What is the Feldenkrais
method?
The Feldenkrais Method® is a form of Somatic Education
that uses an exploratory process of learning to expand
movement potential, improve alignment and reduce injuries.
By utilizing the inherent intelligence of the nervous
system, each person discovers new ways of using themselves
with more ease, grace and power.
Developed
by Moshe Feldenkrais, physicist, engineer and judo master,
in the late 1940's, the Feldenkrais Method® has two avenues of learning. The first is the group
movement class called Awareness Through Movement® and the second is Functional Integration® the private hands-on form of the Feldenkrais Method.
Moshe Feldenkrais developed these methods of self-awareness
and movement refinement from his extensive knowledge
of human development, neurology, engineering and eastern
movement practices. Combining this knowledge, he developed
a process of working with the nervous system to expand
potential by addressing the process of learning itself.
How is it we come to move the way we do? How is it we
develop poor habits of moving over our lifetime and
relinquish our ability to move/think with responsiveness
and adaptability to change? This is a the core of the Feldenkrais Method and the crux for provoking
change in our movement potential.
The two avenues to learning in
The Feldenkrais Method
Awareness Through Movement®
In group Awareness Through Movement (ATM) classes, a Feldenkrais teacher verbally guides you through a sequence of movements in basic positions: sitting or lying on the floor, standing or sitting in a chair. These precisely structured movement explorations involve thinking, sensing, moving, feeling, and imagining. By increasing awareness, you will learn to abandon habitual patterns of movement and develop new alternatives, resulting in improved flexibility and coordination. Many lessons are based on developmental movements and common functional activities (reaching, standing, lying to sitting, looking behind yourself, etc.). Some are based on more abstract explorations of joint, muscle and postural relationships. There are hundreds of ATM lessons, varying in difficulty and complexity, for all levels of movement ability. A lesson generally lasts 30 to 60 minutes.
Functional Integration®
Private Feldenkrais lessons, called Functional Integration (FI) lessons are tailored to the student's individual learning needs. The practitioner uses skilled touch and guided movement to facilitate improved coordination of the nervous, muscular and skeletal systems. These lessons occur with the student fully clothed and lying or sitting on a low padded table or in standing. Functional Integration lessons provide an accelerated learning environment for people with more difficult needs or those seeking more individual attention for their particular concern.
