The definitive biography of Moshe Feldenkrais
is pleased to annouce the publication of
“Genius, of the magnitude possessed by Moshe Feldenkrais, defies categorization… He could function at the highest level in nuclear physics, as a martial artist, as an inventor, as a developer of top-secret counterespionage projects, and as one of the most prescient observers of neuroscience.”
Norman Doidge, MD
Moshe Feldenkrais was a pivotal figure in the science of somatics. Grounded in physics, biology, and learning, his method remains the most advanced and comprehensive basis available for developing human potential.
The odyssey of Moshe Feldenkrais’s life is as fascinating as the explorations that led him to establish his method. His journey ranged across the face of Europe amidst many of the central crises of the twentieth century: as a child he experienced first hand the turmoil of the First World War; as an adolescent, the establishment of a Jewish Palestine; as a young adult he worked with the Curies in ground-breaking nuclear research; and also found a mentor in Jigoro Kano, the creator of Judo, who deputized him to introduce that martial art and spiritual discipline to France.
Weaving together Feldenkrais’s life and his work, this book is compelling reading for all who would like to learn about his thought and method, and indispensable for anyone already deeply engaged with his work.
available for purchase:In the early 1980’s, Mark began to formulate the idea of writing a definitive biography of Feldenkrais. The concept was not only to cover his life story, the incredible people he knew, the pivotal world events through which he had lived, his relationship with the early history of Judo, and his work as a physicist with Frederic Joliot-Curie, but that the book would additionally provide a full, erudite history and explanation of the development over time of Feldenkrais’ theories, and how they would lead to the development of what today is called the Feldenkrais Method.
This would be no ordinary biography; it would put Feldenkrais’ ideas into a larger intellectual and historical context of the most important ideas of our times, in philosophy, physics, biology, and psychology.
Mark brought to this task his love for Socratic questioning, his rigorous thinking, and his requirement for precision in language. Literally no stone would be left unturned, whether that stone might be found in one of Feldenkrais’ childhood homes in present day Ukraine, or in the still secret nuclear bomb archives of the State of Israel. And then there was the tracking down and interviewing of Feldenkrais’ family, close friends, students, and fellow scientists in the U.S., France, England, Switzerland, and Israel, a race against time since so many were already elderly.
David Zemach-Bersin
Mark Reese was a world renowned authority on the work of Moshe Feldenkrais. Born in Chicago, Illinois on March 15, 1951, he was one of Feldenkrais’s original American students, studying directly with him from 1975 until Feldenkrais’s death in 1984. Mark was pivotal in introducing the Feldenkrais Method in the United States, and was among the first American teachers chosen to train new Feldenkrais Practitioners. He became one of the world’s most influential Feldenkrais Method teachers, training over a thousand Feldenkrais Practitioners in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Before meeting Feldenkrais, Mark was involved in music and experimental theater in the San Francisco Bay Area. A 1976 graduate in psychology and philosophy from Sonoma State University, Mark’s passion for science, phenomenology, linguistics, and embodied cognition permeated his approach to Feldenkrais’s theories and practice. He read widely and was profoundly influenced by the applied dynamic systems theory of psychologists Esther Thelen, Edward Reed, and Alan Fogel.
Beginning in the 1980s, Mark contributed numerous articles on the Feldenkrais Method to diverse publications. He wrote the foreword to the 2002 edition of Feldenkrais’s The Potent Self, coauthored Relaxercise (HarperCollins) with David Zemach Bersin, and recorded numerous audio programs on the Feldenkrais Method. Concurrently, Mark began to devote himself to researching and writing this definitive biography of Moshe Feldenkrais, an ambitious synthetic work, tracing the complete arc of Feldenkrais’s intellectual development and maturation.
Mark embodied the principles of the work he loved, and inspired students with his incisive intelligence, generous presence, and brilliant teaching. Mark Reese passed away on June 23, 2006. He leaves behind his sons Nathan and Filip Reese, and his wife Carol Kress Reese.
Carol Kress is a highly experienced Feldenkrais Practitioner of more than 25 years…
…and a Trainer who brings to her teaching a desire for excellence and a wish to communicate the essence of the Feldenkrais Method.
In her private practice she works with both adults and children with a variety of difficulties, including chronic pain and neurological problems, as well as performing artists. Her work is informed by a long-time involvement in equestrian arts, yoga, a passion for Argentine Tango, and her long time practice of the martial art of Aikido, for which she holds a 4th degree black belt.
Carol first began to study the Feldenkrais Method in 1985, she finished her Feldenkrais Professional Training Program in 1993. Carol teaches worldwide. She has completed the editing and publication of Volume One of an in-depth biography of Dr. Feldenkrais, written by her late husband, Trainer, Mark Reese. She is now working on Volume Two. Carol lives in Marin County, California and practices both in Marin County and Berkeley, CA.
For Functional Integration® lessons (individual) in Berkeley, California, at the Feldenkrais Resources Training Institute, or in San Rafael, California,
you can contact her at: reesekresssomaticspress@gmail.com
Ongoing Awareness Through Movement® classes with Carol are offered at the Feldenkrais® Resources Training Institute, 830 Bancroft Way, Room #104 in Berkeley, CA. Tuition is $10 per class. Drop-ins welcome. Please see the website FRTIBerkeley.com for more details.
San Rafael CA 94901 reesekresssomaticspress@gmail.com
