Being at home in your body means that you move well without having to think about it. Movements just come together in an easy, graceful way without you having to be in charge of how they happen. There is a sense that this ease and gracefulness will be there whether you attend to it or not, which frees you up to focus on what you want or need. It is… Read More »Being at Home in Your Body
Building strength does not increase your body’s intelligence. Chronic pain(including back pain and neck pain) is often caused by inefficient movement habits, not by weak muscles. This could happen with any movement that you haven’t learned to do well enough: at the same time as performing the movement, you unconsciously do things that are actually counterproductive. This is usually experienced as a strain and often becomes accepted as a necessary… Read More »Strong vs Intelligent Body
As long as you are trying to correct your posture or movement habits, you are fighting yourself. It maybe worthwhile to do it as a temporary mage to avoid acute pain, but it’s not an effective way to create long term change. This fight is impossible to win, because you are fighting with your own nervous system. You try hold on to good posture and move correctly, but the moment… Read More »Are you Fighting Yourself on a Daily Basis?
The idea of unforced, natural change is often the first counter-intuitive surprise for many people who experience the Feldenkrais method for the first time. After the first individual session, I often hear something along the lines: “I feel great! But you did so little, why do I feel so different?” After group class, students are often surprised to discover how much the way they feel can improve, after “simply” attending… Read More »The Unnatural Idea of Natural Change
I am often asked if Feldenkrais is similar to Yoga. Since there are so many different ways to practice yoga, it’s hard to give an exact answer. Recently I came across a quote about Yoga practice that is in resonance with my understanding of the Feldenkrais method. “The pose is what you are doing. Yoga is how you are being in the pose. […] Doing a yoga pose while attached… Read More »Feldenkrais and Yoga – Focus on Being
Article below, describes a study comparing the use of Feldenkrais and exercise to help people with chronic pain. I really liked this article, because I was excited that they pointed out what I see as an intrinsic truth (and one of the main principles of the Feldenkrais method). Learning from your own experience offers an opportunity to develop trust in yourself. Quoted from the article: “In one of the studies… Read More »Learning to Trust Oneself
“Reduce the effort whenever possible. The use of force is the opposite of awareness; learning does not take place when we are straining. The principle should not be no pain, no gain. Rather, it should be if strain, no gain. Feldenkrais thought the use of willpower (of which he obviously had plenty) was not helpful in developing awareness.” ― Norman Doidge, The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries… Read More »Work Smarter, Not Harder
In a Feldenkrais lesson you can enjoy an opportunity to slow down and simply be with yourself as you are. This process allows a person to easily find the state of flow. This is the state in which a person is naturally present and grounded, also called, “in the zone”. The state emerges when we are perfectly capable of performing given activity and the activity at hand is complex enough… Read More »State of Flow: Process is the Benefit
Consciously or unconsciously, many people believe that if they (or somebody else) don’t make adjustments to their movement and posture, at best they will feel the same, but more likely their posture and movement will become worse over time bringing more pain, tension, limiting mobility. Which naturally leads to what I call “fixing approach”: a combination of correcting bad habits, creating good habits, strengthening individual groups of muscles that are… Read More »Is fixing faster than learning?
“Reduce the effort whenever possible. The use of force is the opposite of awareness; learning does not take place when we are straining. The principle should not be no pain, no gain. Rather, it should be if strain, no gain. Feldenkrais thought the use of willpower (of which he obviously had plenty) was not helpful in developing awareness.” ― Norman Doidge, The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries… Read More »Force or Awareness