Nervous System Part 1: Perception and the Living Nervous System
Florence, Italy | Dr. Bill Foley, November 5-10, 2025
In Florence, Italy, Dr. Bill Foley recently taught Nervous System Part 1: Perception and the Living Nervous System to two groups of Italian osteopaths, welcoming over 50 participants into this immersive study. Sometimes renamed Anatomy and Perception, the course explored the essential role of perception and anatomy as presented by A.T. Still, William Sutherland, and Jim Jealous. Rather than teaching techniques, the focus was on refining the practitioner’s capacity to perceive and cooperate with Primary Respiration, the Tide, and Dynamic Stillness, recognizing that healing unfolds through the inherent forces that sustain life.
Participants examined the profound influence of the nervous system on digestion, mood, hormones, immunity, cognition, and sleep, understanding how dysfunction may reflect imbalances within the central, autonomic, and enteric systems. Through inquiry-led exploration and practical sessions, the course addressed the art of perception in the CNS, sacs and brain diagnostics, neuropathology and the cranial membranes, notochord and segmentation, and the biodynamic sacrum and sacral plexus. Emphasis was placed on perceiving anatomy through the biodynamic model, supporting meningeal health, understanding segmentation and the midline, working with the notochordal midline, and recognizing the sacrum’s role within the Whole.
Set within the timeless atmosphere of Florence, the course fostered a collaborative environment shaped by participants’ questions and insights. Together, these osteopaths deepened their ability to listen to the living nervous system and to hold space for its inherent wisdom, aligning their practice with the natural rhythms of health and healing.
