Today, our guest author is Michael Tweed-Kent, writing about the Fledenkrais method®. Just a reminder, the the 6-week Feldenkrais series begins Thursday, February 5, and the 6-week Alexander Technique series begins Monday February 10.
With each series, you can sign up for all six classes, or you can drop in to individual sessions.
Feldenkrais and Awareness
by Michael Tweed-Kent
The Feldenkrais Method was founded by an Israeli physicist and Judo master named Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984). In 1946, Feldenkrais sustained a knee injury while playing soccer.
Faced with a risky surgery, he opted instead to undergo a period of self-examination to see if he could re-learn to walk in a way that didn’t pain his knee. What emerged from these investigations would form the basis of the Feldenkrais Method®.
The movements done in Feldenkrais classes, also known as Awareness Through Movement®, are often extremely simple. For example, do the following movement several times: move your first finger in the direction of touching your thumb.
Now Observe:
In addition to your first finger moving toward your thumb, is your thumb also moving toward your first finger? Can you move only your first finger and not your thumb? Can you do this without squeezing your thumb? And how about your other fingers: are they moving unintentionally too?
For many people, this simple differentiation of the first finger from the thumb and other fingers can prove a great challenge. So how does one go about learning to improve this movement or any other?
For Feldenkrais, the answer is awareness. As he used to say, “When you know what you do, you can do what you want.” But this begs a further question: how does one become aware? The answer to this is twofold.
More Time, Less Effort
First, you must give yourself enough time to observe what you are doing; this means going extremely slowly. Second, you must reduce your effort so that your nervous system can detect subtle changes in your movement.
To illustrate this point, imagine for a moment that you are in a room with 100 lightbulbs on and someone turns one off. Would you notice a change in the amount of light in the room? Probably not.
Now imagine that you are in a room with only three lightbulbs on and someone turns one off. Would you notice a change in light then? Absolutely.
Awareness Gives Choices
The same principle holds for our bodies. The less effort we use, the easier it becomes for us to detect subtle differences in the way we move, and the more we become aware the more we can do what we want. (For further reading, see this fascinating article written by Feldenkrais titled “Learning to Learn”)
Keeping this in mind, give the finger-to-thumb movement another go, this time moving more slowly and reducing your effort. Does it become easier to move your first finger alone?
Come Explore
We will explore these and many other types of movements that will lead you to feel more comfortable in your own body, to have more energy throughout the day, and to be able to do whatever it is you want to do in life with greater ease, freedom, and pleasure.
I leave you with a quick video about a baby learning to roll on her side that I think captures the spirit of the Feldenkrais Method. I’m looking forward to seeing you in class.
Michael Tweed-Kent
FGNA Authorized Awareness Through Movement Teacher
