Love. We all know the feelings. Different stages, different types of love. What kind of feeling of love do you prefer? I had one friend when I was younger, let’s call him James, who wanted to feel that first flush of love all the time. When the sensation changed, as James got to know the … More What’s love got to do with it?
In the Feldenkrais Method if awareness is King, the skeleton is the Queen. In every lesson, we keep part of our focus on the skeletal system. It does so much for us. Just some of them: I was excited to come across a recent article, that tells us of newer research on bones. It seems … More What’s your skeleton ever done for you?
How do you know you’re improving in Feldenkrais lessons? In the Feldenkrais Method we don’t have belts of learning, like you would in martial arts. Feldenkrais has such an individual effect, so it wouldn’t quite work. We explore movements on the floor, like a 3D puzzle. And when you get up, you often stand and … More Seeing progress
Part of the week, I work in a school teaching violin to 5-11 year olds. The 5 year olds have a bit of trouble with zips. Especially double zips. In September they can’t do it themselves, they don’t often try, and yet by January, it’s a different story. Some of them need a little help … More Making the Easy Elegant
As musicians, our physical self is the primary instrument. And I write”physical self”, rather than “body” because the brain and body work together. All of the time. They never act separately. It’s simply not possible. And whether you’re a musician or not, every movement we make is together with a thought, an emotion, and a … More The brain and body work together.
Collective Celebration New Year’s is a collective celebration of resilience—a reminder that we’ve made it through another orbit around the Sun. While 2024 brought its challenges, I hope it also brought moments of joy and connection. In tough times, I’ve found that keeping a gratitude list can be a grounding practice. Not as blind optimism, … More A New Year
Over the weekend, I’ll be teaching at Limmud, in Birmingham. It’s a Jewish learning festival, usually held over the Christmas period, where I started introducing Feldenkrais 7 years ago. It’s a festival that has it’s own flavour. There is a massive range of topics, and sessions run alongside each other. One of ideas is that … More Learning
This week I’ve been at a live segment of Childspace, a child development course, closely related to Feldenkrais. I was quite quiet for a lot of it, as I lost my voice on the first day, but it was a fascinating experience. One of the important things we’ve been learning about is this transition from … More Finding Ease in the Shoulders
How do you think of posture? For many people, it’s a thing. Good posture or bad. People with good posture have their shoulders back, and head up. Bad posture is associated with slouching. Good is a perfect ratio between the head, neck and shoulders. Something to get, to have, to keep. Shoulders and head not … More On Posture
Shoulder problems are one of the common reasons people come to see me. The shoulder joint is a work of art. It’s fixed to the skeleton via the collar bones at the front. And has a large range of fascia and muscles attaching it at the back, sides and front. It’s massive range of movement … More Exploring the Shoulders
the Feldenkrais Method with Emma Alter 