Something that is Close to Nothing

Yassas! My classes are on pause this month while I’m in Greece co-teaching a Cleaning the House workshop for artist Marina Abramović.

In the workshop, participants hand over their technology and fast in silence for several days while doing exercises that Abramović developed over several decades: sorting grains of rice, walking in slow motion, looking at one object, all for hours at a stretch. The point? To confront one’s limits and to strip away distractions so that we bring our full presence to everything we do. In her work as an artist, she’s found:

The hardest thing to do is something that is close to nothing.

Many of you have said something similar about Awareness Through Movement. That doing less—the rests, making movements small and slow—is the hardest part. Combining the spirits of Abramović and Feldenkrais, I invite you to examine your daily habits with detail and to get elemental with your effort.

You might notice excess tension in your hand when you drink a glass of water or when you carry your groceries, or that you use your abdominals for everything. When you pay close attention to how you go about your day, where is there effort you can subtract?

I will resume my ATM classes October. I hope to see you then.