Ask Me Anything: Structure and ‘learning behavior’ in Awareness Through Movement

Yesterday, in our subscriber community at Feldenkrais First, one of our members posted a series of lovely questions. We share them below, as well as our discussions about them (on video).

First, the questions, then below our conversations about them:

The member wrote:

“This set of questions is about the structure of ATMs. 

In general, ATMs seem to have a solution or even a punchline--there’s a sense of going through a series of moves and variations that are the setup and then these culminate in an epiphany--an aha! moment--like a good joke or story does.

1. Once you know the solution, is the ATM less valuable for learning?

2. Maybe it’s like a good movie or story that holds up through many viewings or retellings--you start seeing subtleties, subplots, and subthemes?

3. Or is each ATM focused on a very specific understanding but may need multiple passes to get to the aha moment?

4. Or is it (seemingly?) less engineered and more unpredictable and strange, like a koan?

   That last question was sparked by the interlude with the koan in the Anti-Fragile Walking series, but also by my own experience doing ATMs. There's something spooky, mysterious, and addictive about them.
   
   Related questions.

5. Is the purpose of this puzzle-solving structure to keep the student open and curious--in a learning mode--and forestall the tendencies to improve the body or one’s performance?

6. Did Moshe Feldenkrais talk about this explicitly in his books or teachings--esp. about how teachers can enhance this aspect in particular?

7. Do all ATMs (need to) have this quality? (It seems prominent only in some ATMs, but I wonder if it’s in all of them and I have failed to find it in some cases.)

Thanks for your patience reading my long string of questions! I would love to get your* comments on the narrative structure of ATMs--the topic has been on my mind for a while now.

*This is addressed to Andrew and Jeff, but I'd love to hear from the broader community too. Personal experiences, recommended reading, anything you think is relevant. . .