One of my individual clients was confused about what we were doing in lessons. She was used to a physio model where you’re given exercises and do repetitions a set amount of times per day. With clear instructions as to which muscles are being strengthened. So what we were doing felt very different. I was making a salad, chopping endless amounts of lettuce for lunch this afternoon, and thought about her question.
The difference is that Feldenkrais thinks about the whole person. It’s an organic learning process that helps you to find ease in your functional movement. We’re looking at the whole system. It’s complex, so a fixed input/output idea isn’t as useful in our way of thinking. Our natural way of learning is more organic than this.
Efficiency of your skeletal organisation
In Feldenkrais we’re looking at the layer below strength. At the efficiency of your skeletal organisation. We’re looking to reduce tension. So your muscle-skeletal system can work better, and you can sense more of yourself at the same time. Excess tension gets in the way. In order to sense that, you have to be able feel it. To be aware of it. This is often the part that’s missing. If you can feel how the connection
To learn to sense the difference between more or less tension. Learning is at its basis, the ability to feel differences.
It’s not just the skeleton, of course, it includes muscles too. We’re looking to balance out the muscles, to help with that reduction of tension. To help you feel more of yourself.
But unlike physio we work on the premise that the issue is at mind-level, rather than muscular. It’s not about how often you repeat a movement in a mind-less way, but rather moving with mind-fulness. The learning is feeling new connections between parts of yourself that felt separate. I’ve had clients who couldn’t feel their ankles, or pelvis, or back. If you can’t feel it, you can’t organise it. This kind of somatic learning is being able to sense not only what you’re doing, but how you’re doing it.
How we think about ourselves affects everything.
Our self image is what holds the key to how we move. Our neuroses in physical form if you like.
We tend to cut ourselves into parts. My shoulder, my arm, my psoas muscle. All things that people have come into my teaching room, and commented on. But in functional movement, we don’t move isolated parts, but movements are whole body. It’s that you might not be aware of that.
The Feldenkrais Method is a way of learning to include more of yourself in your self-image. Learning and experience is what changes the sensory-motor maps in the brain. And it’s in this arena that we’re working.
As you reduce tension, you can feel more of yourself at the same time. Which in turn means you can work out where you’re adding unnecessary effort and learn to reduce it.
We need to think about Proportional Effort.
Improving the skill with which you move, to use yourself better. Getting the big muscles to carry the bigger load.
Let’s take cutting vegetables. Assuming you have a sharp knife, what part of yourself do you use to cut your veg?
Most likely you’re thinking about your hand and arm.
But at cooking school, chefs learn a different approach. One that’s more whole body.
Try it yourself.
Cut a vegetable the way you usually do.
Then, put one foot a little in front of the other (keep the feet shoulders’ width apart). Then practice shifting your weight backwards and forwards between your feet. Take your pelvis backwards and forwards with you. The pelvis attaches to the biggest muscles in the body. Lightly hold your arm still in front of you, and continue the rocking. If you’re doing it correctly, you should see your arm moving backwards and forwards in space, without moving the hand directly. Use this motion as the basis for your cutting (you’ll need to still move a little up and down) and feel the difference. It will feel a little strange to start. But as you get used to it, it should mean you need less power in the hand and arm, so can cut for longer, without strain. You can use the forward or backwards motion to power the cut (depending on what you’re cutting)
It’s this kind of idea that we use in Feldenkrais: Proportional Effort. Getting the larger parts of the body to join in, so the more delicate areas don’t over-strain.
Let me know how you get on!
We’ll be continuing the theme of connecting the ribs with your walking for this month.
I’m taking a break from classes over August, but you’ll have plenty of lessons in the library to keep you busy if you’re a member!
Would you like to work with me? Contact me for a free short discovery consultation. Send me an email, or phone me (07939277189). If I can’t pick up, leave me a message with some times to reach you.
Transform how you move, feel and live 