FELDENKRAIS METHOD


The Feldenkrais Method is a unique approach to mind and body which has helped thousands of people to be more flexible, comfortable and functional in their bodies. Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, founder of this method of somatic education, taught himself to walk again, without pain, after a crippling knee injury.

He achieved this by combining his multifaceted background in engineering, physics and Judo, along with his curiosity about linguistics, biology, prenatal development and athletics. In the late 1940's he further developed his method and today there are hundreds of authorized practitioners in this country applying this method in educational systems, performing arts, sports training and the healing arts.

By listening to your body, you can free its potential. The Feldenkrais Method can assist you in doing so by helping you to reconnect with your natural ability to move, using the exploratory process of learning which we see in small children.

There are two approaches the Feldenkrais practitioner uses to reestablish a freer, more flowing way to move. These approaches can affect all aspects of the person, not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually.


Functional Integration- The most direct way of experiencing results with the Feldenkrais Method through a one-on-one learning process. Here your learning is communicated through slow, gentle touch. Comfortably clothed and lying or sitting on a low padded table, you are guided through a series of precise movements to relax tense areas. The movements alter habitual patterns and provide new information directly to the neuromuscular systems. Functional Integration is especially useful for people with recurrent difficulties who want to learn to overcome limitations brought on by stress, misuse, accident or illness. It is equally beneficial for people who want to perform and feel better physically and mentally or for the person who is physically challenged.


Awareness Through Movement- These verbally given lessons guide the student through a sequence of Movements in basic functional positions: sitting or lying on the floor, standing, or sitting in a chair. The emphasis is on learning which movements work better and noticing the quality of these changes in your body. Students learn to relax and they learn to abandon habitual patterns and develop new alternatives, bringing not only greater awareness but also flexibility and coordination. These lessons are usually held in groups but the movements are non-competitive and based on a functional theme. After a lesson, which last between 30 to 60 minutes, the student often feels taller, finds that it is easier to breathe and that discomforts have been eased. These new ways of functioning can stay with you and become a part of your everyday living.

The Feldenkrais Method can teach you to free yourself from restrictive patterns constraining you. You feel better and are more able to enjoy life. Because the method integrates movement with thinking, feeling, and sensing, it can also expand your potential in other areas, enhancing creativity and improving problem solving skills. In the words of Moshe Feldenkrais, we "make the impossible easy, and the easy elegant."