Working with the Chest
October 24-26, 2026
11:00 AM-4:30 PM EDT
4:00 PM-9:30 PM BST* • 5:00 PM-10:30 PM CEST* • 6:00 PM-11:30 PM IDT*
Live online or via recording
TO REGISTERYou are invited to a three-day masterclass on how to work effectively and confidently with the chest in Functional Integration. Join Feldenkrais Trainer David Zemach-Bersin to develop and refine your skills.
Functional Integration has been David Zemach-Bersin's primary focus for fifty years — a passion that ignited in 1973, as he watched Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais working with a severely disabled man during a seminar at UC Berkeley. Feldenkrais's approach was stunning: delicate and bold, intelligent and compassionate. Entranced by what he had witnessed, David threw himself into studying Functional Integration and Awareness Through Movement with Dr. Feldenkrais in Tel Aviv, San Francisco, Amherst, and London. He observed Dr. Feldenkrais give hundreds of hands-on lessons and was part of the team that filmed his Amherst Evening FI lessons. David developed his own FI “handwriting” over five decades in private practice and in his capacity as a Feldenkrais Trainer, articulating the art of Functional Integration for students in professional training programs and advanced trainings.
Knowing how to work effectively and confidently with and through the chest is essential for mastery in Functional Integration. The chest is the nexus, or center point, through which all movement transfers both upwards and downwards. Located at the center of the body, tension and disorganization in the chest and thoracic spine affect the freedom of all movement, in every direction. In this three-day workshop, David is looking forward to sharing the strategies for working with the chest that he learned from Dr. Feldenkrais and developed over years of practice.
David will be assisted by Feldenkrais Trainer Raz Ori, who will add perspectives on anatomy and biomechanics. Participants will receive materials for further study, including access to 4–6 hours of Functional Integration demonstration videos.
REGISTER NOWWe will explore:
~Soft tissue and skeletal techniques for working directly with the chest and the movements of respiration.
~How the movements of the chest and diaphragm reflect the state of the involuntary nervous system.
~How to improve the sympathetic-parasympathetic balance by changing the movements of the chest and diaphragm.
~Advanced strategies for refining, differentiating, and integrating the movements of the chest and breathing in every primary position.
~How to improve the relationship of the moving chest to the movement of the spine for well-organized movement.
~How the function of breathing is nested within the movements of the chest.
~How the freedom of the head and neck is dependent on the organization of the chest, and how improving the mobility of the chest helps optimize the relationship of the head and neck.
~How the freedom of the arms is dependent on the mobility of the chest.
~How improving the essential movements of the chest can help optimize the synergistic relationship between the muscles of the lower back and abdomen.
Feedback from Previous Advanced Training Participants
"Somebody once asked me why David's work is so good, and I would have answered that it is the simplicity. He knows how not to overload the nervous system. The first ATM in the Head & Neck Injury Recovery workshop was a game-changer for me. It showed me how working with just one or two vertebrae can shift everything, and I can get my pain to go away."
~Robin Luby-Schaefer
"A super FI workshop! David gave enough information to give me more confidence in working with people with head and neck injuries. The combination of David and Raz amplified the learning points. I loved the integration of Moshe's stories as a gift to those of us who did not know him personally."
~Lindy Ost
"Kudos on the pedagogy."
"This FI is a great example of going with a pattern to begin a lesson and a useful reminder of working with what people know before going to what is unfamiliar. I appreciate the clear explanations and the camera work that allowed us to see well."
"I feel so whole and free in my chest!"
~Previous Participants
Meet David
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, both of whom were members of Feldenkrais's first training. 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 for Practitioners and is co-author of RELAXERCISE (HarperCollins). He is a past president of the Feldenkrais Guild of North America, and for many years co-directed both 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 dedicated himself to developing and teaching live and on-demand online programs for Feldenkrais teachers and the public since 2020 as the Director of Feldenkrais Access. He lives with his wife, Kaethe, in Connecticut.
Meet Raz
Raz Ori, Feldenkrais Teacher and Trainer, directs Feldenkrais Training Programs in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Palermo, Sicily. Raz also teaches in training programs in Israel, Germany, Italy, France, and the UK. He graduated in 2001 from the Tel-Aviv Feldenkrais Professional Training Program. Raz gained clinical experience working for 15 years at Clalit Integrative Medicine, part of Israel’s largest public health provider. He has also worked at the Sheba Medical Center with disabled war veterans suffering from chronic pain, phantom limb pain, PTSD, and head injuries. Raz runs The Ramat-Aviv Feldenkrais Center, where he teaches Feldenkrais classes and gives individual lessons. Raz lives in Tel Aviv with his wife and children.
Workshop includes
- Although this is an FI-based workshop, there will be one related ATM lesson each day
- You will receive additional FI demonstration videos
- There will be a live online post-workshop Q&A for participants
- You'll have lifetime access to the recordings and the option to download
This Advanced Training is open for enrollment to all Feldenkrais Practitioners and to students in the fourth year of a Feldenkrais Professional Training Program (FPTP).
Save $90: Extra-Early Bird Price Ends September 28
Choose your local currency and click the purchase button.
Feldenkrais Guild members save an extra 10% with code WORKTEN
Feldenkrais trainees save an extra 20% with code WORKTWENTY
*For those moving to Standard Time on Sunday, October 25, you will be joining us one hour earlier on Sunday and Monday than Saturday.
