Week 22 - learning about the Feldenkrais method

Now I bet this is a week where not a single one of you knows what the hell the title of the subject means.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  (Catherine, you do not count).  Up until about five months ago, I too, didn't have a clue and had never heard the word Feldenkrais.  It is actually the surname of Moshe Feldenkrais, an Israeli scientist, engineer and Judo instructor who was prolific in the mid 20th century.

Confused still?  Well I'll tell you how I came upon the Feldenkrais method.  During the last few intense months I have had in therapy, one of the things I have always said to my therapist is that I don't feel very in tune with my body.  It turns out there is a much bigger picture there with me not being particular in touch with my self but that is another long story, in which I bare my soul.  The less intense part is that I just don't feel a particular connection with my body and what its doing.  I don't mean whether I have feelings in my body, like pain and discomfort - that I have a lot of the time because of all of my back issues.  That kind of stuff I maintain with pilates and regular massage.  What I mean is more emotional, internal, subtle.  Its like when people say to me that they can feel things in their heart or they can visualise colours and shapes in their tummy.  I literally have no idea what they are talking about and sometimes feel that I can be devoid of emotion and connection.

So, I asked my therapist if she could recommend anything that would help me get in touch with my body a bit more and she recommended the Feldenkrais method.  The fact that it is Israeli was obviously a bit of a draw for me as well, so I decided to investigate.  

Moshe Feldenkrais was an Israeli scientist and physicist who lived in Paris in the 1930's working at the Curie Institute. He also founded the first Ju Jitsu club in France and developed several moves and sequences of his own.  Then, an injury to his knee from his youth threatened him with severe disability in middle age. Despite being given little hope of ever walking normally, Feldenkrais refused surgery and instead applied his extensive knowledge of anatomy, physiology, psychology and engineering, as well as his mastery of martial arts, to healing his own knee.

Feldenkrais is not therapy per se, its an educational method focusing on learning and movement, which can bring about improved movement and enhanced functioning.  It is intended to stimulate your kinaesthetic senses and apparently has a profound effect on one's ability to move more freely, with greater ease, flexibility, grace and range. 

I found the Feldenkrais UK website and decided that it would be a good introduction to have a one-to-one session to begin with.  I met with Orna, an Israeli teacher for over 25 years at her home studio and began by telling her my brief story.  I noticed straight away how sweet, quiet and light Orna was, not so typical of an Israeli woman but perhaps more typical of someone who is knowledgeable about and graceful with their own body.

I didn't quite know what to expect and whether I would be doing much of the work in our session but it was very relaxed indeed.  I lay face down on her table for the majority of the time and just lay comfortably while Orna touched and moved parts of my body in a fairly subtle way. She said that she could see I was very scrunched and tense around my shoulders but that I was very flexible.  I've never really thought of myself as particularly flexible but I went with it.   She certainly showed me very subtle movements that seemed to give me greater range in my shoulders and arms and leave me with a sense of openness.  

Orna told me that the one on one sessions are meant to stimulate ones physical senses with just the right amount of information they need to modify restricting habitual patterns associated with pain, limitations in mobility or low self-esteem.  Certainly a bold statement but then again, I think this is meant for people who have been going for a very long time.  This was just one session I had with her and even though it wasn't about to change my whole outlook and habits, I definitely felt more open and relaxed after the session.

Moshe Feldenkrais with Magic Johnson

To really give it a good shot and appreciate the system, I felt like a one on one wasn't quite enough for me, so I followed up a few days later with a group session, also led by Orna.  There are actually plenty of centres around London that offer group Feldenkrais classes, which I suppose I was a little surprised at, being that this is not a mainstream movement.  Even Orna said to me that the majority of her clients are all from word of mouth.  She does a class twice a week at JW3 on Finchley Road so I went the other evening with an open and curious mind and the knowledge I had from our previous session together.

Five of us were in the class and all took our places lying down on mats on the floor.  Unlike the one on one session where I just lay back and surrendered, with the group class, we were under the verbal guidance of Orna, leading us through a sequence of movements.  Everything started on the right side and developed quite organically from very simple exercises to more complex sequences and would then change over to the left side.  I found it very interesting - from a simple initial movement on my right side and trying to raise my left arm over my head and touch the floor, which at first hurt and was quite difficult, to advancing through the movements with a few developed changes and me finding it surprisingly easy to do the same exercise again.

 Even through that short, one hour class I could totally see how my body can move more freely and with a greater range and flexibility.  I guess its all about learning to adapt better to our patterns of movement and becoming aware of how we really use our body. Its about using our innate intelligence and natural capabilities to refine our body and become more open.  I think there is definitely merit in the Feldenkrais method, particularly for those who struggle with their postures, daily movements and general flexibility.  I'm not sure that it gave me exactly what I wanted but then, nothing rarely does on the first go, it needs to be a committed interest and that is something I am definitely considering.