Shahar Linn's body cognition studio in Rehovot has no parquet floor, mirrors or exercise equipment, and no music plays in the background. The instructor does not model movements herself, though she does face the group. Participants do not wear typical workout clothes and training shoes, but rather cotton clothes and t-shirts. Their feet are bare.

"There is nothing here that draws attention away from the body and its sensations, and from precise, proper work with it," says 50-year-old Linn, who is from Kfar Bilu. She has been teaching body cognition for 25 years. As the lesson begins, the group concentrates on Linn's statements.

"The first goal is to put aside the outside world and your surroundings and to focus on my directions, because I transmit them verbally rather than by modeling," Linn says. "The body cognition method has no mirrors or equipment, but it does have a language of its own. When I try to direct people toward a certain movement, I try to be as precise as possible in my description of the part [of the body] I am referring to and my explanation of how I want them to move it."

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For example, at the beginning of the "Organized standing" lesson, Linn tells the class to stand with feet parallel, under their hip joints, with arches raised and toes spread. She directs attention from the feet upward to the knees. Knees must not be locked, and must be perpendicular to ankles with kneecaps facing forward - not inward or outward.

Precision is not superfluous

Body cognition is unlike other familiar training methods. Its teachers do not call it a form of exercise but a method, a lifestyle, an understanding of the body. Its principles include "learning to move in a healthy, flowing, harmonious, precise and aesthetic way," according to Michal Grossman of Tel Aviv, who has been teaching the method for 30 years.

"What fascinates me is that harmony, flow, aesthetics, precision and health go together. Anything that is harmonious and precise is also healthy. And precision is not superfluous. One has to have precise understanding to work in a healthy way without doing damage. Our method is derived from understanding the movement of the body. Deep and detailed understanding," she says.

The method was created, founded, and established by Yosefa Michaeli, who wrote the books "Mahshevet haguf" (Body Cognition) and "Al simetria v'asimetria" (Symmetry and Asymmetry). Michaeli has been teaching the method for more than 50 years and training instructors who teach the method throughout the country. Now, Michaeli's son and daughter both teach as well.

Linn says, "Other methods encourage participants to do more, go faster, lift more, be stronger. The goal of body cognition is correct implementation rather than maximum performance - not to use joints to their full potential, but to maintain reserves to prevent the wear and tear caused by acceleration. We try to teach people to be precise within their range of motion and strength - to find the proper strength, which is neither too much or too little. We try to achieve precision of movement in training sessions and in everyday life."

Every lesson has a subject, and the subjects are varied. Each focuses on a certain area of the body, like flexibility of the thighs, connection between the torso and the limbs, or organization of the torso. An entire terminology is imparted with training, including knowledge and understanding of physiological processes. Bones are strengthened, movement is improved and enhanced, and mishaps and damage are prevented, says Linn.

Every lesson is a new discovery

Grossman, age 53, encountered body cognition and Yosefa Michaeli when she was about to abandon her physical education studies at the Seminar Hakibbutzim Teachers College. Michaeli was teaching the principles of her method at the college.

"I heard she was admired and feared, and she sounded interesting. They talked about her a lot. I went to the first lesson and the truth hit me hard. I felt there was something really right, really true there and that I wanted to know more and more."

As a result of that meeting, Grossman decided to stay at the college and, after completing her studies, she decided to train under Michaeli. "Since then I have attended weekly lessons with her. There is always something to learn from her. Every lesson is a new discovery of the body. Despite the fact that I have been planning lessons myself for 30 years, I discover new things in every encounter with that teacher, a leader of her generation."

Raheli Kaminitz, an economist, met Michal Grossman when she was 12. Now she is 36.

"They discovered I had scoliosis in a school examination," she says. "The scoliosis was so profound, they said I had 'ears in my shoulders' and called me names. My mother and I totally opposed my using a back brace, which was the only option. Coincidentally, I heard from someone that Michal was a woman who could correct the body. I started training with Michal Grossman, straightened out, and have remained straight."

Now there is no evidence of her scoliosis. "When I came to Michal's classes, I intuitively felt something correct was happening," she says. "I persevered and it changed my life - not only in terms of the scoliosis but in terms of my general feeling, my health, a pleasant sense of self."

Kaminitz gave birth to twins, and says her body revealed the burden of the pregnancy to her. "I started to exercise, and again I felt myself straightening out, growing stronger - that my enormous, dangling stomach was contracting. Of course, I continue going to the studio twice a week, in the morning, and I feel the exercise changes the whole day and gives me the energy to be who I am."

Tiny movements

The difficulty of describing precise alterations to tiny movements is evident in the production "Naviah," on stage at the Suzanne Dellal Center. The production is based on the body cognition method. "The movement highlights the special sculptural character derived from correct use of the body," the program reads. "The sculpture that is created is elusive and shifting, manifests in various combinations, is precise, balanced and located in space. It moves pleasantly and tenderly between liberation and dedication, and between congregation and control. The movement, based on an understanding of mutual relations between organs, causes a chain reaction of infinite flow."

Rahel Sasson, age 56, teaches the method at Tel Aviv University. She elaborates on the description: "I am a person who trained under all kinds of methods throughout my life," she says. "I always participated in some form of exercise. About 14 years ago, I began to have strong pains in my neck and shoulders that radiated to my head and left eye. The doctors didn't find anything - they just prescribed medication for the pain. It lasted for months. I felt it was connected to my spine, to my posture. I started swimming and doing yoga, but it didn't help. A friend told me about Michal Grossman and body cognition. I started training with them and I immediately liked it. I became dedicated and, after a few months, the pain went away."

For the past 14 years, Sasson has been "rolling out of bed every morning onto a rug and doing 20 minutes of body cognition exercises to start the day." She never misses a class. "The classes are a trip," she says. "It's not exercise - it's therapy."