When we learn about the body, if we do in school, it’s not always that we learn about the nervous system. We can think of our nervous system as our communication system between the brain and the body. Like an old fashioned telephone exchange. The nerves communicate with electrical signal, which can travel up to … More Our nervous system
Unwrapping yourself One of the things we talked about this weekend was this idea central to Feldenkrais, of stripping back. We used to play this version ofpass the parcel in my family when we were little. The parcel would be wrapped in many layers of wrapping paper, sometimes with chocolates between the layers. When the … More Unwrapping yourself
Straight after an intense week in Brussles, representing the UK Guild at the International Feldenkrais Federation, this week I’ve been teaching teachers on the London Professional Training Programme! It’s great to be back in a learning environment, seeing the learning process, now for the third time around. We were lucky to have the wonderful Mara … More Perception and Feldenkrais
Looking at Anxiety Part 2 The Neurophysiology of Anxiety Anxiety is created in the brain. Like everything else. As a fear based emotion/response it’s part of the sympathetic-parasympathetic system. The fear response is holistic. (Brain-and-body). Adrenalin gets pumped around the body, and its brain equivalent epinephrine, in the brain. The nervous system includes the brain, … More Improve Anxiety
Our past experience creates the thoughts that we have. It is hard to get rid of limitations of thinking and moving created by our experience. But, whilst our bodies and minds may have limitations, our imagination doesn’t. If we can create freer experiences in our imagination, we can create concrete experiences to follow. To the degree we … More Musicians and Imagination
This week is Mental Health Week, something important to me. As someone who has worked hard to become mentally healthy, and now teaches ways to be healthier to others, I wanted to write a little about anxiety. Last week, I played the violin for an event at my synagogue. Those of you who know me, … More Looking at Anxiety
Last week I was back at school teaching children the violin after the holidays. There’s such a range of personalities, and quirkiness in the children. Some who barely say anything, and those who love to talk. Some who complain, and those who say yes to most things I ask them for. And nearly all of … More Beginners’ mind.
Much of Feldenkrais’s thinking was that if we change the way people move, we also change the way that they think. And that’s very much part of the process when we start to work with Feldenkrais. Many of our habits are learnt via a reward-based process, of “negative and positive reinforcement”, whether sensorially, or socially, … More Changing Habits
