Ruthy Alon

Ruthy Alon (born January 25, 1930, Bogotá), Israeli citizen, is a Senior Trainer in the Feldenkrais Method of awareness through movement and functional Integration. In her later years she created and developed the Bones for Life program of osteoporosis prevention and reversal.

When Ruthy was 3, her family (father from post-revolution Russia, mother from Morocco) immigrated to what was to become the state of Israel, and she grew up during its pioneer years; from the ages of 11 to 13 she studied at a Kibbutz. In 1949 she was released from mandatory army service (working on radio communication codes) to complete her training as an elementary school teacher in war-torn Jerusalem, and help fill the sudden educational needs of a growing population which exploded in size shortly after Israel declared independence in 1948 and opened its borders to new waves of immigrants.

Ruthy Alon was among the first group of students taught by Moshe Feldenkrais in Tel Aviv beginning in 1958. As member of his first generation of trained practitioners [1969] , she helped popularize the Feldenkrais approach to somatic learning around the world, contributing to the birth and development of professional Feldenkrais Method trainings in Europe, the USA, Australia, and Israel. For over forty years she has dedicated herself to the professional training of future practitioners of this method.

In her book "Mindful Spontaneity" she explains the basic principles of the Feldenkrais Method and outlines some easy movement processes for the reader’s edification. This book is currently available in a half-dozen languages, including English, Italian, German, Portuguese, Hebrew, and Russian, with a Spanish translation in the works. In 1992, the Italian translation [2 volumes, published by Red edizioni] won the Premio Nazionale del Libro di Medicina Naturale by Associazione C.G. Jung. In the mid-1990s she also filmed a 30-minute video presenting the Feldenkrais Method, called "Movement Nature Meant".

Since the 1990s, concurrent with her Feldenkrais teaching, Ms. Alon began developing the Bones For Life program. Based on the Feldenkrais approach to psychophysical re-education of dysfunctional habits, this self-improvement program is designed to stimulate the strengthening of bone tissue and the reorganization of weight-bearing posture through well-coordinated movement.

After some preliminary tests in Israel, the Bones for Life program was presented in the United States at the 2005 AsMA [Aerospace Medical Association] conference, and in 2007 at the NOF [National Osteoporosis Foundation] conference in Washington, D.C. She is founder and president of The Foundation for Movement Intelligence, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and the reversal of osteoporosis through natural means. This 10-year old program is now taught and practiced in over 20 countries, thanks to Bones for Life instructors whom she continues to teach, train, and mentor worldwide.

Books by Ruthy Alon

* Mindful Spontaneity, Equinox Publishing, Roseville, Australia e Prism Press, Brideport, U.K., 1980.

Articles and other sources about Ruthy Alon

* Lingman, Carol. "Biological Optimism in Aligning the Vertical Weight bearing Skeleton: An Interview with Ruthy Alon." The Feldenkrais Journal, 15, Winter 2003; pp.27-32.
* Alon, R. "The Conditioning of Bone Strength on Posture." Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, Volume 76, Number 3, March 2005, pp. 221. [ [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem/2005/00000076/00000003/art00007] report available online]
* Wexler, Ellyn. "Bones for Life 101: Nurturing dem bones that align the spine." Maryland Community Gazette [USA] , September 23, 2004, p. B56. [ [http://gazette.net/gazette_archive/2004/200439/entertainment/fitness/237578-1.html] Gazette.Net – article available online ]

External links

* [http://www.feldenkrais.com] official website of feldenkrais guild of north america
* [http://www.bonesforlife.com] official website about the Bones for Life program
* [http://www.movementintelligence.org] official website of the Foundation for Movement Intelligence