Elsa Gindler in Context #1
The work, life and legacy of Weimar movement teacher Elsa Gindler (1885-1961) will form the uniting thread for our conversations in Spring 2025.
To head up this section, I deliberately chose a grainy picture of Gindler, reproduced many times and appearing as part of someone else's story. To me, that exemplifies the way Gindler is seen in the present day, and it's what makes her especially fascinating.
In North America, Elsa Gindler is known for her influence on body-based psychotherapy and Western meditation techniques. She is considered a pioneer of Somatics, even though the term was not used in its present sense during her lifetime. Gindler was one of many influences on the Feldenkrais technique, and I became fascinated with her in the early aughts, part-way through my training as a Feldenkrais practitioner. I have my colleague Susan Free to thank for that.
Even the idea of Gindler was important to me. She provided relief from the aura of machismo that surrounded Feldenkrais culture at that time. Somehow, I felt connected with Gindler, and knowing about her planted the idea that I could be myself within this work, put my own stamp on it. That inspired me to stick with the training, because I really wasn't sure it was for me.
Since then, I've continued to learn about Gindler through researching in her archive, translating her writings, and taking part in classes inspired by her work. I also took a deep dive into Gindler's context, which is often left out in accounts of her (and Somatics) today.
When I was about to defend my dissertation on Gindler in 2022, many people reassured me saying: "You're the expert on this topic now." I felt like just the opposite! I launched the discussion by telling my (wonderful) committee: "I want to call this thesis: 'How to study something for seven years and know less than when you started.'"
However, I do have lots of ideas and information, which I love nothing better than sharing and discussing with an interested group. In this week's talk, I launched launched into a discussion around the stories surrounding Gindler's life. Not unlike a family, the people telling them have different versions. Rather than trying to find the definitive answer, we looked at what the stories have to tell us about the methods and Methods that claim her as an ancestor ... my own included!
Please join The Work to take part in the conversation.