December 31, 2011
Rejuvenate Your Hip Joints By Re-visiting Crawling
Sunday, January 29, 2012
12 noon – 3:30 p.m.
$60.00 (registering by Jan. 15)
$75.00 (registering after Jan. 15)
Crawling is a very important developmental movement stage for human beings. When you were a baby, bearing weight through the hands and knees allowed you to gain strength, stability and flexibility within your hip joints. This dynamic time in your life prepared you for walking and standing on two feet. Exploring crawling as an adult will be a rejuvenating experience, not only for your hips and legs, but for your general well being. During the Awareness Through Movement® lessons we will explore you will discover how playing with instability in different crawling situations will improve your balance and coordination when you are upright and engaging in your life’s activities.
Donna Bervinchak will teach this workshop at the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center at 26 Seventh St. in San Francisco, CA. To sign up call the dance center at 415.863.3040×221 or visit: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/home.asp?studioid=1433 and click on “workshops”.
November 30, 2011
Happy Holiday Season, Everyone!
I had a wonderful continuing education experience in Evanston, Illinois and wanted to share with you a picture of me at the Chicago Art Institute. As you can see I am standing between two famous art pieces and they both speak loudly about movement. I felt like a little kid in a candy store! Enjoy!
On another note, Club One at the Fillmore Center, where I teach my Wednesday class, is closed for renovation. My Wednesday class will not take place until they open again. They are expected to open on Dec. 12 if all goes as planned. Call, Club One at 415.749.1010 to make sure that they are open on Wed. Dec. 14 for my class, or contact me.
Save the date, Sunday, January 29 from 12 noon – 3:30 p.m. so you can attend my next workshop, Rejuvenate Your Hip Joints by Re-visiting Crawling. To sign up for this workshop for a reduced price go to: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/home.asp?studioid=1433 and click on “workshops” .
Feldenkrais Class Schedule for December:
Wed. Dec. 7 @ 11:30 a.m. at Club One: No Class (call 415.749.1010 to see if Club One is open for Dec. 14 & 21)
Sat. Dec. 24 @ 11:45 -1 p.m. at the LINES Dance Center: No Class
Wed. Dec. 28 @ 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 at Club One: No Class
Sat. Dec. 31 @ 11:45 – 1 p.m. at the LINES Dance Center: No Class
Enjoy the season,
Donna
October 31, 2011
Understanding the difference between doing something hurried compared to doing it faster can change your life! Take a moment to picture a person in a hurry, walking down the street compared to a person walking at a fast pace. Which person would you try to avoid? Now imagine someone washing your brand new dishes while rushing. Would you want them to continue? And lastly imagine watching a hurried dancer compared to a dancer that has increased their velocity of movement. Which dancer would grab your attention?
As you can see by these examples a hurried person is not very graceful because they are not fully present in the activity they are engaged in. The hurried walker is probably thinking about where they are going or what they are going to do when they get there. Whereas the fast walker is thinking about walking. Because of this the hurried walker may bump into you; the hurried dish washer will most likely break a dish; while the hurried dancer would probably not interest you enough to watch her performance.
During this holiday season you may find yourself rushing around more often than not. There are a few simple things you can do to take care of yourself and to prevent accidents or injuries from occurring. To start, take a moment to first recognize that you are hurrying. Then acknowledge whatever ordinary activity you are engaged in, such as, doing the dishes or driving your car. By doing this you will create a chance to sense if you are breathing or not and if you are holding the dish or steering wheel tighter than necessary. By stopping needless work like this you can save your energy to enjoy festive activities with the people you love instead of collapsing when the moment arrives.
Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the season and take care of yourselves! ~Donna
November Feldenkrais Class Schedule:
Sat., Nov. 12, 11:45 am class @ LINES Dance Center: Leigh Sealy will sub. for me
Wed., Nov. 16, 11:30 am class @ Club One, Fillmore Center: Greg Lewis will sub.
Sat., Nov. 19, 11:45 am class @LINES Dance Center: Leigh Sealy will sub.
Wed., Nov. 23, 11:30 am class @ Club One, Fillmore Center: Yes, I will teach class this day before Thanksgiving!
Sat., Nov. 26, 11:45 am class @ LINES Dance Center: No class Thanksgiving weekend!
September 29, 2011
Janet Westphal came to me for help with her leg and shoulder injuries as a result of two separate falls she had over the past few years. Recently she did six private sessions with me over two weeks and at the end of one of the sessions she shared with me the following story.
When Janet was cleaning out her late Mother’s house she was desperately searching for a music box that played the song “The Impossible Dream” and was disappointed when she could not find it. She said with tears in her eyes, “I wanted it because I feel like it holds significance for me. It represents how my life has changed since working with you. I feel like I am living “My Impossible Dream”. I am learning to do things that I thought I would never be capable of doing. I can’t believe how much I am growing and changing. I wish everyone in my life could understand that change is possible for them too!”
Janet is very committed to learning how to continue to discover and live her dreams so she consistently attends one of my classes each week. “Every class is a surprise and I am always excited to find out what we are going to learn before each one. At the beginning of class I feel like a child getting ready to open a present,” she explains with a charming smile on her face.
August 29, 2011
Avoid Leg Injuries by Learning to Walk More Efficiently
Sunday, October 9, 2011
12 noon – 3:30 p.m.
$60.00 (early bird special-pay by Sept. 18)
$75.00 (when paying after Sept. 18)
Walking is one of the most intelligent things that we do as human beings because it has so many components to it. During this workshop you will learn Awareness Through Movement® lessons that will teach you how to align yourself over your legs more efficiently to avoid unnecessary stress on your leg joints during walking and standing. This will keep your hips, knees and ankles healthy so you can do the activities that you most enjoy doing.
Donna Bervinchak will teach this workshop at the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center at 26 Seventh St. in San Francisco, CA. To sign up call the dance center at 415.863.3040×221 or visit: http://linesballet.org/sfdc/
August 4, 2011
Feldenkrais Workshop
Developmental Movement Education
Sunday, August 28, 2011
12 noon – 3:30 p.m.
$60.00 (Sign up today to reserve a space)
Do you realize the curves in your back, that you know as an adult, were not formed when you were born? During the first 18 months of life, they developed as you became interested in the environment around you. The curve in your neck formed from lifting your head repeatedly (while lying on your belly), to see around you. Your intentions to move led to rolling, crawling, sitting, standing and walking which eventually shaped the curve in your lower back area. Re-visiting these types of developmental movements with the curiosity of a mature person will help to improve your postural alignment and understanding of how you learned to move in the world.
July 7, 2011
Feldenkrais® Workshop
Developmental Movement Education
Sunday, August 28, 2011
12:00 noon – 3:30 p.m.
$60.00 (Pre-register to reserve a space)
During this workshop the Feldenkrais®, Awareness Through Movement® lessons will resemble movements we did as babies during the first nine months of life. During this short span of time in our lives, we learned to roll, crawl, sit, stand and walk because of the curiosity we had with the world around us.
Revisiting these kinds of movements as an adult will re-organize your posture for more efficient sitting, standing, and walking. It will improve the suppleness and quality of your overall movements. And will help you to uncover your ability to continue to learn & improve the flexibility of your body and mind no matter what your age.
Donna Bervinchak will teach this workshop at the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center at 26 Seventh St. in San Francisco, CA. To sign up call the dance center at 415.863.3040×221 or visit: http://linesballet.org/sfdc/news/workshops.htm#donna.
June 2, 2011
Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais describes his method in the following quote from the article, Movement and the Mind, with Will Schutz, Ph.D. “My way of learning, my way of dealing with people, is to find out, for that person who wants it, what sort of accomplishment is possible for that person. People can learn to move and walk and stand differently, but they have given up because they think it’s too late now, that the growth process has been completed, that they can’t learn something new, that they don’t have the time or the ability. You don’t have to go back to being a baby in order to function properly. You can, at any time of your life, rewire yourself, provided I can convince you that there is nothing permanent or compulsive in your system, except what you believe to be so.”
I feel that this description is an appropriate way to introduce my next workshop entitled, Developmental Movement Education which will take place on Sunday, August 28 from 12:00 noon – 3:30 p.m. If you want to learn to move like a baby or learn how to learn all over again then this workshop is for you!
The workshop will take place at the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center at 26 Seventh St. in San Francisco, CA. To sign up call the dance center at 415.863.3040×221 or visit: http://linesballet.org/sfdc/news/workshops.htm#donna.
Save the date and I hope to see you there!
Donna
May 4, 2011
Feldenkrais® week starts on Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais’s observed birthday, May 6 through May 15. I am grateful everyday to Moshe Feldenkrais for giving the world his life-altering method. My life has been touched and enriched in so many ways because of the Feldenkrais Method® and it inspires me to become a better teacher for others.
In honor of Moshe Feldenkrais, I will continue to teach and share his method, to the best of my abilities with as many people as possible. On May 15, I will teach the Supple Hips = Strong Legs workshop on the last day of National Feldenkrais® week in 2011.
If you would like to honor Dr. Feldenkrais during this week following are some suggestions of what you can do to spread the word to others about this transformational method we have been very fortunate to learn from:
- Talk with a friend and a neighbor about how the Feldenkrais Method® has helped you to grow and change
- Share about your experiences with the Feldenkrais Method® on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
- Visit the Feldenkrais® Guild’s website: www.feldenkrais.com
- Bring a friend to Feldenkrais® class
- Put a Feldenkrais® flyer or business card somewhere for someone to find
- Treat yourself to a private Feldenkrais®, Functional Integration® session
- Treat yourself to a Feldenkrais®, Awareness Through Movement® class or workshop
- Make or refresh a commitment to yourself to continue learning through the Feldenkrais Method®
Have a wonderful and inspiring Feldenkrais® Week!
Donna
April 5, 2011
Supple Hips = Strong Legs
Sunday, May 15, 2011
12 noon – 3:30 p.m.
$60.00 (Pre-registration is recommended)
In this workshop we will explore Feldenkrais®, Awareness Through Movement® lessons that will teach you to improve the flexibility in your hips and legs. You will accomplish this by learning how to differentiate the movement of your legs and pelvis from each other. The lessons will also help you to connect the movement of your legs to your torso. This will help to keep your leg joints healthy and will help prevent back pain and sciatica pain from occurring.
This workshop is beneficial for dancers that wish to create more power in their legs for turning and jumping. This can be learned by discovering the efficient movement that is created by connecting the legs to the back through the skeleton.
Donna Bervinchak will teach this workshop at the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center located at 26 Seventh St. / Market St. in San Francisco, CA. To sign up for this workshop call the dance center at 415.863.3040 x221 or visit: www.linesballet.org/sfdc/news/workshops.htm .
