Tag Archives: natural movement

Taking Movement Investigation Beyond the Studio

Practicing Feldenkrais is about cultivating curiosity about your physical (and mental) self. Here’s a great example from Seth Dellinger. He’s a Feldenkrais teacher who continues to expand his horizons, looking for opportunities to play beyond the studio.

Start Small

John Tarr with a friend, practicing parkour.

Playful practice: John Cedric Tarr with friend.

John Cedric Tarr guided Seth recently in a parkour exploration. Parkour is a training discipline using movement that developed from military obstacle course training.

One rule: you start with something simple—ridiculous—and gradually increase the level of difficulty. You play at the boundaries, just like you do in an Awareness Through Movement lesson.

Seth writes: “The main thing isn’t being a daredevil, but yes, you must face your fears. So, start small, where everything is entirely safe!  Jumping from one ledge to another is no different than jumping from one line on the sidewalk to another. So start practicing your precision jumps where the height of the jump doesn’t pose any danger. And start with short jumps . . . there’s no hurry!”

Practicing Parkour

Another practical tip from Seth: “One of the key ingredients to turning the environment into my playground is making decisions.

  1. I look around for something to do.
  2. I decide: I will jump over that bench.
  3. I decide how I will jump over that bench: I will put my hands right THERE in order to support myself and swing my legs over.”

I’m hoping John and Seth will both come teach at Dallas Movement Lab this year.

Meanwhile, read the rest of Seth’s blog here.

Like to see the basics of parkour? Check out the video below. Six packs not essential.

Not ready to take on a self-designed obstacle course? Take a walk in an unfamiliar park or neighborhood. Or try crawling across your living room rug. Forwards and backwards and sideways.