Body and Being – Delving Into the Work of F.M. Alexander – April 12/13, 2019 – Bruce Fertman – Dorset, England
Navajo Woman – photo: B. Fertman
Identity would seem to be the garment with which one covers the nakedness of the self: in which case, it is best that the garment be loose, a little like the robes of the desert, through which one’s nakedness can always be felt, and, sometimes, discerned.
Baldwin
In Latin, the word persona means mask, or character. Having a persona implies there being a person behind the persona. Do we know our persona? Can we distinguish between our persona and who we are as a person?
Our word “character” derives from the Greek, kharakter, meaning an engraved mark or an imprint on the soul. The word engraved carries with it a sense of permanence, something not easily erased or undone, as does the word imprint. If we say that a person is of upstanding character, we suggest they are consistently and reliably honest and decent in their way of being in the world. But we might also say of someone, “They are a real character!” When we say this what we are saying is that there is something that sticks out about them, usually in a way that is odd or funny. In both cases, we are seeing something engraved, a mark of some kind, that seems to be a part of who they are. But is it?
Character is fixed, dense, hard; the Self fluid, soft, spacious.
In the Sukha Sutra, Buddha says it like this.
If we are like rock and something cuts into us, it will leave its mark, perhaps for generations to come.
If we become like sand and something cuts into us, it will leave its mark, but soon that mark will be gone.
And, if we become like water and something cuts into us, as soon as the mark appears, it will disappear, forever.
This is the goal, to become unfixed, un-postured, unbraced, unblocked. To become unafraid, unashamed, unaffected. To become unassuming, unarmed, unburdened. To become unbiased, unchained, uncovered. To become untied, unguarded, undiminished. To become unmasked, unpretentious, unhurried. To become unsophisticated, unselfish, unspoiled. To become untangled, unveiled. Unwritten.
Please join me.
Bruce’s touch is like a butterfly settling down on the very turning point of your soul. And then you know, ‘That’s who I am, that is who I could be.’
In Bruce’s class you feel as if you are sitting by a deep, soft lake. His pace and patience, his quiet confidence, allows people to unfold and open layer by layer. The superfluous falls away, leaving only life’s inner vitality effortlessly expressing itself through you.
Margarete Tueshaus
Equestrian, Argentine Tango Teacher, Alexander Technique Teacher, Bochum, Germany
About Bruce Fertman
Bruce has been using his hands, helping people to move well, for fifty-five years. He trained with five first generation Alexander teachers: Catherine Merrick Wielopolska, Marjorie L. Barstow, Richard M. Gummere Jr., Elisabeth Walker, and Erika Whittaker. Bruce brings a lifetime of training as a movement artist and educator to his work as an Alexander teacher, having trained in Gymnastics, Modern Dance, Ballet, Contact Improvisation, Tai Chi Chu’an, Aikido, Chanoyu, Argentine Tango, and Kyudo. In 1982, Bruce co-founded the Alexander Alliance International, an intergenerational, multicultural community/school. Currently director of the Alexander Alliance Germany, Bruce also teaches annually for Alexander Alliance training programs in Japan, Korea, and America. He conducts post graduate training programs in Dorset and Zurich. Author of Teaching By Hand/Learning By Heart – Delving Into The Work Of F.M. Alexander.
Workshop Details:
When: Friday and Saturday, April 12/13, 2019
Friday – 12:30-18:30 followed by supper/Saturday – 10:00-17:00 – lunch 13:00-14:00
Fee: £120 first day/£200 both days.
Where: Gaunts House, Dorset
To register for the workshop contact Ruth Davis at: ruth.a.davis@me.com
Phone: +44 (0) 7590 406267
To Make Payment:
BACS
(Please reference your payment with your full name.) Sort Code: 40-47-59
Account No: 12037351
Acc Name R Davis
International Transfers via:
IBAN: GB24MIDL40475912037351 BIC:MIDLGB2172
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write to me, bf@brucefertman.com or to Ruth Davis, ruth.a.davis@me.com.
Hope to see you at Gaunts House!
Bruce Fertman
