Feldenkrais


Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984) was a scientist, a  judo practitioner, and an independent thinker. He developed  a method for self improvment based on organic learning. This method provides the means for learning how to act in new and different ways through movement: Every action we make requires movement of one or another part of the body, and it is the whole body that needs to organize itself in order to support it, maintain its balance and continue moving.

 

This movement is functional, which means it has an end or a purpose, whether it is to move around or to manipulate objects. This constant process of organization and reorganization called movement is conditioned by the brain’s ability to recognize the location of the body in space, and is based on habits. These habits are patterns of action learned through personal experience. Habitually we tend to judge these habits thinking that we should encourage the good ones and repress the bad ones.

 

But beyond this judgment which depends on one's personal belief system, it is very important to understand that every habit serves you so you could function normally, repeating what you are accoustomed to. But your normal is usually far from your possible optimum.

The Feldenkrais method is based on the idea that we can improve our ability to move and act beyond the habitual level. This improvement means the possibility to do more things, more comfortably and with more ease, and to feel better what is being done. In order to change actual habits, create new ones, improve the awareness of what you do or better adjust what you do with what you really want to, different conditions from those governing daily life should be created.

 

A deep understanding of the conditions that facilitate learning, together with a huge amount of lessons that break the human movement into its elements and reintegrate it, are what enables the Feldenkrais practitioner to tailor a learning process to his client or student.

 

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