Leora Gaster writings

Recently Leora Gaster, Mia Segal’s daughter and senior trainer in MBS Academy, published two booklets:

1. A Collection of MBS Movement Lessons: Transcribed Mind Body Studies Lessons, part I – dedicated to the pedagogy, structure and sequencies of basic ATMs.
2. 10 Irrefutable Mind Body Principle for Living – dedicated to the principals and strategies of ATMs.

Both booklets are mostly based on the MBS Academy handouts and are dedicated to ATM pedagogy. (Additional details for material covered in this booklets you can find at http://onlineacademy.mbsacademy.org).

TOC and intro pages (that also available on Amazon) for both booklets:

TOC (10 Irrefutable Mind Body Principle for Living):

• Preface
• What is Mind Body Studies?
• How to use this Book
• Awareness
• A System of Questions
• Distribution of Work
• You are Your own Best Teacher
• Simplicity and Ease
• Relationship to Environment
• Differences
• Differentiation
• Habitual Patterns
• Approach from Another Direction

Preface

With 50 years of teaching all over the world, in multiple cultures, testing and distilling philosophies of life and action, we bring you these simple unifying principles that make sense in all situations and make life easier.
We have applied these principles in thought and action, in movement and in discussion.
These principles are so obvious, so universal, completely irrefutable, perhaps this is why nowhere have they been laid out clearly for everyone to use.
Here at last is a concise, thoroughly tried and tested collection, which you can use in any situation to make a little more sense out of life and point the way to ease and comfort.
I promise you that if you apply and test them in real situations in your life, they will help you toward clarity and insight.

Leora Segal Gaster

What is Mind Body Studies?

Mind Body Studies (MBS) is a philosophy of movement and learning that applies to everyday living. The focus is on the way in which our mind (physical brain and mental processes) and our body continuously collaborate.
It is clear that any movement is directly related and governed by neural configurations throughout the system, including in brain, and therefore intricately connected with thoughts, emotions and self-image.
We can learn about ourselves and change our behavior through thought and we can learn about ourselves and change our thought through movement.
A fundamental building block of self- mastery is self-knowledge. MBS is a language of communication between the brain and body.
The essence of MBS is experiential. This pocket guide can be used as a companion to the MBS Collection of Movement Lessons. Although the movements are beneficial in themselves, the deeper and more significant value lies in them serving as experiential confirmation to these principles, which anyone can test and make their own.
These principles are an introduction to the MBS philosophy and organized for you as a quick reference.

How to use this Book

Each of the principles in this book is powerful in its own right. Check them out in a variety of situations and see for yourself how much they clarify and ease this challenging life.

TOC (A Collection of MBS Movement Lessons):

• Preface
• What is Mind Body Studies?
• How to use this Book
• Flexors
• Extensors
• Twist on the Back
• Diagonals
• Lengthening the Arms
• Head Up & Down
• About Book

Preface

This collection of Movement Lessons is a reference guide to for anyone presenting Mind Body Studies Movement Lessons and Feldenkrais ATMs™.
This first collection is a concise, clear distillation of exercises which were invented by Dr. Feldenkrais, applied by Mia Segal and me and coded during our joint four decades of international teaching.
With the added perspective of forty-five years of teaching and research, and added to by the developments of science, and my further studies in behavioral sciences and brain research, I have worked on coding and organizing it all so it hangs well together and makes sense.
For years I have been hearing the difficulties practitioners and teachers are having in understanding and presenting the work and a need for consolidated, well organized lesson collections.
This handbook will enable you to understand the underlying significant pieces, so that you can construct the lessons with the most clarity and impact.
We chose the lessons in this collection specifically because Moshe, Mia and I have always viewed them as the ‘classic’ bases of the work.
Our format of writing the lessons provides the minimal but most essential guidelines and instructions. This frees you to add your personality, timing, group pacing and experience, to make each lesson a memorable experience.

Leora Segal Gaster

What is Min d Body Studies?

Mind Body Studies (MBS) unifies practical, easy movements with philosophies for everyday living. It combines movement and thought, creating a ‘Language of communication’ between mind and body, re-igniting inherent abilities. These new skills create a continuous collaboration from within, making the most of individual potential.
Fundamental to this teaching is the recognition that movements are directly related to neural configurations in the brain, indivisibly connecting action, thoughts, emotions and self-image .
Beyond the movements, which are intriguing and beneficial in themselves, a deeper and value lies in the opportunity to recognize and re-set habitual patterns and beliefs, as well as creating new choices.

How to use this Book

There are three things to keep in mind:

1. There is a consistency and simplicity that unites all the work. Most of the hundreds of Movement Lessons [ATM] are actually variations on a few themes. These translate directly to the Hands-On Integration Lessons (Fl),
2. The structure is straightforward: differentiating structure and content – Movements and In-Betweens (awareness instructions).
3. Applying the MBS Principles (Guidebook available) keeps you focused on goals and deeper meanings of each lesson.

Movement Lessons are comprised of three parts:

1. Scans
2. Movements: Precision instructions for body positions changes
3. In-Betweens: Guided attention, usually through questions

Scans

The scan, which varies in length from one to seven minutes (explanations of when and why in following collections) provide a reference for evaluating change. It is easiest to learn through differences and changes. We process information regarding self-image based on feedback from an external simple surfaces, such as the floor, chair or wall, as well as from focusing within to gauge the space and volume we occupy, the places we hold and the place we leave free, reflecting sense of self and identity, so comparing scans periodically is crucial to learning.

Movements

The movements are the context within which we discover the way we think about ourselves and operate our many resources.

In-Betweens

In-Betweens are guided instructions, usually presented as questions, which focus of attention, or awareness. They are inserted in-between movements (therefore IBT) and they transform an ordinary movement exercise into a masterful learning experience.
Choosing IBTs is an art. Mistakenly mentioning as many places as possible, in the belief that this will bring ‘awareness everywhere’ causes overload and confusion.
We start with no more than three In-Betweens for the first 20 minutes of an ML. This ensures we leave out anything which is not absolutely necessary, creating precision and clarity.
IBT’s should always be Grounded, Precise and Simple (GPS).

Teaching MLs:

1. Identify the level of your student or group.
2. Choose the Principle you want to communicate. Each of the transcripts provides the most relevant Principles discovered through it.
3. This book will guide you how to select your IBTs and words. The goal is to be precise, so students can easily follow instructions, yet not too specific, so your student can explore and discover in their own way.
4. It is not necessary to ‘finish’ an ML. Staying with less movements and the right IBTs provides more scope to go deeper and learn more.