Life changing growth is possible for all of us
I know this first hand.
A Challenging Start
My path to Feldenkrais began when I was just five weeks old. I contracted meningitis and encephalitis, leaving me blind and deaf. The doctors predicted for me a life of permanent handicap, but my hearing returned fully within months and my sight partially one year later. The neurological damage, however, had already been done. My eyes crossed. My head shook. I even struggled with basic motor skills such as placing raisins in a jar. That said, after years of surgery and therapy, I grew into a fairly normal kid. I did basketball, soccer, ski racing — you name it.
From Disability to Discovery
At nine, I started the cello and by thirteen I had committed my life to it. As I became serious about the cello, I began to notice how my illnesses impacted my playing. Though I worked harder than most of my peers, I still fell behind. They could move around the instrument in ways I simply couldn't. I felt doomed by my past. Determined to close this gap, I spent hours a day for the next sixteen years studying my body. This search led me through several disciplines, including two years with the Alexander Technique, but ultimately I found my home in the Feldenkrais Method.
Feeling Better, Sounding Better
The Feldenkrais Method not only improved me as a cellist, it transformed me as a person. For the first time, I felt powerful, graceful, and at ease with my body. Most of all, I no longer believed there was a limit to what I could learn. My neurological glass ceiling had been shattered. So enamored by the method, I enrolled in professional training, first in NYC with David Zemach-Bersin and then in Vienna with Jeremy Krauss. Along the way, I studied with other pioneers applying Feldenkrais to music, including Uri Vardi (strings), Alan Fraser (keyboards), and Robert Sussuma (voice).
8 Years of Conservatory Teaching
For the past eight years, I have served as the Feldenkrais Method Teacher at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, working with over a thousand students of all instruments in individual and group lessons.
When the pandemic hit, our lessons moved online and opened up a surprisingly effective and intimate way of learning. Since then, I’ve taught online lessons and workshops to musicians all over the world through the Feel Good Sound Good program, sharing with others the joy that Feldenkrais has given to me.
Transforming Musicians Worldwide
Being a musician can indeed be tough, but life-changing growth is possible for all of us. I know this firsthand and have seen hundreds of musicians transform their relationship with their body, instrument and even self too.
Join the movement, and discover how the Feel Good Sound Good Program applies to you.
Join the movement, and discover how the Feel Good Sound Good Program applies to you.
Every musician's journey is unique. Michael’s personalized Feldenkrais approach can help you unlock your full potential, whether you're a performer, teacher, or recovering from an injury.