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The Feldenkrais Method

By Jayne Lee

Found in: | Inside | Wellness |

"The Feldenkrais Method represents a revolution in human health. Through this method we can learn to improve our living circumstances not only physically, but also emotionally, intellectually and spiritually."

- Smithsonian Magazine

An Awareness Through Movement

Feldenkrais lesson to try for yourself: NOTE: This lesson involves turning the head. It is important that you turn slowly and gently, stopping if you get any signals of strain, discomfort or pain. If you have pain in turning, turn only so far that you DO NOT have pain. A very small turn is OK. To begin, sit comfortably on the edge of a chair with your hands relaxed in your lap. 1. Gently turn your head to the left. Notice a point on the wall that is the furthest point you can comfortably see. Return to the center. Repeat a few times If you had pain in turning, turn only so far that you DO NOT have pain. A very small turn is OK. Gently turn your head to the right a few times and return to the center. Each time, notice a point on the wall that is the furthest point you can comfortably see. Turn gently, only as far as you have no pain. 2. Cradle your head with the palms of your hands, so that the heel of your hands is at your jaw line, and the fingers may rest around your eyes. Notice that your elbows rest on your chest. 3. Keeping your elbows glued to your chest and your hands cradling your head, gently turn to the left as far as is comfortable and back to center. Notice that the whole upper body turns. 4. Turn to the right in the same manner. Return to the center and drop your hands into your lap. 5. Repeat step 1. Notice the change from the first time. The change, whether small or large, happens because of the unique way that Feldenkrais® lessons allow us to engage the hidden intelligence of the body.

Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc., (1904-1984) was a distinguished scientist, physicist and engineer. He was also a respected Judo instructor and author of several books on the subject. However, it was in the relationship between bodily movement and the ways we think, feel and learn that Dr. Feldenkrais personally trained a small number of practitioners to continue his work. Today there are nearly 3,000 certified Feldenkrais teachers around the globe. His method can be experienced in two modes: Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration.

Awareness Through Movement (ATM) consists of verbally directed, gentle exercise lessons involving sophisticated movement sequences. The lessons directly engage our natural intelligence in a gentle and pleasurable way. ATM accesses the sensory motor processes of the brain and involves attention, perception, imagination and cognition. There are hundreds of lessons, addressing every joint and muscle group in the body and every human function.

Functional Integration (FI) is a one-to-one approach to working with people. Learning, change and improvement are achieved using specific skilled manipulation and passive movement. FI is painless, effective and widely recognized for its ability to successfully address serious muscular-skeletal and neurological problems.

As a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner for the last eight years, I have worked with many people in my practice who have been active their entire lives: dancers, athletes, climbers, boaters, etc. People who, at some point, have discovered that activities they had taken for granted have become difficult or even impossible due to injury or ageing. Think of the incredible variety of movements of a child and compare that to an adult. How do we go from the six-year-old who easily cartwheels across the lawn to the 75-year-old who had difficulty sitting on the floor or getting up out of a chair? How do we go from being able to roll our kayak easily to not rolling it at all? Why can we only roll our kayak on one side and not the other? It is the habits we build over time that limit our possibilities of moving. We have jobs where we use the same repetitive movements every day. When we have an accident, a trauma or just a minor stab of pain, we tighten up around the area to protect it and minimize the pain. This works as a short-term strategy to avoid further injury, but the trouble comes when we carry that strategy into the long term. We hold on to those movement patterns after the trauma is over and the injury is healed. Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons and Functional Integration help to expand our possibilities of moving and encourages us to explore new territory. This sense of exploration is rather like a child who is learning to crawl - they try many different ways to move themselves through space. As adults we rarely explore in this way and therefore become stuck in old patterns of thinking, moving and feeling. I am sure that the reason I am still dancing and guiding in Grand Canyon is due to the Feldenkrais Method.

The effectiveness of the Feldenkrais Method lies in its ability to access the nervous system's own innate processes to change and refine functioning. It is of benefit to everyone wishing to move more comfortably and efficiently, and to such diverse groups of people as those with restricted movement, chronic pain, psychological and neurological problems, performing artists and athletes.

Jayne Lee is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner living in Flagstaff. She gives private and group lessons in the Feldenkrais Method. She is Co-Director of Canyon Movement Company and Human Nature Dance Theatre and has been a Grand Canyon river guide since 1991. She can be reached at (928) 773-0750 or jayne@humannature.ws.