Nanette Walsh’s Teacher Refresher Workshop
“Soft as Butter, Strong as Steel”
FM Alexander, after recovering from his stroke in 1947, was particularly revered for the apparently effortless, yet powerfully efficient, manner with which he used his hands. As teachers, we know FM’s power did not lie in the strength of the hands themselves. Peggy Williams often referred to one’s ability to teach as being dependent on the strength of one’s back, coupled with the reliability of one’s sensory register. And Walter Carrington was known to say that “what exists in the mind has previously been in the senses.”
Ongoing exploration of practical procedures illustrate :
- How conscious inhibition and direction, rooted in more accurate sensory experiences, are fundamental to the profound sensitivity, power and unified purpose that FM’s hands were able to convey.
- How the elastic support throughout a teacher’s back can strengthen the direction given by sensitized hands, without excessive doing and tightening.
- How developing a sense of unity through a more organized head-neck-back relationship strengthens the back of the pupil and brings about a more unified coordination of postural support and breathing.
Time: This is an ongoing group. Contact Nanette for further details
Location: 622 W 114th St. #64