With Honor to Yochanan Rywerant

by Moti Nativ

Yochanan Rywerant began learning from Dr. Feldenkrais about the Method in 1952, when I was two years old. Many people learned from and followed Yochanan for decades. I was lucky to have the opportunity to become Yochanan’s student and friend during the last two years of his life.

Since my first contact with the Feldenkrais Method in 1986, I have known about Yochanan Rywerant. Since 1994, when I became an Israeli Feldenkrais practitioner, I have heard interesting stories about him from my colleagues but have rarely encountered him.

After I retired from my position with the government, I furthered my research about Dr. Feldenkrais and wanted to interview Yochanan as a part of that research. We met in a coffee/book place near his home in Tel Aviv. I was surprised by his unique knowledge and was impressed with his attitude. After this first real meeting with Yochanan, I did not doubt that I wanted to learn from him. Unfortunately, they refused this training that had already started. After talking with Yochanan’s assistants, I dared to call him and ask his permission to join the training. They refused to accept me and said that I had missed too much material. After my second request and another refusal, I was about to let go. Then, I attended Yochanan’s advanced training in December 2008 and met him a few times more privately. Somehow, he softened, and before the beginning of the second year, he sent me a “yes” through his assistants.

I was the last student to be accepted into his training.

Yochanan, I will share my feelings about Yochanan and his teaching with you. After experiencing many great trainers of the Feldenkrais Method, I found the teaching in Yochanan to be the one that fits me. My first feeling was that Yochanan’s teaching style is very similar to those of Martial Arts teachers I had met. Yochanan was tough and stubborn, an example of dedication to the way and concepts of teacher, “.Dr. Feldenkrais. I asked myself why a master, 86 years old, never discusses himself, every day preferring to talk about “Feldenkrais.” He would repeat and say, every day, “Feldenkrais thought about this” or “You see, this is Feldenkrais.”

For those who did not learn from Yochanan, Imagine an old guy walking around the room from one student to another, nonstop, responding to questions, showing and explaining, over and over again. Not a young man—never resting, even after teaching for hours, not taking a drink or going to the toilet.

Sometimes, Yochanan would

ld come up to me, seemingly angry, and loudly say, maybe yelling at me, “Why did you do this,” he would catch my hand powerfully to change my hold or direction. To me, these were acts of kindness and thoughtfulness. I thought that he was a funny guy. I laughed and promised him not to do it again, and would get, and then he smiled and walked away.

No one slept, and no one felt safe arriving late in the morning or after breaks. Yochanan always watched the door. When I got up during the demonstration or lecture, Yochanan would ask, “Where are you going?” He was aware of anything happening around him.

I liked very much when Yochanan would say, “I’m curious.” Apparently, he was inquiring, Manipuloneven while he was performing a known manipulation (in Yochanan’s terminology).And then everyone could see the happiness on his face when the change happened—and as usual, he would say, “This is Feldenkrais.”

Yochanans’ approach to the method was much about physics and physiology: formulas, careful listening to Newton’s laws, and expertise in anatomy. I would say it was very realistic and clear.

Maybe I could use the term “humble” to describe Yochanan, as he would often say, “It is, not me, it is Dr. Feldenkrais and the laws of physics.” But do not be mistaken—Yochanan cared and was aware of people’s emotions. He listened carefully to the words people used to describe their feelings after a FunctionalIntegration® Lesson and would emphasize how difficult it is to express those feelings verbally.

I feel that I have touched upon and described Yochanan as Feldenkrais Trainer, and I have spent much time there, though there is much more to say about his teaching.

I would like to say a few words about his struggle and his days in the hospital. I visited him and also talked with his widow, Berta, and his student much time with him, supporting him as much as they could. I remember that day I was with him, and he wanted to change his position to sitting. He asked me to move his legs, which were covered with wounds. I lifted his legs as gently as I could; I knew how painful it was for him. He did not say anything. After he was sitting, I sat on his bed beside him, supporting his back with my arm. Yochanan started eating his food, and after a while, he suddenly turned his head to me, and said, quite aggressively, “you can take your hand off my back, and don’t you see thatI’m stable, I do not need support.” I very much like him. At that moment, I thought that this was a good sign that he was recovering.

After some days, he was moved to intensive care. I was there that day. He was asleep, then I saw that he looked at me with a weak smile on his face, and he raised his right hand toward me. I grabbed his hand and leaned close to him. And he asked quietly to help him turn onto his side. I pushed/pulled him a little on his side and asked the nurse to put some pillows behind him. Then I kept holding to his hand, I put my other hand on his chest lightly, followed his breathing until he fell asleep. This was our last touch. The next time I visited, he was always asleep.

The last thing about Yochanan, which I want to share with you, is about Yochanan’shumor. I already told you that in my eyes he was very funny; I laughed a lot during the training. Yochanan had some old jokes, which we call jokes with a long beard. On one of his “good” days in the hospital, he was annoyed by a patient in the same room who kept yelling nonstop because of pain. It was not the patient Yochanan was angry with. “How could it be that in the hospital, people are crying for help, and no one is paying attention?” Yochanan told me about this room in a hospital where one of the patients kept on crying and begging, “Oh, I’m so thirsty. Oh, I’m so thirsty”. It was a big disturbance to the others in the room. After some time, with no reply from the nursing team, one of the other patients drags himself from the bed, with great pain, walks slowly brings the crying guy a glass of water, and returns to rest. For a while, it was quiet, and then I cried, “Oh, I was so thirsty. Oh, I was so thirsty”.

I say goodbye to Yochanan Rywerant, a master teacher of the Feldenkrais method.

Rest in peace, Yochanan, and you and your way will not be forgotten,
Moti Nativ

Photos of Yochanan from his last training courtesy of Moti Nativ and Eva Laser.

See Review Of Acquiring The Feldenkrais Profession by Eva Laser.