I’ll be heading to Chicago at the end of the month for a week of advanced training. Lots going on before that here in Dallas, both north and south of 635.
in JuneHappy Feldenkrais Week! It begins in the USA today, May 3. To kick off Dallas Feldenkrais festivities, here’s one of my favorite videos, Baby Liv Crawling.
Several times in the last week, the subject of change has come up.
We all come to the Feldenkrais Method® because there’s something we want to change about ourselves.
Maybe it’s an ongoing problem—I had shoulder and neck spasms that wouldn’t go away.
Maybe it’s something about we want to improve. For example, I’m working with someone right now who’s training for a half-marathon. We’re focusing on efficient running.
Moshe Feldenkrais demonstrates.
Moshe Feldenkrais himself created the method because he injured his knee. He taught himself how to use it again, and then re-injured the same knee. And again taught himself to use his knee differently.
One of the things we’ll discover, if we commit to the Feldenkrais Method, either through private lessons (Functional Integration®), group classes (Awareness Through Movement®) or both: change happens in fits and starts. We learn, and then we assimilate that learning.
I remember a particular lesson with my Austin practitioner Allison, when I was having neck spasms. I sat up after the FI. She asked me, “What does your neck feel like?” I said, “I can’t feel my neck.” My head seemed to be floating effortlessly.
She said, “Remember what this feels like.”
It was a delicious feeling. And it was comforting. My neck spasms returned a few days later. But now I knew what it felt like to be without them. I’d experienced the sensation. I knew that I could find that feeling again. I felt hopeful.
In the preface to Awareness Through Movement, Dr. Feldenkrais writes:
. . . the learning process is irregular and consists of steps. . . there will be downs as well as ups. . . . We must not become discouraged. . . if we find we have slipped back to the original condition at any time; these regressions will become rarer and return to the improved condition easier as the learning process continues.”
The good news: we can all change and improve the ease, grace and pleasure of our self-use, if we choose. We have more available to us than we are currently using. And the more we learn, the easier and more efficient the learning process becomes.
What are you waiting for?
As many of you know, it can be hard to explain the Feldenkrais Method. It’s profoundly experiential, and, if you have just one lesson, it might not be the lesson which sparks your curiosity. Someone who recently took a workshop told me that he felt the movements weren’t well explained: he didn’t understand their purpose.
ATM class. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor. Copyright 2005.
Awareness through Movement is a kind of self-exploration and learning new to many of us. Some are drawn to it immediately. Some respond over time. And some people find it annoying and slow.
Occasionally frustrating for people is the fact that I don’t generally demonstrate the movements. Because it’s not about how I do the movement, but about how you discover the movements for yourself.
I recently attended a health fair at Texas Women’s University where I had a chance to describe the method repeatedly. (Special thanks to Chré for inviting me—and what a gorgeous facility!) I said, with variations: “We all tend to move habitually. Feldenkrais helps us find movements options we forgot or perhaps never discovered. It expands our choices, and reduces wear and tear on our joints. It’s an excellent complement to physical therapy. Usually people in the USA discover the method after they’ve exhausted other possibilities, to alieve chronic pain, conditions like fibromyalgia, or recover from surgery.”
That explanation seemed to convey the purpose of the method; but I’d love info from those of you who swear by the method: does the explanation match your experience? How do you describe Feldenkrais when asked?
Thanks for any feedback you can give me.
If you’ve been curious about the Feldenkrais Method® and live or work close to downtown Dallas, please join us for the February Awareness Through Movement® series at Our Space.
Awareness Through Movement class.
It’s a four-week series, running from Thurs., Feb. 7 through Feb. 28, 7-8 pm.
Cost: $48 Early-Bird (thru Feb. 1); $54 in advance; $60 at the door if there’s room. Click here to register.
Limit: 10.
Awareness Through Movement (ATM®) is the group version of Feldenkrais. In each class, you’ll be guided through a series of small movements as you lie on a mat, sit on a chair, or stand. Each class focuses on a particular function or movement pattern.
Feldenkrais is powerful, effective, and practical, a kind of somatic education that reconnects learning with health and function. It’s an excellent complement to yoga and other kinds of movement, and to physical and occupational therapy.
Situated in a beautiful loft at Southside on Lamar, Our Space supports holistic understanding of individuals, relationships, and communities. They offer counseling, meditation classes, and now Feldenkrais!
There’s plenty of parking–just drive on Belleview, past Southside and the Nylo Hotel, to the end of the block. You’ll find a guest parking lot on your right.
It’s a new year and I’m delighted to be kicking it off with a new series in South Dallas, at Our Space at Southside on Lamar.
Awareness Through Movement lesson®.
I’ll continue to offer the MoveStudio series–it’s a beautiful space, with excellent staff, and always a pleasure to visit. It’s especially satisfying to teach those of you who’ve been taking Awareness Through Movement at Move on an ongoing basis. Because you know how to look after yourselves and to pace and shape a lesson to suit your needs, I’m able to teach more challenging lessons on occasion–you’re helping me grow as a teacher. I’m very grateful.