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Home > LM Publications > Online Courses > Anatomy of Wholeness
COURSE STRUCTURE The course comprises all the following: — Made up of 20 recorded core sessions in narrated video format totaling over 28 hours, — most sessions are about 90 minutes long, but you can stop anywhere, set a bookmark, and re-start from where you left off, — a series of 9 PDF files totaling 373 pages comprising all the illustrations used in the course which you can download and use for yourself or hand out in your teaching practice or in workshops, — additional supplementary material linking to relevant articles and reference material, — plus a growing number of public comments and answers to questions which are visible to each participant, — You have access to the whole course for 3 calendar years from the date you subscribe.
WHO IS IT FOR? The live course was given for a group of 4 Alexander Technique teacher training programs, and as such will be incredibly relevant to any Alexander Technique teacher, trainee, or student. But, since the course is about how every one of us is built — not just Alexander Technique teachers — it is equally relevant for anyone who is already exploring themselves and their function through any method or technique: — health and medical professionals, — somatic / body-workers, those teaching or taking Fitness classes, — performers (singers, musicians, actors and dancers) and performance teachers, — athletes, runners and their trainers, — those doing yoga or martial arts, ... or anyone simply interested in
how they function and how they can function better.
The course presumes no special knowledge
of your structure and function, though for those who already
know a lot, you'll find a whole new level of deeper your understanding. WHAT DOES IT COVER? The main theme —the Anatomy of Wholeness — is about how wonderfully we function when we are able to use ourselves well, that is, understanding the marvelous in-built coordinating system that allows us 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; how the wonderful primate organization of the legs that allows us to bend with freedom and power; how your arms and legs, while structurally so similar, operate functionally in virtually opposite ways; 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.
The course covers 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 function) 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)...
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WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE COURSE? The aim of the course is fourfold: — to clear up misconceptions, mis-mappings, and misunderstandings that lead you or your pupils into counterproductive and potentially harmful ways of operating... — to show how beautifully put-together the system is and how everything works together in ease and harmony (that is, without you having to "help" it), when you get out of the way... — to give you a good sense of the structure (bones, muscles, joints, systems, etc.) so that in your own activities and when working with students you'll know what you are feeling, seeing, and touching... — to 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 intention,
your attention, your ideas, your thoughts, and your actions
and reactions. HOW IS THE COURSE PRESENTED? The course sessions were recorded from a live video-conferencing system. I have been developing the course over many years now as a very visual presentation with lots and lots of diagrams, photos and beautiful illustrations. There are also some simple 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. Each session was recorded as it happened with videos of the illustrations, all the audio of my narration and any questions from the participants, plus the video of the illustrations, animations and moving pointers. The recordings are streamed to you 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 creating and 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 the teacher).
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ARE THERE WAYS I CAN INTERACT AND ASK QUESTIONS IN THIS COURSE? Yes, this built-in commenting system gives you a way to communicate with David and get his responses. Whenever you have a question while going through 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 respond as soon as possible in one of two ways. Either he will respond with his own public answer which will appear in the course for you (and the other participants), or if your question seems to need a longer answer he will record an audio or video answer and post that podcast to the list of streaming sessions so you (and everyone else taking the course) can listen to it or watch it. In this way you will be part of helping the course build up a wealth of supplementary material that adds to and deepens the core 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 ACCESS TO 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 you can absorb each session, or take your time — whatever fits your schedule and learning style. You will have access to all the recordings and other material of the whole course for a period of three calendar years from your date of registration. Even if you have finished watching all the sessions before this time is up, you will still be able to log-in and review any previous session as well as access your saved comments and study notes. At any point during those three years — while
you are still registered — you can copy all your notes to your
own system for safekeeping and future reference. WHAT DOES IT COST? To join the course you do not have to commit for the whole 20-session course. You can, of course, pay for the whole course at once and have access to everything immediately, but if you want to check it out first you can also subscribe by instalments as detailed below. When you want to continue the course simply subscribe to the next instalment. The full fee is US$ 655.00 for the complete interactive course with unlimited questions to David (that's a rate per 90-minute session of just over US$ 36). Or you can subscribe in three instalments as below (total fee when paid in instalments = US$ 695.00): instalment 1 — US$ 295.00
due at registration, gives access to the first 4 recordings
(nos. 1-4) Student Discount: There is a 30% discount for students in full-time study — the discounted cost is US$ 455.00 for the whole interactive course (that's a rate per 90-minute session of about US$ 25) which gives access to everything immediately. If you want to check out the beginning of the course first you can also subscribe by instalments as detailed below — when you want to continue the course simply subscribe to the next instalment (total fee when paid in instalments = US$ 486.00). instalment 1 — US$ 196.00
due at registration, gives access to the first 4 recordings
(nos. 1-4) Concessions are also available — contact David by e-mail: .
When you register and make your payment (full fee or 1st instalment) you will receive an e-mail with full instructions including a username and password which allows you to log-in to the LearningMethods Courses site at any time and access the recordings you have subscribed to plus the associated supplementary material and all your created bookmarks and notes. If you have paid by instalments and find yourself moving through the course quickly, you can simply pay the other instalments at any time to access more recordings right away — the pace of learning is up to you. You can log-in from any Internet-enabled
device — a computer, a 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 any device at any time from any place. GOT ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COURSE? Please feel free to contact David by e-mail ( ) if you have questions at all about the course or how it works.
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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.
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(Babette
Lightner, LearningMethods 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
DAVID GORMAN