Do You REALLY Want To Have A Feldenkrais Practice?!
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It’s Ok if you don’t. You are still an amazing human being. Perhaps even more amazing. You don’t have a practice and we totally, totally, love you.
I mean that.
I was in the bay area earlier this year and I had a friend who was complaining about not having enough students, her practice wasn’t large enough, her classes were too small, she wasn’t making enough money…yada yada yada…you’ve had friends and colleagues say something similar, yes?
But the problem is..she’s absolutely, positively, 110% full of it. What in the world is she talking about?! She’s been complaining about her practice for 10 years..TEN YEARS!!
And she’s no slouch. In the decade since her training, she has gotten a bachelor’s degree, gotten a master’s degree, traveled all over the world. She teaches English as second language and loves it (and she’s great at it), built a successful marriage…her list of achievements goes on and on…and here she is complaining to me about not having a full practice. Well, guess what:
She doesn’t have a full practice because she doesn’t want one!
Hello? How exactly does Moshe Feldenkrais’ work become a trap for some people? Where does the idea of the “magical Feldenkrais practitioner” come from? Are you somehow a better, more valuable person if you have a practice and are good at it?
No way! In fact, sometimes it can be the opposite of that.
But do you know what really bugs me about my friend’s complaining? It’s not simply that it’s self-indulgent. It’s not that she refuses to take the time to count her blessings. It’s not her lack of appreciation of what an amazing person she is. What really bothers me, is that she could do so much more if she would use the method to do what she wants to do – which is keep developing as a PERSON.
She’s so busy worrying about the practice that she doesn’t want, that she is not using the work for her self. She is not doing ATM for herself. She has volumes of Alexander Yanai that she is not using. What’s point? She has access to some of the greatest self-development material that have ever existed on this planet and she’s not using it because she “needs more students” and “bigger practice.”
It’s a tragedy. It might be time to become self-actualizing and focus on being a person, not a practitioner. Being a person and being a practitioner is not the same thing. And reversibility isn’t just about movement.
cheers – Ryan
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Bravo! I remember the kick in the butt lecture Pauline Sugine gave us at my training many years ago, and it still sticks. I am always amazed at how my Feldenkrais influence has awakened something in me that is captured in all aspects of my life. Thank you again, Ryan.
Thank you! It’s great to have people posting comments. And for the record, this post isn’t just about my friend – I temporarily quit my practice last year. My table is stored away. And I am doing Alexander Yanai every night before bed and sometime during the morning and afternoon as well. I realized that I needed to get back to basics and deal with some of my own patterns before I got back to building my practice.
cheers! – Ryan
Very pleased to read your piece, I feel, ever since my training (15 years ago) that somehow I have failed to make a practice work, the fact that I have used the work every day and through my theater work and given lessons and opened the door to the method to numerous people from the MET opera in New York to young drama students is not to to sniffed at. I, like you, are returning to some lessons I know well to explore them in a new deeper way. Now back to that practice…
Andy
Andy – You have a beautiful website. Your intro video really hooked me, I watched for at couple of minutes before going inside (so to speak). Getting back to doing ATM has been a lifesaver for me. I hope you find that as well. cheers! – Ryan
Thanks coach Ryan. I needed that! Just got off the couch and did laying to sitting. I feel fabulous! OK. Back to facebook.
Finally a whisper in the wilderness. Thanks for sharing. My FM training changed me in was that I continue to enjoy immensely. I look forward to the ongoing process of self-actualization. I look forward to your posts.
Tancha and Brad – Great to hear from you. It’s good to give ourselve a little “reality check” every now and then. Ten years later, doing ATM and picking up self-development “needs” that I missed the first time through. Live and learn! – Ryan