I am pleased to share the good news that my friend and mentor, Jessie Delage, is launching a new international eutony training programme, starting in the spring of 2027.
Eutony means “good tonus” or “right tonus”. Tonus is the level of tension in the muscles. We all know that when contracting, a muscle tenses, and this enables it to perform a task. But this takes a significant amount of energy, and we would not want the muscles to be tensed when the task is not needed. When you feel ‘tense’ generally, that’s exactly happening — muscles are tensed unnecessarily. Understanding and controlling the level of tension in each and every one of the body’s muscles is part of what occurs in eutony.
But eutony goes further than this. Do you ever feel yourself becoming tense in a confrontational situation, or when speaking to someone you feel you must defend yourself against? Likewise, do you feel relaxed and calm when speaking to certain people who are confident but also welcoming and gentle? This is the tonus of your muscles reacting to social situations. Through the practice of eutony, the possibility to manage oneself socially and emotionally emerges. This gradually transforms the relationships you have with others, deepening your understanding of yourself and others.
The course will develop participants to an advanced level in the practice and art of eutony. Gerda Alexander, who developed eutony approximately 100 years ago, did not see a hard line distinction between students and teachers of eutony. Rather there is a gradual transition. This training will accept students and graduate teachers of the discipline.
Eutony is complementary to Bothmer gymnastics because eutony focuses on raising awareness of everything happening inside the body, while in Bothmer, the focus is on consciousness of the spatial context in which the body exists. Jessie has been a teacher of Bothmer and eutony for many decades. The course is open to those without a background in Bothmer as well as current Bothmer students and qualified Bothmer teachers.
Jessie usually teaches in French, answering the call for eutony in Paris where she lives. However, the course starting next year represents the first ever international eutony training course, and will be taught in English. Luckily, Jessie is fluent in English so will not require translation. Jessie provided the following comments about the training:
“Following requests from many [Bothmer] gymnasts over the past few years during the international summer training camps, I am delighted to announce that I am launching a Gerda Alexander eutony training programme. This is an in-depth exploration of what listening to the body through the senses of the will can offer.”
While there is no dedicated website for this training programme, there is a pdf flyer which is linked below. The flyer includes contact details, which are reproduced below for ease of access. The first meeting will take place 4-8th March at Otevřený prostor, z.ú. Zikova 708/5, Praha 6 -Czech Republic.
Email: jessie.delage@posteo.net
Tel: 00336 73 20 14 43
Address: 14 rue d’Aligre – 75012 Paris
More information about eutony is available at the link below:
I hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact Jessie directly on her email address above if you have questions about the training.