Introducing the Feldenkrais Method ® of Somatic Education:

Your Path to Freedom of Movement

Do you experience pain, discomfort or fatigue while sitting at the computer all day? Does standing for hours at work leave you uncomfortable and irritable? Are you playing golf as well as you wish you could? Does chronic pain stop you from doing what you want to do in your life? Are you doing less, when you want to be doing more?

When experiencing a physical challenge, most of us have learned to look for a structural cause, and we turn to forceful interventions to “fix” us. We lift weights to strengthen weak muscles, stretch to lengthen short muscles, have a massage to loosen tight muscles, get chiropractic manipulations to align us, or even have surgery to correct some structural problem. Rarely do we consider that our unconscious habits of movement, performed over many years, may have led to our current physical complaints or pain (or even to the currently existing structural problem).

Our habits of movement derive from our life experience. Such experiences as learning to move in culturally appropriate ways, playing sports or musical instruments, experiencing injury or trauma, doing repetitive movements all day at work, or sitting in chairs have taught us to use ourselves in ways that may be limiting or even damaging in the long run. Habits, by definition, are not in our awareness. We are not aware of what we do. We lose sight of alternatives to what we do that may be easier and more comfortable.

Watch a young child at play. See the freedom and joy in her running, jumping, skipping, and exploring. That once was you. Increased limitation does not have to be linked to increasing age. The Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education can help you rediscover your innate capacity for graceful, joyful, and easy movement.

Developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais in the 1940’s, The Feldenkrais Method uniquely synthesizes his knowledge of mechanics, physics, child development, learning theory, psychology, neurology, linguistics, and the martial arts. The Method is an educational system that utilizes exploration of movement as a means to re-train the brain. By engaging with easy, yet unusual movement sequences, one’s innate capacity to learn is stimulated. This exploratory process not only increases one’s movement options, but also changes how one thinks, feels, and creates. More and more avenues of self-expression begin to emerge. Today, over 5000 practitioners worldwide teach this innovative method.

The Method is taught in two different formats. In group Awareness Through Movement® classes, students explore gentle movement sequence variations guided by verbal instructions from the teacher. These movement explorations link attention, perception, sensation, and imagination with movement. In the private lesson format, known as Functional Integration®, the student is guided through movement variations by the gentle and non-invasive touch of the teacher. The lesson is individually tailored to the specific needs of the student. What is sought is new experience, a new way of organizing the neuromuscular system into a more functional pattern. Students learn to rely on their own internal sensations to guide them toward greater ease and sense of well-being in their movement. Both group Awareness Through Movement lessons and private Functional Integration lessons are supportive environments where exploration, play, and creativity are recognized for their value in the process of learning and discovery.

Benefits of the Method include:

Reduced Pain Improved Flexibility and Coordination Expanded Breathing Improved Posture and Balance Reduced Stress

Reduced Tension and Fatigue Greater Ease in Daily Activities Improved Athletic and Stage Performance Enhanced Creativity Increased Awareness

The Feldenkrais Method also can help people with cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s, MS, and other neurological disorders participate more fully in their lives.

Nancy Agnew and Karen Dold are Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioners^cm, having completed the professional training program under the auspices of the FELDENKRAIS GUILD of North America. Their practice, Move with Elan*, is based in Chapel Hill. They teach Awareness Through Movement classes in Durham, Carrboro, and Hillsborough.

Nancy or Karen would be delighted to work with you, or do a workshop with your sports team, chorus, civic group, work group, or club. They can facilitate your discovering easier and more efficient ways of doing what you love to do. Call 919-967-8013 with questions, to schedule an appointment, to arrange for a workshop, or to request to be put on their e-mailing list.

How would your life be different if you rediscovered the effortless, elegant movement that you expressed when you were a child? Would you like to find out?

©2004

Karen Dold, GCFP

Nancy Agnew, GCFP

Move With Elan

Chapel Hill, NC 27516

919-967-8013

info@movewithelan.com

www.movewithelan.com

You may reproduce and distribute this article freely, so long as you do not charge for it and this notice and our contact information are retained intact with it.

Experience

Learning

Awareness and

Novelty through Movement

*ELAN: (noun) vitality, flair, elegance, enthusiasm, or vigorous spirit

Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Functional Integration®, and Awareness Through Movement® are registered service marks; and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner^cm and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher^cm are certification marks of The FELDENKRAIS GUILD.