"The Feldenkrais Method is a form of somatic education that uses gentle movement and directed attention to improve movement and enhance human functioning. Through this Method, you can increase your ease and range of motion, improve your flexibility and coordination, and rediscover your innate capacity for graceful, efficient movement. These improvements will often generalize to enhance functioning in other aspects of your life." - Feldenkrais Website
Today I had a master class taught by a woman Ami who is training in the Feldenkrais Method and I thought it would be interesting to share my experience and observations. I have only briefly been exposed to the ideas of Feldenkrais but I find them interesting even at their most basic level. The idea behind Feldenkrais is to do as much as possible by using as little effort as possible by using the ideas of visualization, a deep understanding of one's own body, and exposure to ways of more effective movement. Testimonials from people of all ages who have undergone Feldenkrais sessions are astounding if not unbelievable at times; it can help anyone from a young and fit athlete who is striving to excellence to an elderly person suffering from chronic pain. In the instance of dance, both the visualization and effective movement techniques save one's body from injury and exhaustion.
One of the most interesting concepts is using the Feldenkrais technique in movement. The idea of "core-distal" movement, or the idea that our limbs and head are connected to and extend from our center like a starfish, has helped me visualize and feel my center more accurately. Understanding how our bodies are connected through tissues, joints, and bones makes movement more efficient. For example, the pathway from standing to sitting can occur in many ways. If we think of our pelvis simply dropping to the floor instead of using our thighs and squatting into a sit we are moving more efficiently. The energy it takes to drop is more efficient than the body making a diagonal downwards.
For a dancer trained in classical ballet and jazz, it has been a humbling experience to feel my body move in "simpler" ways by ridding of old movement habits and revealing a new range of moving. While effective, the class I had today was exhausting. My hips and legs used entirely new muscles as we worked our movement through visualizing our sit and pubic bones. By continuously releasing the tension from my leg muscles, I found a deeper plie, or bend, and therefore a greater, more stable balance. The most interesting thing Ami told us today was to think of our balance as a state of suspension instead of a stop or freeze where our muscles tighten and squeeze to hold a position. Instead she encouraged us to envision an endless movement where we were constantly stabilized due to our deep plie and bodily alignment. For the first time ever, I found I was confident in a position derived from a movement that originally felt chaotic; I found my center of balance without tensing my abdominal muscles, (in fact we didn't use our abs at all!)
Though brief, my experience with Feldenkrais has been refreshing and enlightening and I encourage all to look into the benefits and practices of the method.
"Find your true weakness and surrender to it. Therein lies the path to genius. Most people spend their lives using their strengths to overcome or cover up their weaknesses. Those few who use their strengths to incorporate their weaknesses, who don't divide themselves, those people are very rare. In any generation there are a few and they lead their generation."
- Moshe Feldenkrais
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