Certification

Professional Bones for Life Basic Program, Teacher, and Trainer Certification Procedure

Ruthy Alon and the Foundation for Movement Intelligence offer the Bones for Life (BFL) Program in a 3-stage Certification Procedure:
Basic Program, Teacher, and Trainer Levels. The BFL Program is designed for people who are looking for a safe,autonomous way to improve the quality of their movement and revitalize their bones and posture, as well as for people interested in becoming professional BFL Teachers.

1. Basic Program Certification

The Basic Program is comprised of 90 Bones for Life processes as defined in the BFL Teacher’s Manuals, written by and Intellectual Property of Ruthy Alon, which can be taught in different formats, such as in three sections (Segments I, II, & III), in two sections (Parts A & B), or in multiple weekly sessions. Anyone wishing to learn and enhance their personal well-being will benefit. This is also the beginning stage for those who intend to become Certified Bones for Life Teachers.

Participants completing the Basic Program will receive at least 60 hours of instruction from a Certified BFL Teacher or Trainer. Upon completion of a Segment or Part, students are eligible to purchase the BFL Teacher’s Manuals from their country’s Bones for Life Director as follows: Segment I and/or Part A, can purchase manual #1; Segment II & III and Part B, can purchase #2 & #3. Upon completing the 90 processes of the Bones for Life Basic Program, graduates will receive a Bones for Life Basic Program Attendance Certificate from their country’s Bones for Life Director (in the U.S. and Canada from the FMI). At this point in the certification process, graduates will have the entire program to use for their own health. If graduates are pursuing the Certified BFL Teacher track they can begin practice teaching and be invited to join the online Bones Forum.

90 Bones for Life Processes Basic Program Outline

  • Become familiar with the dynamic style of springy pressure needed for stimulating bone strength
  • Practice effective interaction with gravity while moving in the vertical plane
  • Organize body alignment to withstand transmission of force in a “Domino Effect” trajectory
  • Refine the skill of moving in the pattern of Wave (proportional flexibility), and in the pattern of Axis (one unit of alignment in antigravity activities)
  • Train in the harmonious management of movement coordination for the strength-demanding functions of pushing, pulling, and moving against a controlled resistance 
  • Practice challenges of anti-gravity movements in bouncing on the heels, standing up from sitting and from lying, walking up and down steps/slopes, and jumping
  • Integrate ways of lifting weights with proportional engagement of the entire body
  • Improve the quality of coordination through a variety of natural evolutionary modes of locomotion that propel movement, including patterns of creeping, crawling on all fours, and primal swimming
  • Learn strategies to secure personal safety, and options for coping with vulnerable joints, while applying a relevant balance between stabilization and enhancing freedom of movement
  • Cultivate the capacity to recover equilibrium, and empower self confidence in coping with the fear of falling, and practicing uninjured falling
  • Tone up the sphincter network
  • Upgrade the ergonomics of one’s daily habits
  • Inspire the urge to move, and to enjoy the “Biological Optimism” that comes from having a reliable skeleton

2. Teacher Certification

After signing the Memorandum of Understanding Teacher Certification, the Teacher in Training Registration and receiving the Basic Program Attendance Certificate there are four steps in the Teacher Certification process to be completed in any order.

  • 1. Advanced Study of the Basic Program (60 hours) with a BFL Certified Trainer. If the Basic Program was completed with a Trainer, the advanced study can be taken with a Teacher.
  • 2. Mentoring (24 hours) with a Certified BFL Trainer individually and/or in a group.
  • 3. Practice Teaching (36 hours minimum) material from the Basic Program and journaling the experience. This can overlap with mentoring.
  • 4. Attend the Teacher Training (30 Hours) with a Certified BFL Trainer for instruction in the pedagogy of BFL materials and concepts.

Upon completion of the four step Teacher Training, graduates will receive a Bones for Life Teacher Certificate from their country’s Bones for Life Director (in the U.S. and Canada from the FMI). At this point in their certification process, graduates will be eligible to teach the Bones for Life Basic Program as a Certified Bones for Life Teacher, in compliance with their country’s Bones for Life Director (in the U.S. and Canada the FMI).   Please note: In order to actively teach Bones for Life® (BFL) and issue their country’s (in the U.S. and Canada the FMI) certificates as a certified BFL Teacher, BFL Teachers must become a Professional Teacher Member and maintain annual membership in their country’s association (in the U.S. and Canada the FMI).

The BFL Trainer, in rare instances, may suggest that a Teacher graduate who is not yet ready for teaching the Basic Program continue to learn and practice teach the program until further experience is acquired.

Advanced Study of the Basic Program

Repeating the Basic Program with the mentoring Trainer is ideal for advanced study. Trainers who have advanced students enrolled in the Basic Program can provide opportunities for practice teaching, study groups with other advanced students and mentoring hours, all of which enhance the teacher certification process.

In cases of personal difficulty in attending advanced study of the program, the mentor may decide to give the Teacher in Training written permission to

review the program through DVDs and the BFL Teacher’s Manuals in a self directed study group or on their own. The mentor will follow up this self study

and coordinate it with their country’s BFL Director (in U.S. and Canada with the FMI).

All Teachers in Training must purchase the BFL Teacher’s Manuals written by Ruthy Alon.

Practice Teaching Options

This can be done in many ways, here are a few examples:

 

Mentoring Option and Expectations

Mentoring is a relationship between the Teacher in Training and one or more Certified Trainers. Through mentoring, a Teacher in Training can work on the specific aspects of their learning that need support: clarification, comprehension, teaching guidance and empowerment from a Trainer. Because this is a very individual process there are many roads to the completion of the 24 mentoring hours. This mentoring relationship can open up the creative resourcefulness of both the Trainer and the Teacher in Training.

Use mentoring hours for the following among other things:

  • as an assistant to a Bones for Life Teacher and/or Trainer
  • informally to family, friends and colleagues
  • classes taught as a Bones for Life Teacher in Training
  • the material can be incorporated in your professional work as a PT, OT, Feldenkrais® Practitioner, yoga teacher, etc

Ideally, all 24 hours of mentoring is completed directly with a certified BFL Trainer. These hours can take place individually or in a group either in person, by phone, through email correspondence, and through self directed study under guidance of the mentoring Trainer. In cases when this is not possible for personal reasons, peer BFL study groups can count towards the mentoring hours, however 10 of the 24 hours must be completed with the mentor and documented approval of the study groups must be coordinated through their country’s Bones for Life Director (in the U.S. and Canada by the FMI).

Teacher Training Outline

3. Trainer Certification

  • Analyze the program processes
  • Deepen comprehension, observation, and knowledge
  • Classify the processes according to functional themes
  • Discuss issues regarding the experience of teaching to the public
  • Supervised Practicum in teaching
  • Questions and answers about specific functional issues
  • Enhance confidence in teaching the program

Certified Bones for Life Teachers with 200 hours and two years of Bones for Life® teaching experience are eligible for the Trainer Certification level. There are two steps in the Trainer Certification process to be completed in any order:

  • 1. Submit a 10–30 page essay, report or article to the country’s Bones for Life Director (in the U.S. and Canada to the FMI) in any chosen area of the BFL program, for example: personal insights in teaching, research publication, or a discussion of a functional or educational issue. The paper is not for judgment, but rather for the enrichment of the whole community, as well as for the benefit of upgrading the Trainer graduate’s own clarity of teaching by writing. If the graduate is willing, these papers of thought and experience will be published in a special archive on the FMI website.
  • 2. Attend a 10-day (60-hour) Trainer Training with Ruthy Alon

Upon completion of the 2 step Trainer Training, graduates will receive a Bones for Life Trainer Certificate from their country’s Bones for Life Director (in the U.S. and Canada from the FMI). At this point in their certification process, graduates will be eligible to teach the Basic Program, Teacher Certification, and open their own school for training new teachers, in compliance with their country’s Bones for Life Director (in the U.S. and Canada the FMI).

Ruthy Alon, in rare instances, may suggest that a Trainer graduate who is not yet ready for training teachers continue to teach the Basic Program until further experience is acquired.

Re-certification

Every 5 years, a BFL Certified Trainer needs to be re-certified by submitting proof of attendance of an educational study of their choice which can include another Movement Intelligence (MI) program with Ruthy Alon, another BFL Certified Trainer, anatomy course or other related methods. Documentation should be sent to their country’s BFL Director (in the U.S. and Canada to the FMI).

Compliance

A Trainer’s compliance with their country’s BFL director in all stages of the certification process will include: receiving the manuals and the certificates from their country’s BFL director, providing a list of students’ names for the database, and payment of certification fees. Trainers who teach in educational institutes such as universities need to ensure that the institute receives permission to train teachers from their country’s BFL director (in the U.S. and Canada from the FMI). All participants of the BFL programs, including students, Teachers and Trainers, are responsible to respect the Intellectual Property of Ruthy Alon.

Graduate Program

Solutions for Movement Dysfunctions (72 hours in 2 parts) for BFL Teachers with 200 Hours (2 Years) of Teaching Experience plus 10-30 page essay and BFL Trainers (also for Teachers and Trainers of other MI Programs;  see 2011 MI Certification – Training Hours table)

  • Enrich the Basic Program with additional processes that embody a higher degree of sophistication
  • Focus on solutions for specific dysfunctions, in preparation for working
    with individuals as a Bones for Life Personal Trainer
  • Outline the professional future of Bones for Life as leaders of the BFL community
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