This week, I’m getting ready for a trip to the Netherlands, where I’ll be presenting a session called Feldenkrais in Practice at the ESTA (European String Teachers Association) conference. Each year, ESTA chooses a theme—and this time, it aligns beautifully with the Feldenkrais approach: From the Inside – Out. My presentation is based on a 4-week course I … More How long is short enough for a new practice?
How do you respond when you reach your limits? I was teaching some of my small (6 year old) violin pupils this week how to synchronise the finger notes together with the bowing. It’s one of the trickiest transitions, as you put two things together that a beginner might still find tricky. The difference in … More What are your limits?
These last few weeks I’ve been thinking about emotions as I grieve, how we hold onto them, or allow them to pass through us. I’ve noticed when I’ve been holding myself “up” or “together”, and finding that it isn’t very useful. What’s been more useful has been to let go of those holding patterns, along … More Holding Grief
What’s your favourite thing about Spring? I am so pleased March has arrived, and the dark of winter is finally over. Along with the crocuses. For me, the change in light and arrival of blossom always changes my mood. And with that comes a change in body state. I’m not as cold, so I tend … More Sensing Spring
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
Transform how you move, feel and live 