Cybernetics and Movement Therapy

[Guest guest]

I've just signed up for this spiffy little group so I thought I'd pop my head

in, introduce

myself and say hello.

I'm a Chiropractic student over here in West. Australia and am doing a research

topic.

Perhaps some of you may have some fresh ideas?

I (cheesily) named the topic " The cybernetic nervous system - information theory

perspectives " . Basically, I'm looking at disease from the point of view of

cybernetics/information

theory. Specifically, I'm focusing on idiopathic scoliosis.

By odd coincidence, I'm also a student of the Feldenkrais method. I know there

was a book written

by Yochanan Rywerant on the topic of cybernetics and " dis-ease " (Feldenkraus

Method - Teaching

By Handling Rywerant)

Has anyone read this book? Does it in fact explain somatic re-education on the

basis of cybernetics?

Failing that, what's the group feeling on Feldenkrais? I have trouble accepting

the idea of

" sub-conscious learning " given the current thinking on GMP's and massed

repetitions.

(ie: conscious attention is needed to movement x amount of times before it

becomes automatic)

Anyway, I hope that doesn't sound like I'm breezing in just to milk you all for

a bit of info ;-)

I do have a few other questions abt Kettlebells, Hindu squats et al, though I

will check the

archives first

Cheers

Bob Strahinjevich

Perth

Western Australia

[Guest guest]

" bob_stra " wrote:

I'm a Chiropractic student over here in West. Australia and am I'm

also a student of the Feldenkrais method. I know there was a book

written by Yochanan Rywerant on the topic of cybernetics and " dis-

ease " (Feldenkraus Method - Teaching By Handling Rywerant)

Has anyone read this book? Does it in fact explain somatic re-

education on the basis of cybernetics?

Failing that, what's the group feeling on Feldenkrais? I have

trouble accepting the idea of " sub-conscious learning " given the

current thinking on GMP's and massed repetitions. >

Bob,

I purchased Yochanan Rywerant's book when it first came out in 1983.

As a physics teacher, Yochanan attempted to develop a context for

explaining the neurological changes which he observed. Several of the

senior Feldenkrais teachers, at the time of publication of the book,

had significant differences compared with this approach.

I would suggest that that it would be a major stretch to suggest

Yochanan was attempting to " explain somatic re-education on the basis

of cybernetics " . He does not do this in any of his other writings

that I've read.

In my opinion, the following books come closer to explaining the

basis for many of the results we see in the Feldenkrais approach to

movement re-education:

" A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and

Action " by Esther Thelen and ,

" The Brain's Sense of Movement " by Alain Berthoz.

One could also benefit from reading the works of Nicholai Bernstein

as a basis for understanding some of Feldenkrais's thinking.

Since much of the Feldenkrais work is based in developmental motor

learning, one might consider " sub-conscious learning " , not as

mysterious form of learning, but rather a recognition of patterns and

associations experienced in the formative periods of childhood

development. These " learnings " served as the basis for most human

movement patterning.

I hope this helps.

Ken Largent

Bend, Oregon

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