Doron Tadmor
Growing up in Israel, I was an active kid, though not the most athletic. I did love running outdoors, climbing trees and playing soccer. As a teen, I studied Karate for about 2 years. It was a brief encounter, yet exciting and meaningful. It gave me some clarity; a certain somatic connection to myself. After my Film & TV undergraduate studies at NYU, I started a 15-year career as a motion graphics producer. The demanding daily grind of TV production highlighted old and new physical limitations. I began to experience occasional pain, mostly in my back/spine. At times, the pain was extreme. I was frustrated and scared. What was I doing wrong? What to do to stop this? The gym was never a place for me to seek help or healing. I needed something more intelligent, I was searching for a more intuitive approach. That was when I discovered Tai Chi Chuan. A soft and internal martial art. That was my first meaningful step in becoming more mindful. Coincidentally, I simultaneously discovered the Alexander Technique, which I truly love. Discovering these two complementary approaches felt like I was on a good path.
About 23 years ago, I experienced a Functional Integration® lesson of the Feldenkrais Method®. It felt like it was miraculously created just for me. It was gentle and powerful. Not only did it help me recover faster from a severe back spasm, but there was an entirely unexpected, powerful process that started during the session, and just kept going for days after. And it was great fun too. I was intrigued.
I never imagined how transformative this journey of becoming a Feldenkrais Practitioner® would be. In 2002 I joined a professional Feldenkrais Training. My dream of leaving my tv producing career behind to become a Feldenkrais practitioner began to materialize. I've been fortunate to study with some incredible teachers. My Feldenkrais trainers included Frank Wildman, Rob Ofir, Yvan Joly, Dennis Leri, Mary Spire, Donna Blank, and Stephen Rosenholtz. After graduating in 2006 I experienced a few other incredible trainers, including Mia Segal, Larry Goldfarb, & Martin Weiner, and Jeff Haller (2016 / IOPS Academy "Ideal Organization & Profound Strength" - an 18-month Post-graduate Feldenkrais Advanced Training.
The intense personal challenges both my parents experienced as their health declined during the last years of their lives impacted me profoundly. My mother passed away early in the first year of my Feldenkrais training. Both my parents struggled to remain functional, independent, and dignified to the very end. I wish I had known then what I know now about comfort and healing. Especially regarding my father, who had multiple strokes, and was struggling with walking.
My Tai Chi practice came in quite handy in my original Feldenkrais Professional Training. Nowadays, it continues to be an important part of my life as a Feldenkrais practitioner; it helps me cross-checking biomechanical ideas and concepts, examining real life vs ideal ways of moving, and organizing more efficiently. Endless, and always fascinating process.
I live in Hastings-on-Hudson. I teach private one-on-one & group classes in NYC and in Westchester, in person and on Zoom.