From Sitting to Standing
November 15-16
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST
4:00 PM-10:00 PM GMT
5:00 PM-11:00 PM CET
6:00 PM-12:00 AM IST
“In 1975 and 1976, I received several Functional Integration lessons from Dr. Feldenkrais, which explored ways of moving from sitting to standing, and from kneeling to standing. These were profound sensory kinesthetic encounters, and they left a powerful imprint on me. The truth is, I’ve been learning from those lessons ever since!”
– David ZB
The transition from sitting or kneeling to standing takes us from a state of more or less of stable equilibrium to a state of unstable equilibrium. This transition through space can be achieved in ways that are either graceful, safe, easy, and smooth, or compromising and risky. Getting up in a disorganized way can cause or exacerbate back and neck pain, cause stress in our spine and hip joints, and reinforce dysfunctional movement patterns. Even the most exquisite Feldenkrais lesson can be undermined if, at its conclusion, we— or our students —get up in a way that causes muscular strain and activates old organizational habits and neural connections.
For Feldenkrais Teachers, the ability to move from sitting to standing without unnecessary muscular effort is a hallmark of well-organized action and one that is especially compelling. Firstly, because we want to be well-organized and move easily ourselves. Secondly, because as Dr. Feldenkrais said, "you can't teach someone what you yourself don't know." We need to know how to raise our own organization to the highest level possible so that we can help our students negotiate this important arc of transition.
Please join David Zemach-Bersin for his sixth ‘Awareness Through Movement for Feldenkrais Practitioners Only’ workshop. This rich two-day workshop will be ATM-based, and give you the sensory knowledge and kinesthetic acuity that you need to understand the dynamics of this primary transitional arc. David looks forward to sharing and expanding upon what he learned from Moshe. To help you study this important subject in FI, additional videos of David demonstrating a variety of strategies for moving from sitting to standing in FI, will be included.
Feldenkrais Trainer David Zemach-Bersin met Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais in 1973 and studied with him for ten years in the U.S., Europe, and Israel. David also studied extensively with Gaby Yaron and Yochanon Rywerant. He has maintained a Functional Integration practice since 1977 and is recognized for his contribution to strengthening Dr. Feldenkrais’s legacy. A graduate of UC Berkeley with post-graduate work in physiological psychology, David has created numerous audio and video programs and is the co-author of Relaxercise (HarperCollins). He is a past President of FGNA and co-directed the Feldenkrais Institute of New York and Feldenkrais Resources. David has directed and served as the Lead Teacher in sixteen Feldenkrais Professional Training Programs. He has been developing and teaching live-online and on-demand programs for Feldenkrais Teachers and the public online since 2020 as the Director of Feldenkrais Access. He lives with his family in the Farmington Valley of Connecticut.
