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Teachers
At the Balance Center, all
teachers have been personally certificed
by Jean Couch in the methodology she has
deveoloped to teach Balance. Teachers
each bring a wealth of prior educational
and physical expertise to the Balance
studio, and each imparts a unique perspective
and style to the student's experience
while teaching the fundamentals of Balance
personally and effectively.
Jean
Couch is the author
of The Runner's Yoga Book, which has sold
over 150,000 copies. She co-hosted "Yoga
for today" on KQED TV in the San
Francisco Bay Area. Jean has presented
workshops and lectures throughout the
U.S. and Canada on yoga, movement, stretching
for runners, and Balance. Since 1988 she
has been involved in empirical research
studying populations of people who have
no back or joint pain. She is the Founder
and Director of the Balance Center, where
she has developed methods for teaching
concrete guidelines for pain free posture.
She teaches Balance, yoga, and the Balance
Teacher Certification Course. Jean has
a B.A. from the University of Iowa and
a Master's Degree from Stanford University
in Education. Sources such as The Yoga
Journal have called her "a remarkable
teacher." She is an inspirational
speaker, and has dedicated her life to
helping people conquer their pain.
Dana
Davis is a Senior Certified
Instructor at the Balance Center. She
graduated from Pomona College with a B.A.
in Psychology and has a M.A. in Spirituality
from Holy Names College. She graduated
from the Authentic Movement Institute
and has studied Dance Therapy. As a flamenco
dancer Dana performed with Yaelisa and
the Solera Flamenco Dance Company, Flamenco
de la Bahia, and Sol de Espana. Dana has
studied yoga extensively both with Jean
Couch and other Iyengar teachers. She
teaches Balance and yoga classes. Her
teaching style is characterized by being
particularly clear and kind, buoyed by
a generous sense of humor.
Jay Bunker is a Certified
Instructor who received his doctor of chiropractic
degree from Life Chiropractic College West in 1992.
His practice runs the gamut from people suffering
with accident or work injuries to helping healthy people
of all ages feel better and enjoy life more. He
specializes in gentle, low force adjusting styles and a
relaxing office atmosphere. His interest in movement
education began in 1983 when he studied with Joseph Heller
and began practicing as a structural bodyworker. He brings
his enjoyment of people and his knowledge of human
structure and anatomy into his teaching.
Jean Farmwald starting practicing yoga in 1990, in part, to relieve back pain that she had since the age of 11. Yoga gave temporary relief, but the pain always returned. She also tried massage, chiropractic and physical therapy, with no lasting results. In 2002, she walked, into the Balance Center for the first time and experienced immediate relief from her chronic low back pain. Jean was hooked and stayed on to take classes, eventually completing the 2 years Teachers' Training program. She now teaches Foundations, yoga, privates and is the COO for the Balance Center. In the Fall of 2007 she had the privilege of traveling to Paris to study with Noel Perez at the Institute Aplomb. Jean loves teaching others how to become pain-free through Balanced alignment.
Jean
Sukha Carfagno has studied and taught hatha yoga, Iyengar and Anusara, for 30 years. She finds the quiet intelligence of Yoga in Balance appealing, and appreciates how these movements naturally integrate into the activities of daily life. She holds a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago, and received a degree in Nursing from Deklab Community College in Decatur, GA. Sukha works as a graphic designer and paints avocationally. She is a Certified Balance Instructor teaching Foundation and yoga classes, as well as offering workshops that enable meditators to sit with ease.
Barbara Wilkens is a Certified
Balance Instructor. She holds a
B.A. and M.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy
and has also studied the Taubman approach to the piano.
Because Balance was the only approach that gave her
relief from her own shoulder and neck pain she
includes Balance as well as the Taubman information
in her work with RSI and injured musicians.
Barbara has performed in the Bay Area and beyond
for many years and has recently produced a CD. She
has also authored a video "Sitting in Balance at the Piano."
You can find more information on her website
http://home.earthlink.net/~barbwilkens/index.htm.
Teaching Methods
The
Balance Center is a teaching institution.
While we continue to do original research
into Balance, our main contribution to
Balance is in the teaching. Jean Couch
has developed a visionary method for making
concepts of Balance clear,
accessible and individualized
to all students. All Balance Center teachers
share concrete guidelines and specific
directions, combined with a hearty respect
for each student. We take pride in learning
from everyone who studies with us.
The
teaching at the Balance Center is concrete
and specific.
For example, you will be instructed while
sitting to move your back in a particular
way so you feel your body weight in your
buttock bones.
Much of the teaching
is done through contrasting
how you feel and look when you are in
and out of Balance. Looking at yourself
in a mirror, you will see when you stand
in Balance your legs are vertical, when
you stand out of Balance your legs are
slanted.
You will learn to distinguish
the difference between relaxation
and tension. Stressed areas of your body
are tense. It is crucial that you learn
to perceive your tension. You will have
many experiences of tightening and loosening
your back, and tight areas specific to
you. Relaxation is a key component of
being Balanced. Relaxation is a key component
of reducing pain.
Each Foundations class
has slide shows to give you visual
images of how people look in and
out of Balance. The people pictured come
from all over the globe- Portugal, Bali,
Peru, Greece. They vary in age from toddlers
to seniors. They come from all walks of
life -construction workers, great athletes,
and computer scientists. You will see
images of people standing, sitting, sleeping,
walking, bending, lifting, and carrying.
These images help you understand the characteristics
of balance and motivate you to practice.
The teaching is interactive
so students are encouraged to ask questions
and comment to help everyone understand
the guidelines of Balance. Instructors
are skilled in listening. Only you know
how you feel and it helps us guide you
when you tell us what's going. We want
to be in conversation with you. Learning
Balance is accelerated when the experience
is collaborative.
Instructors will place
you in Balance and give you individual
feedback. You will get the feel
of Balance and be given individualized
directions appropriate for you.
You evaluate how you
feel at the beginning and at the end of
the Foundation Series and measure
your progress. You will also learn
to use a plumb line to qualitatively measure
Balance while standing.
While the instruction
is serious the tone is encouraging,
up beat, and inspirational. The
curriculum for Foundations is predetermined
but is taught informally so that the environment
is relaxing. Balance consists of aligning
the bones naturally and relaxing. We do
all we can to make people comfortable
emotionally so the body can relax. Our
teachers are optimistic because we have
seen so many people get better. Many times
people with long-term pain are discouraged
because nothing has worked. We welcome
people like this because students who
practice get better. It's easy to be enthusiastic
because we have such a consistent track
record of success with difficult cases!
Click
here to read reviews of our classes
by students.
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