Mentoring




	Mentoring practitioners: How do I construct a lesson with what I know now? How can I access what I know effectively? How can I hold the two notions that what I know is enough and more learning is needed, without feeling conflicted and paralyzed? How can I use “not knowing” to my advantage? How do I find the simplest solutions? What does my touch feel like? Do I communicate what I want through my touch? Why don’t I get the same results as the teacher, even though we seem to do the same “move”? Over the years of mentoring students and new practitioners, I found that the anxiety associated with these common questions prevents us from finding solutions. Having a mentor in the beginning of practicing, which is a crucial time for establishing one’s own “handwriting”, can eliminate years of frustration and growing self-doubt. Frustration can be a healthy part of learning, but an excess amount of it can be “parasitic” and damaging. We all need help in identifying which is which. As a mentor, I help practitioners find the place where nothing else exist but them and the client. I share with them my process candidly, and witness their own. I create an atmosphere that is free of pretense, where there is a deep respect for every question, no matter how silly it may sound when pretense is present. I let my students give me lessons and try to provide the most pertinent feedback, which in my estimation has a chance of being integrated. I watch them giving lessons to others, including ATM lessons. Here is what some of the people I mentored have to say: “It was invaluable to me to receive an FI movement from an excellent teacher like Aliza, and then to immediately practice the movement on her, while receiving her coaching and feedback...feelings of confusion and ineffectiveness when doing an FI were gone...I was beginning to understand the reasons behind the movement...Aliza helped me to set aside the preconceived ideas I began with, which got in the way of my understanding and effectiveness. My appreciation of the Feldenkrais Method was deepened and broadened by this tutorial.” Jon Levy - Mid Atlantic Training Program Student “I have been studying with Aliza Stewart since 1992. She approaches her work with a clarity that is rare to find. Aliza has the ability to be with her students right where they are and then to explore the possibilities for enhancing functional potential. This learning environment that she creates provides a vital key to sustained learning.” - Mary Young, PT, GCFP “Aliza was the continuity assistant trainer in my training and her guidance was invaluable. After graduating, I participated, and still do, in a study group led by her. Her willingness to share both her superior knowledge and her uncertainties, and to treat us as equals in a shared quest, has boosted my confidence and allowed me to grow as a practitioner”. - Heidi Menocal, dancer, GCFP