The term muscle memory is very common, but it has always struck me as being imprecise in a way that leads people away from holistic thinking to focusing on separate muscle groups and body parts. And this type of focus is not the most productive for long term improvements – adjusting the way you move part by part or strengthening individual muscles groups is hard work and usually offers only… Read More »Motor Memory or Muscle Memory?
Often healing and learning are seen as different processes, but when it comes to the Feldenkrais method it is not the case. Whether you are recovering from an injury or learning to move more gracefully, the direction is the same. Focusing on improving the quality of movement helps you achieve both.This also means you don’t need to make a full list of problems to address. In fact, many physical difficulties… Read More »Do You Focus on Healing or Learning?
Often the idea of accepting ourselves as we are goes out the door the moment we are focused on the results. Depending on what is at stake, it may be justified to push oneself to work hard, to do things you don’t really want to do, but in a long term this could backfire. But there are situations when pushing oneself is actually less productive than accepting oneself and focusing… Read More »Practical Self-Acceptance
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