moshe. Edited and translated by Kelly Morris, "Image, Movement, and Actor: Restoration of Potentiality:' TDR: The Drama Review volume lO: number 3, T31, Spring, 1966. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. Rotte, Joanne. "Feldenkrais Revisited: Tension, Talent, and the Legacy of Childhood." Courtesy of Joanne Rotte. Embodied Wisdom: The Collected Papers of Moshe Feldenkrais is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educa­ tional and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature. North Atlantic Books' publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our Web site at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000. Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Functional Integration®, Awareness Through Movement®, and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner® are service marks of the Feldenkrais GUILD® of North America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Feldenkrais, Moshe, 1904-1984. Embodied wisdom: the collected papers of Moshe Freldenkrais / Moshe Feldenkrais ; edited by Elizabeth Beringer. p.;cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-55643-906-3 1. Feldenkrais method. l. Beringer, Elizabeth. II. Title. [DNLM: 1. Feldenkrais, Moshe, 1904-1984. 2. Psychophysiology-Collected Works. 3. Psychophysiology-Interview. 4. Body Image--Collected Works. 5. Body Image-Interview. 6. Motor Activity-Collected Works. 7. Motor Activity­ Interview. 8. Self Concept-Collected Works. 9. Self Concept-Interview. WL lO3 F312e 2010] RC489.F44F44232010 616.80092'2----dc22 2010020233 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED 15 14 13 12 11 lO Dedicated to all the Feldenkrais practitioners worldwide who are putting Moshe Feldenkrais's ideas into action. MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: The following information is intended for general information purposes only. Individuals should always see their health care provider before administering any suggestions made in this book. Any application of the material set forth in the following pages is at the reader's discretion and is his or her sole responsibility. Moshe Feldenkrais 1 904-1984 Contents Foreword xi Editor's Introduction XXI PART 1: Articles 1 1. Bodily Expressions, translated from the French by Thomas Hanna 3 2. Mind and Body 27 3. On the Primacy of Hearing 45 4. On Health 53 5. Man and the World 59 6. Awareness Through Movement 69 7. Self-Fulfillment Through Organic Learning, edited by Mark Reese 77 PART 2: Interviews 91 8. Image, Movement, and Actor: Restoration of Potentiality, interview with Richard Schechner and Helen Schechner, translated and edited by Kelly Morris 93 9. Feldenkrais Revisited: Tension, Talent, and the Legacy of Childhood, interview with Joanna Rotte 113 10. The Extraordinary Story of How Moshe Feldenkrais Came to Study Judo, interview with Dennis Leri 127 11. Moshe Feldenkrais Discusses Awareness and Consciousness with Aharon Katzir, edited and with an introduction by Carl Ginsburg 161 12. Movement and the Mind, interview with Will Schutz 179 13. The Forebrain: Sleep, Consciousness, Awareness, and Learning, interview with Edward Rosenfeld 191 14. An Interview with Moshe Feldenkrais, The New Sun 203 Notes 215 Photograph Credits 221 Embodied Wisdom A Biography of Moshe Feldenkrais 223 About Elizabeth Beringer 227 About David Zemach-Bersin 227 Resources 229 x Foreword I believe that the unity of mind and body is an objective reality. They are not just parts somehow related to each other, but an inseparable whole while functioning. A brain without a body could not think ... the muscles themselves are part and parcel ofour higher functions. MOSHE FELDENKRAIS, from the article "Mind and Body;' 1964 Movement is life. Life is a process. Improve the quality of the process and you improve the quality of life itself. MOSHE FELDENKRAIS, from Awareness Through Movement, 1973 MOSHE FELDENKRAIS WAS ONE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY's most original and integrative thinkers. Along with such seminal figures as Ida Rolf, Heinrich Jacoby, F. M. Alexander, and Elsa Gindler, Feldenkrais is considered one of the founders of the field that is today called Somatics. The pieces included in Embodied Wisdom: The Collected Papers of Moshe Feldenkrais were originally published in independent journals between 1964 and 1998. A testament to the prescience of Feldenkrais's ideas is the fact that many of the concepts presented in this volume are as important, genera­ tive, and radical today as they were when they were first articulated. In these remarkable articles and interviews, Feldenkrais provides us with some of the most cogent and sophisticated arguments ever made for the biological and functional unity of the mind and body. During most of the twentieth century, the dominant medical and aca­ demic model of the brain was that our habits are fixed or hard-wired, that each area of the brain has specialized, pre-determined functions, and that every day of our adulthood, our brain loses both neurons and the ability to learn new skills. In books, articles, and lectures from 1949 to 1981, Moshe Feldenkrais strongly challenged this point of view, not simply the
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