Feldenkrais
Movement is the language of the brain. It is the mechanism through which the brain grows, wires itself, forms patterns, action, expectation – the organisation and evolution of movement emerges and grows hand in hand with cognition.
The Feldenkrais Method develops a functional awareness of the self in the environment, knowing where you are in space (in gravity).
Feldenkrais Method
The Feldenkrais Method is accessible through individual sessions called Functional Integration or in a group setting called Awareness through Movement lessons.
Key Principles
A brain can reorganise function in response to learning or trauma.
Neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to be rewired by the input it receives.
Awareness of movement is the key to improving movement
Differentiation – making the smallest possible sensory distinctions between movements – builds brain maps.
Slowness of movement is the key to awareness, and awareness is the key to learning
Reduce the effort whenever possible
Random movements provide variation that leads to developmental breakthroughs
Even the smallest movement in one part of the body involves the entire body
Many movement problems, and the pain that goes with them, are caused by learned habit, not by abnormal structure
Through movement we experience our world.
How is Feldenkrais different to other modalities?
A Feldenkrais practitioner experiences an intense four years of movement exploration as part of their training. Lying on the floor experiencing how we find our first breath, using our eyes to orientate, mouth to suckle for nourishment, the flexion in our spine to roll over, the organisation required to lift our head and then all the way through the developmental sequence to standing.
Feldenkrais practitioners have an embodied experience of this learning so when observing a child or adult I can feel what they know and what is missing from their self image. Whether they are relying on their reflexes, those automatic movements or if I can see a freedom of choice in their bodies.
How would it feel being in the world if you had only one way to move and express yourself… how frustrating and limiting life would seem. Then imagine the joy I get from flooding their bodies with sensory choices, exploring options for growth and then watching new milestones spontaneous evolve.
‘The ability to learn is synonymous with free choice and free will’- Moshe Feldenkrais.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much"
– Helen Keller
