by Sherie Winslow Soon after we are born we begin flailing our arms and kicking our feet. During the first year of life we make our demands and wishes known in any way we can -- throwing the bowl of green peas over the edge of the highchair, stripping off a diaper and running naked out the front door. If another child has a toy we want, we grab it. If denied anything, we may cry or shriek, and it doesn´t matter to us whether we´re in the privacy of our home or out in public.
Somewhere along the way, we learn that society frowns on such antics and we learn to hold back. We not only learn to hold back in our verbalizing, but we learn to hold back physically. We don't squirm in our chair in a meeting, even though we may be uncomfortable. We don't kick a trash can out of the way. We don't run and play and dance in the middle of the street if the mood strikes. We learn restraint.
By the time we are adults, or even sooner, years of physical restraint have taken their toll.
Back pain and stiffness are typical examples of how our bodies (and subconscious) react. Back pain and stiffness are often caused by straining muscles that are already tight, typically due to a lifetime of habitual restraint of movement, and stresses that are held in the body as tension. When muscles are already tight, any movement can cause pain, which in turn causes more restraint to keep from producing more pain -- which in turn causes even more muscle tension.
After enough repeats of this pattern, our subconscious gets the idea: Take it easy. Don't move so much.
The typical response to pain is to seek medical assistance. Pain killers, muscle relaxants, and immobilization might temporarily solve the problem. But until there is awareness of the things that caused the lack of movement in the first place, no real change will be made. Old habits will be there, ready to pull tense muscles into another round of pain at the slightest wrong move.
The Feldenkrais Method uses a series of gentle movements designed to allow rediscovery of comfortable movements of the body -- a re-learning of what we instinctively knew as children. The aim is to use the skeleton efficiently so that muscles don't have to work overtime, and so one part of the skeleton isn't working harder than another, creating an imbalance and strain.
The Feldenkrais Method was developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais (pronounced FEL-den-krice) in the 1960s. After a debilitating knee injury, he found himself unable to walk, but turned down the prescribed surgery. As a physicist and engineer, he brought a scientific mind to seeking a solution to his problem: He began to wonder if his inability to walk had more to do with something he himself had done after the injury -- possibly adapting to the limitation in such a way that actually made the pain worse -- than it did to the injury itself.
His background as an athlete and his skills in the martial arts -- as well as his knowledge of physics and biomechanics -- helped him develop a program for himself that consisted of small intentional movements and awareness of different ways to function. In time he retrained his body and was able to walk again -- without pain.
After fully developing his system, he began training practitioners in Tel Aviv in 1969. By the time of his death in 1984, he had trained 300 practitioners, mostly in the United States.
Stress produces tension which causes pain which then causes immobility. Awareness Through Movement, the first half of the Feldenkrais Method, is a pattern of gentle movements that are done repeatedly under the direction of a Feldenkrais practitioner. There are hundreds of possible patterns and they can be chosen to deal directly with what is needed. Besides the physical movements, the patterns involve thinking and imagining, and may involve exploring the relationships between posture, muscles, and joints.
Through slow repetition comes discovery of changes and self-awareness of how the body moves, what causes pain, and what doesn't. Patients become aware of their habitual physical patterns and rigidities, or those caused by illness or accident. Through the feedback from these movements, the nervous system learns new ways of functioning. The Feldenkrais Method does not treat conditions. Rather, it helps to discover better ways of functioning.
In Functional Integration, the other half of the Feldenkrais Method, the practitioner uses touch to communicate and to encourage use of the different, expanded movement patterns. Each pattern is tailored to the patient's needs and desires, with the work being done while the patient lies on a table. The response to each movement gives the practitioner hands-on information about how the body is being used. At the same time the practitioner offers suggestions for different ways of moving, providing a new physical experience and a chance for the nervous system to develop a wider range of movement patterns.
Who can benefit from using the Feldenkrais Method?
- Those who experience pain in hips, legs, knee, shoulders, neck, and back.
- Those who want to avoid injury from repetitive motions on the job, or who already suffer from it.
- Those who have central nervous system conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, or cerebral palsy.
- Pregnant women who want to avoid backache.
- Senior citizens who want to expand their ability to move or regain what they have lost.
- People who need to learn new relaxation and coping techniques.
- Those who want to be at their best before beginning exercise programs.
- People suffering from fibromyalgia and other chronic pain.
- Athletes who wish to increase their performance.
- Anyone who wants to overcome limitations caused by stress, illness, or accident.
- Musicians who want to learn new, less strained positions for their hands and fingers.
- Those who want to feel better physically and mentally.
The Feldenkrais Method isn't a cure for disease. A longtime practitioner, Lawrence W. Goldfarb, said in a Web site article, "Feldenkrais isn't about curing or fixing people. It isn't a medical treatment, it's an educational approach. It's about helping people get control back into their lives by understanding why they feel the way they do and by learning how to move differently so that they don't have to keep feeling that way. Even when someone has an organic problem or disease, I can help them. For instance, when I work with people who have arthritis, my job isn't to get rid of the disease, my job is to help them move so that they don't stress the affected joints and so that they can find more comfortable, safer, ways to do what they want to do." How to Begin
- Online lessons
There are numerous sites online which give sample lessons. Begin with one that interests you, print it out (unless it instructs you to remain seated at the computer and read from the screen), and follow the steps.
- Tapes and books
Many Feldenkrais sites online offer tapes and books for sale. The most well-known publication in the field is Body and Mature Behavior by Moshe Feldenkrais, first published in 1949. In this book, considered a classic, Feldenkrais first explains his theories and observations on how patterns of movement and posture are acquired.
- Practitioners and group or individual sessions in your area can be found through the Feldenkrais Guild, below.
Caveats
- Consult a medical doctor first for any acute or chronic pain. Don't attempt to treat yourself. Once the pain is diagnosed Feldenkrais Methods can be used to bring about changes in physical movement.
- There should be no pain experienced during a session. If there is, stop or do less. This is most important if you're using tapes or online lessons, and do not have a practitioner present. After all, the motto of Feldenkrais is, "No pain, more gain."
Chose your practitioner carefully
When searching for a practitioner, either for an individual or group session, make sure that the practitioner you select is trained in the Feldenkrais Methods, not someone who's just read the books or listened to the tapes. All Feldenkrais practitioners have completed 800-1000 hours of training over a three- to four-year period.
Copyright 1999 Sherie Winslow
First seen on AOL AltMed - Reproduced by permission. Resources
To find a practitioner in your area
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- http://www.nas.com/~richf/pastlow.htm
- http://www.somatic.com/lesson.html#top
- http://www.feldenkrais.com/atms.html
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