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  Home > Workshops > Anatomy of Wholeness - Online


The Anatomy of Wholeness
An interactive Online course

in 17 parts over 1 year 


Developed and taught
by
David Gorman

 

      "We need look no further than ourselves to see a miracle every day!"
(Babette Lightner, LearningMethods Teacher)

MAIN FEATURES OF THE COURSE:

— Stream any of the sessions to any Internet-enabled computer, iPad or Android tablet, or other device,

— Add private bookmarks, comments, and study notes to any video,

— Get all your questions answered — Add questions for David and he will respond to them,

— Communicate and interact with others taking the course — all participants can see each other's public comments and questions, and can respond to and discuss them,

— You have a whole year to go through the course,

— Go back and review any session at any time. 

— There will be supplementary audio podcasts and other resource material
  

"Mr. Gorman's patience and brilliance in picturing human anatomy has been achieved beyond question"

The late Prof. Raymond Dart, discoverer of early hominid, Australopithecus,
former Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Witwatersrand, S. Africa

 

COURSE LENGTH AND FREQUENCY

The course comprises 17 classes spread over one year from the date you subscribe.

Each class is 90 minutes long and new classes in the series will be added every 2 weeks.
 

WHO IS IT FOR?

The live course is being given for a group of 3 or 4 Alexander Technique teacher training programs, and as such will be incredibly relevant to any Alexander Technique teacher or student.

But, since the course is about how we are built and how we humans — not just Alexander Technique teachers — it is equally relevant for anyone who is already exploring themselves and their function through any method or technique, for health and medical professionals, fitness or body-workers, and those who work with others, performers (musicians, actors and dancers), athletes, those doing yoga or martial arts, and those who use themselves as their own instrument  ... or anyone simply interested in themselves and how to function better.
 

All you need is yourself, and a willingness to learn that your system is more amazing and more whole than you ever thought !

  

The course presumes no special knowledge of the body, though for those who already know a lot, you'll find a whole new point of view to deepen your understanding.
 

WHAT DOES IT COVER?

The main theme —the Anatomy of Wholeness — is about how how marvellously we function when we are able to use ourselves well, when we are able to be in those lovely states of wholeness and presentness, ease and freedom, expansion and openness, when all our activities do themselves with flow and with high quality.

We will also be looking at our human structure, particularly the larger patterns of organization that are usually missing from the anatomy books, like how your entire respiratory system is suspended from your head, the wonderful primate organization of the legs that allows us to bend with freedom and power, and of course the whole-body flow of muscles that allows us to be both totally supported and totally free at the same time.

On the other hand, we will also spend time on understanding the sort of problems that so many people have — chronic back problems, repetitive strain injuries, shoulder-arm problems (those last two are very relevant to performers), running injuries (knee, shin and foot problems), injuries and accidents (inc. sports and exercise-related injuries), and other issues — with a view to understanding what has caused them and how to help healing and recovery.

 

"With a refreshing air of personal discovery, Gorman delineates the glorious, unsuspected flexibility of the human organism ... the best one-man show in town"

Edward Maisel, author of "Tai Chi for Health" and
"The Alexander Technique, the Resurrection of the Body"

  

We will be covering these specific areas and themes:

— our upright poise and support (what I call our "elastic pre-sprung suspension system"), that is, how it is possible to have both total support and total freedom at the same time...

— how amazing muscles are (their beautiful structure) and how they respond to your intentions,

— how muscles are evolutionarily-specialized forms of connective tissue and their two special talents...

— how bone is a living adapting tissue that responds to pressure and how it changes according to how you use yourself (and about osteoarthritis, spinal degeneration, joint wear, bunions, etc.)

— how connective tissue (fascia) is also a living responding tissue that responds to tension and how it changes according to the way you use yourself (how stretching, poorly done makes us vulnerable to damage, and how to do it well to gain range and flexibility)

— how muscle is also adapts to the way you use yourself in 3 major ways: length (range and flexibility), strength (support and movement) and stamina (the development and recruitment of a muscle sub-type that does not fatigue)...

— the spine and the disks, disk and back problems and healing (explaining to your students what their doctors never tell them)...

— Understanding the anatomy of the problems that can come from poor use in fitness and exercise class, yoga, athletics, running, etc. and what's different in our function when we learn how to go about these activities well...

— Understanding the problems that can come from poor use in performance — tendinitis, bursitis, RSI and others...

— how the respiratory system is hung from your head; the trachea, lungs, ribs, and the diaphragm, — how breathing works as a coordinated response (and how to interfere with it)...

— the throat, larynx and the voice; emotional and artistic expression...

— The shoulder-arm, the elbow and the hand (manipulation and skill)

— skill acquisition and the two ways of learning new coordinations (one of which works immensely better than the other)...

— The container of the torso, the life-support organs and the pelvis (pregnancy and childbirth)...

— Standing and sitting, and what it takes to sit and work without strain or fatigue... — the hip, knee, ankle and foot, similarities to the arm (and differences)

— the beautiful muscular and joint arrangement of our primate nature that lets us bend and lift without effort or damage...

— locomotion and the spiral musculature, walking and running...

— the 6 main "coordination mechanisms" and where the "primary control" fits in...

— how your attention and intention affects your state (unconstructively or constructively)...

— and much, much more (plus wherever questions take us)...
  

"After 15 years of treating people, and I must admit, some anatomy teaching myself, this workshop is the first time it has really all made sense to me. My work is so different now. Bravo!"

John Hansen, body worker

 
 

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE COURSE?

My aim is fourfold:

— clear up misconceptions, mis-mappings, and misunderstandings that lead you or your pupils into poor use,

— show how beautifully put-together the system is and, when you get out of the way, how everything works together in ease and harmony (that is, without you having to "help" it)...

— give you a good sense of the structure (bones, muscles, joints, systems, etc.) so that when working with students you'll know what you are seeing and touching,

— help you be clear enough in your understanding of the structure and function that you can explain it to others

And all this with an emphasis on the whole not the parts, and how you — the thinking, choosing feeling, responding being — affect your functioning by your ideas, your thoughts, your attention and your intentions.
  

HOW IS THE COURSE PRESENTED?

The live sessions use WebEx, a live video-conferencing system. I have developed the course over quite a few years now and it is a very visual presentation with lots and lots of diagrams, photos and beautiful illustrations. There are also some animations, and a unique series of layered drawings that lets me show something like breathing and the voice by adding new layers of parts and actions in a way that helps make the structure and function clear and understandable.

The entire session is recorded as it happens with all the audio of my narration and any questions, plus the video of the illustrations, animations and moving pointers. These recordings are then streamed to your via your Internet-enabled computer, tablet, etc. and played in a custom media player that you can zoom to full screen, start and stop, and hop back or forth in the session to any part of the recording.

The custom media player also has the ability for you to place bookmarks at multiple points of any recorded session. You can use these to bookmark the exact spot when you stop watching one day and then use that bookmark to start up right where you left off. Or you can use bookmarks to mark material you want to return to for more study, or that you find important. You can also add comments, study notes, or questions to any bookmark, thereby maintaining your own customized study program.

All bookmarks and comments are automatically saved so they are there again for you when you next log-in.

These notes can be marked as "Private" (only available and visible to you), or they can be marked as "Public" (available and visible to any other registered participants of the course, including David).
  

IF I'M NOT IN THE "LIVE" SESSIONS, ARE THERE WAYS I CAN INTERACT AND ASK QUESTIONS?

Yes, this built-in commenting system gives you a way to communicate with David and get his responses. Whenever you have a question while streaming the recorded sessions, you can simply bookmark that place and add a public comment with your question.

All these public questions will be immediately sent to David by e-mail and he will then either respond back with his own public answer which will go to you (and the other participants) or if your question seems to need a longer answer he will record an answer and post that audio podcast to the list of streaming sessions so you (and everyone else taking the course) can listen to it. In this way the course will build up a wealth of supplementary material the adds to and deepens the recorded sessions.

Not only that but the notes, comments and questions that you mark as public are also out there for any of the other participants (who are, of course, equally interested in the material as you are). Others can also respond back to you with their own comments. In this way, all of us as a small community can discuss things and connect with each other.
 

HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FINISH THE COURSE?

The ability to stream any available session whenever you want means you can go through the course at your own pace — as fast as the sessions become available or take your time — whatever fits your schedule.

The first session is available now; the second will be ready by the end of September. All the subsequent sessions should be available every two weeks after that.

You will have access to all available recordings for a period of one calendar year from your date of registration. This means that you have about 3 months after the last session is posted to finish your study. Even if you have finished watching all the sessions before the year is up, you will still be able to log-in and review any previous session as well as access your saved comments and notes.

At any point during that year — while you are still registered — you can copy all your notes to your own system for safekeeping and future reference.
 

WHAT DOES IT COST?  WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I REGISTER?

To join the course you must commit for the whole 17-session course.

The full fee is US$ 695.00 for the complete interactive course with unlimited questions to David (a per-session rate of about US$ 40), payable in three instalments as below:

Instalment 1 — US$ 295.00 due at registration
Instalment 2 — US$ 200.00 due 3 months after registration
Instalment 3 — US$ 200.00 due 6 months after registration

Student Discount:&:  There is a 30% discount for students in full-time study — the discounted cost is US$ 486.00 for the whole interactive course (a per-session rate of about US$ 27), payable in three instalments as below:

Instalment 1 — US$ 196.00 due at registration
Instalment 2 — US$ 145.00 due 3 months after registration
Instalment 3 — US$ 145.00 due 6 months after registration

Concessions are also available — contact David by e-mail:  .

When you register and pay the first instalment you will receive a username and password which allows you to log-in at any time and access the first four recordings plus all your bookmarks and notes. After payment of the 2nd instalment you'll have access to the next four recordings, and after the final instalment you can access the rest of the recordings.

If you find yourself moving through the course quickly, you can simply pay the other instalments earlier to access more recordings; the pace is up to you.

You can log-in from any Internet-enabled device — a computer, an iPad or Android tablet, or even a smartphone — though, given the detailed nature of the illustrations, you'll probably want to use the biggest screen you have. Nevertheless, you can log-in from different devices at different times.
 

GOT ANY QUESTIONS?

Please feel free to contact David by e-mail ( ) if you have questions at all about the course or how it works.

Sign up now
and you can be watching the first part of the course tomorrow !

 


 
WHO IS THE TEACHER ?


David Gorman has become widely known for his innovative and unique approach to making our human functioning  understandable, relevant, and fascinating. In 1980 he published a 600-page illustrated text on human structure and function called The Body Moveable, now in its 6th edition, and in 1997 a collection of articles and essays, Looking At Ourselves.

David has been helping people make sense out how they function since the mid-70s. He has taught the Alexander Technique since 1978 and trained Alexander teachers in London from 1988 to 1997 when he began developing his new LearningMethods work from his discoveries. He is now writing another book covering the material of this course.


He teaches private workshops, at conservatories and for conferences as well as training teachers in the LearningMethods work. The work is now being integrated into the curriculum of many universities, and performance schools in Europe and North America.

Contact David:

DAVID GORMAN
E-mail:     Telephone: +1 416-519-5470
78 Tilden Crescent, Etobicoke, Ontario  M9P 1V7  Canada   (map)

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