What can we learn from this selection?
[article based on Moshe Feldenkrais’ bibliography for the San Francisco Training Program]
by Stéphanie Ménasé
(Doctor of Philosophy, Feldenkrais practitioner, Assistant trainer)
In 1975, at San Francisco, Moshe Feldenkrais handed out a list of titles in relation to his training program [1]. American trainer David Zemach-Bersin shared it, in 2017, on the Feldenkrais Practitioners Around the World page (Facebook group) – a group which at the beginning of April 2018 had over 3,000 members.
In the note that accompanied this document, David Z.-B. points out that sixteen of the books mentioned for the San Francisco training participants are part of the bibliography of Moshe Feldenkrais’s book, The Elusive Obvious [2].
In the French version of this article [3], I had added the available translations when they had been published, indicating links as some titles are free to access on the net. Here, I’ve only kept the introductory notes I’ve written about the authors or aspects of their work that may be of interest to Feldenkrais practitioners or others curious about the Method. Compared to the French version (of 2018), I’ve added a few elements.
For the moment, I can’t see any order in this list: perhaps it’s the order of their place in the writing of The Elusive Obvious? or the chronology of one’s own reading? or a classification that envisages that a reader might have the idea of reading them from first to last? In any case, this sequence makes it possible to explore different scientific fields, adopting a random order or consulting them without any predetermined logic. The mixing of disciplines may also suggest a clear reluctance to any specialization in the sense that such specialization may lead to a narrowing of the field of inquiry and approach to the human subject. By going through different registers, we come to the idea of elaborating an understanding of man as a self-referential unit, developing as a result of his own existence, but also in social and affective interaction, in a cultural, linguistic and gnoseological environment, at a specific time, all these factors and their combinations contributing to each human being as becoming unique.
Most of us will go for the titles or fields that are most accessible or familiar to us, and that’s probably the best way to get started, but by sticking to these titles, we’re only « redoubling our formula », instead of enriching it with new options, and we mustn’t forget that Feldenkrais in his project integrated various dimensions, which this bibliography reflects.
Sharing a common culture also means gradually deploying and investing the wealth of this Method that has been handed down to us. Some titles also have the incomparable virtue of making us reflect on specific subjects and stimulating our thinking, even our critical thinking (in the sense of learning to examine, distinguish nuances or articulate differences).
We’d like to thank David Zermach-Bersin for sharing this with us.
June 2024
Footnotes
[1] The prospect of two programs “The Moshe Feldenkrais Program”, within The Humanistic Psychology Institute had been planned:« Beginning June 16, 1975 Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais of Tel Aviv, Israël, will offer two unique study programs on the theory and practice of Functional Integration.
One program, limited to 25 persons will consist of seminars and training for those wishing to pursue doctoral level research in non-verbal, bodily therapy. Dr. Feldenkrais will serve as professor and research adviser.
The second offering is a training program which does not entail academic research. This program leads to a certificate of practice in Functional Integration. »
It’s possible that this book list is intended more for those participants involving academic research (PhD level).
[2] M. Feldenkrais, The Elusive Obvious, Capitola (CA), Meta Publication, 1981 ; trad. fr. L’Évidence en question, L’Inhabituel, 1997.
[3] https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_uC0a9Q3nXwE1v1MFq1OvEeXaM03qb3E/view