Feldenkrais Perspectives
“The aim [of the Feldenkrais Method] is a person that is organized to move with minimum effort and maximum efficiency, not through muscular strength, but through increased consciousness of how movement works.” Moshe Feldenkrais
How Feldenkrais Differs from Other Approaches to the Body
Most forms of bodywork define themselves as therapy. Although Feldenkrais works with the body and creates remarkable therapeutic results, the Method is fundamentally a learning system. As such, helping people to develop the understanding and self-awareness to help themselves is an essential part of the process.
Most forms of bodywork focus directly on the area of the body where people experience pain. The Feldenkrais perspective is that the painful area is a localized expression of something happening in the whole person. Often the root of the problem is not in the area in which the symptom is experienced. Even the pain resulting from an localized injury is frequently more easily resolved with a whole body perspective.
Habits: The Good and the Bad
Habits are essential. Life would be impossible without them. Habits, however, are repetitive movement and repetitive movement is a major cause of chronic pain. When we are feeling stuck in any aspect of our lives, our habits are in play. Becoming aware of how our unconscious habits are contributing to our pain or problems is the first step in resolving them.
A Feldenkrais practitioner guides people toward awareness of how their habits are contributing to their pain or limitation. The practitioner then further guides them in ways to interrupt those habits and discover more beneficial ones.
“He’s not just pushing muscles around, but changing things in the brain itself.” Karl Pribram, M.D., Ph.D.
"The Feldenkrais Method has given me the ability to do things in tennis I never could do before and has relieved my body of the pain accumulated from over 20 years of competitive playing." Tony Trear (tennis teaching pro and former pro player)
Feldenkrais
