We seem to have lost the natural ability to move properly, even walk. There is a way to put things right again.

Text: Renate Prandl

Attract health and overall well-being. It is easier than you think. The Feldenkrais® Method is a safe, non-judgmental way to improve the quality of your movements. It helps with your golf or tennis swing, it makes running easier and more efficient, and improves your posture. According to Karl Pribram, MD, Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Sciences, Georgetown University, who is also a winner of the Vaclav Havel Prize, Feldenkrais is not just about pushing muscles around, but it also changes things in the brain itself.

As an educator and trainer I have worked with lots of people who did exercise, but hardly knew how to move, and they include professionals in their respective fields. “I know how to run, sit, or walk”. This is what I hear every day, but do we do all these at the highest possible level with the least effort, without discomfort or pain? In order to improve the quality of the movement you must first be aware of what you do. The Newsweek magazine of April 9, 2007 carries a story that says if we focus and pay attention to detail, slow down, do less, our brain will grow new connections between billions of cells. It was believed that brain cells die as we grow older, but this trend is reversible.

Scientists have coaxed the human brain into growing new nerve cells through exercise. Do less if you want to improve quality. This maxim is universally true. The brain and central nervous system (CNS) need time to create and store new motor and motor- sensory maps. It is like downloading a programme onto your computer’s hard drive. We rush from appointment to appointment, class to class, expert to expert. We do this and that and that and that, all in the hope of speeding up learning and getting better.

Do less! Only when the movement pattern is internally clear and stored in your brain for future use, go and do the things you like – play tennis with more freedom and fun, run better, sit longer with greater comfort. If you know how to do things you can do all the things you want to do.

We are all governed by habits. We keep doing the same over and over with little awareness that poor execution has caused us harm and hurt. Who has not suffered some form of backache? There are so many “100% success guaranteed” methods and strategies on the market, but why are people still suffering? We are constructed similarly, but we all move slightly differently. Finding your own, very unique way helps you function at your highest potential. The Feldenkrais Method will help you in finding your utmost potential, but it usually does not show the movement. You are guided through by verbal instructions or touch. Getting rid of an unwanted habit is challenging and takes time. Go slowly, rest frequently. Even doing a movement in your imagination creates movement in the brain and this can be measured. Feldenkrais clients come from all walks of life: business people, actors, musicians, athletes, runners, tennis players, people recovering from injury or stroke, people in pain. They all have one thing in common – they sabotage their well-being or healing, knowingly or unknowingly. Following are some observations (and conclusions) that I draw from my own experience: People live in the past rather than in the present.
They relive the injury and pain in great detail over and over again. After a Feldenkrais session I often hear them say: “Wow, this is so much easier now, my knees do not hurt, BUT when I fell...” This negative ending overrides the new, positive sensation in the brain immediately. Therefore, I let them rephrase their statement in a positive way.

People love to talk about pain.
It is something familiar. But beware. The more you talk about it, the more you attract it.

People constantly sabotage their own recovery. They focus on what is wrong, what does not work. If you focus on the things which do work it is often surprising and fun, a pre-requisite for true learning.

People are afraid of “learning”, because they think they are being judged.
There is no “right” or “wrong” in a Feldenkrais movement lesson; you are encouraged to explore and make “mistakes”. You find out what works for you. This “discovery” is stored in your brain – FOREVER.

People are afraid of taking responsibility for their health.
It is much easier to blame somebody else for not succeeding. Would you hand over responsibility in your job just like that? Maybe not. Even the most successful people I have worked with struggle transferring their intelligent thinking and approach into the field of personal wellness. Blindly following some advice or a programme often results in frustration and lack of desired results. Listen to the advice of experts with a grain of salt and change the strategy when necessary.

People like to be told and shown what to do.
We all see and hear things differently and selectively. If they have to figure it out themselves some people get anxious. They want to get it “right” and they look what the person next to them does – assuming he or she knows more than they do. Trust yourself – YOU are the ultimate expert when it comes to your body and your brain.

People hold on to destructive belief systems for too long.
“I am not good at it”, “I have always had this pain”. You need to change this destructive belief system from the inside in order to create lasting change or improvement on the outside. In a Feldenkrais lesson you will enjoy the ease of movement, you will figure it out yourself, you will focus on the positive. You will feel good about yourself. Every single person with a body and a brain has the tools to improve performance, health, fitness, and overall well-being.

Explore your body and your brain with an open mind. As the founder of this method, Dr M. Feldenkrais (1904 – 1984) put it: “Make the impossible possible, the possible easy, and the easy elegant.”