Mia Segal & Leora Gastor

I am here in Bad Tolz to train again with a master, Mia Segal. Mia was Moshe Feldenkrais' only assistant for 15 years before he started training others to teach his work. She has been doing this work for over 50 years. She presents the work in clear simple terms so that anyone can understand that there is no mystery, simply good observational skills both with the eyes and hands.

It is this ability to observe that guides the practitioner as to where to put her hands and how much to do. Mia makes sure the practitioner sees the whole person, not just this knee or that shoulder, looking for patterns. It is Mia's gift to clearly demonstrate by example how to keep the work simple and clear. And this is what attracts me so that I fly across the ocean to spend more time with her.

Leora Gastor is Mia's daughter. She was just a baby when her mother began working with Feldenkrais. He was present in her home during her childhood and knows the work by living it all her life. Leora brings structure to the work. Together with Mia they have found the framework by which one can learn and become good practitioners.

I met Leora in the 90's in Connecticut. She asked me to give her daughter riding lessons. One time Mia came to watch the lesson. Little did I know that many years later I would be in training with these two marvelous women.

Sometimes it is amazing to sit back and watch how the connections in life play out with the ebb and flow of people moving through ones life. Who knew then that I would be here now? There was no way to predict but somehow listening and following I have ended up here - no complaints from this end!

Bad Tolz cats

Last night, walking down to the old part of Bad Tolz to do a little shopping, we came across two cats. One on a ladder and one in the shop window. Almost missed the cat in the window because she was keeping herself very still while she watched the birdies (look closely at the photo). We think the ladder was supposed to go to the window but somehow must have slipped down. Now it is the ladder to nowhere.

The training is going well. We have projects to do as a team. This can get challenging at times but overall the process is positive. Most of us know each other and have worked together before.

Snow still falling but very small flakes. Seems like it is snowing everywhere in the world - well almost. I doubt we will see snow in Mombasa.

Tuesday's Day Off Adventure

Yesterday we had a day off between the two training segments. This gave us an opportunity to explore the area. Rob, a fellow student from the USA, has a car for four Americans piled in and traveled around the area with two another cars, almost half of the people in the training!

We were heading for a local castle but instead we got lost and wound up going along a lake that surprisingly was not frozen. The color of the water was incredible and it reflected the mountains around it - very beautiful. Then we went on to Franz Marc's home and museum of he paintings. He is famous for the Blue Horse, which wasn't there, but his donkeys were wonderful!

From there we traveled back home. Tina, my roommate and I went for hot chocolate and to find some groceries. Instead we found Tina a wonderful hat. There are many hat shops here in Bad Tolz as well as beautiful traditional Bavarian dresses and mens' clothes.

Today it is back to class for five more days. Time seems to be flying by.

Snow in two countries

This morning I woke up and looked at my watch. We had 10 minutes to get to class! Both Tina, my roommate, and I did not set our alarm clocks and overslept. No time for breakfast. We bolted out of the apartment and took few quick photos of the town with new fallen snow.

We got to class 10 minutes late and they were already in process. So we joined a group working on teaching a neck exploration ATM. When it came time for me to present I thought, OK I have done this before, I will be fine.... Then Mia came and sat with our group, watched me for a moment, asked me a question then called everyone over. Oh no! Now what?? She wanted me to phrase in questions rather than tell the person what to feel. Suddenly I got lost, not panicky, just lost my train of thought and that train was gone from the station bound for parts unknown.... never to return.

I stuttered, blanked, sat speechless (yes me!) and basically couldn't pick up on the thread. Ah well, now I know how my students Instructors feel when I interrupt their train of thought.

Later we did observation of differences with people lying on the floor. I redeemed myself because this I can do! I also had lunch which helped a lot, especially the cappaccino. Everyone was so serious and not talking about what they observed so I took the role of comic relief and played dumb. Finally people started to laugh and lighten up. What a difference! Humor makes learning so much easier.

Brad sent photos of the snow at home. It was more than the storm in December. He is going to have to get someone to come plow out the driveway tomorrow if he can. Izzy sat under the deck table because there was bird seed there and the birds would fly in, but now when she was there. At least she was happy to go out for a change.

Note to self: tonight go to bed early, set alarm clock, wait up on time!

ps: photo left is Bad Tolz, right Brad took at home. There are more photos on my Facebook page of both places.

Better day today

Last night I discovered I left my Kindle on the airplane from Heathrow to Munich. A Kindle is Amazon's electronic book reader. I can carry a bunch of books and it weighs the same thing before and after I download them, which really helps the packing situation.

I got on the computer (Skype - I love it!) first thing this morning calling Munich Airport to see if they perhaps had found my Kindle. It seems no one in Europe has ever heard of one. I had to explain what it is again and again. The airport people said they would look for it and let me know if they found it.

At lunchtime a classmate took us to a lovely Thai restaurant where I choked on the hot pepper - quite a scene! Fortunately I survived and went back to my room where our hostess was putting a note on my door that the airport had called, but she had no news.

So I called and talked to the person at the Service Center. He found it! Hurrah!! I will pick it up on my flight out since I have to go through Munich Airport again. The only downside is I don't get to read my books while in Germany but I am not complaining!

Good day at the training. We are working in teams and have to do a project together. We Americans seem to be the more outgoing in the bunch - big surprise!

And it looks like they are going to get 3 feet of snow at home this weekend. I am going to miss it - ah well, someone has be be away from home for it to snow, and Joyce is happier than a polar bear.