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Feldenkrais Method — History & Philosophy</p>
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<p><b>“The lessons are designed to improve ability, that is to expand the boundaries of the possible: to turn the impossible into the possible, the difficult into the easy, and the easy into the pleasant. For only those activities that are easy and pleasant will become part of a man’s habitual life and serve him at all times.” — Moshe Feldenkrais</b></p>
<p>When children first learn to walk, they follow by example to a large extent. An adult may still give no thought to their movements unless they’re an athlete, dancer, musician or forced to respond to pain, trauma or the limitations of disease. There came a time when Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, an Israeli physicist, engineer, judo master, gymnast and soccer player, began to pay attention to his own movements. He had aggravated a knee injury and suffered recurrent pain. Turning to his knowledge of physics and using his own body as a research subject, Feldenkrais devised a means of learning to move beyond habitual patterns of movement. The resulting Feldenkrais Method® allowed him and others to increase efficiency and range of movement, reduce stress, improve posture and flexibility, and function with greater comfort and ease.</p>
<p>Feldenkrais eventually left his career as a physicist and began training practitioners. His body of work is contained in the books he authored, audiotapes and videotapes that document his method, and authorized Feldenkrais training programs around the world. His method has much to do with perceiving the sensory-motor organization underlying our behavior and the belief in the capability of lifelong learning. </p>
<p>Although some may refer to it as bodywork, The Feldenkrais Method® is really a series of lessons, or re-education of the neuro-muscular system. These lessons lead the individual to increased awareness of how they move, sit, stand, indeed function, in relationship to the environment. It allows one to realize the effects of habitual patterns and bodily responses to injury and illness such as tightness, restriction and limitation. And through subtle movements it works toward increased flexibility and balance, decreased tension and strain, and improved breathing, coordination and ease.</p>
<p>The Feldenkrais Method® does not treat medical conditions but enables people to respond differently to them. For those who must deal with specific movement problems and those who seek to enhance their abilities Feldenkrais provides a means of activating one’s self-healing potential through increased awareness, new movement patterns, and enhanced flexibility on a mental as well as physical level.</p>
<p>Worldwide, over 2,000 Feldenkrais teachers can be found in over 20 countries. The Method® has been used in individuals with a variety of <br />
orthopedic and neurologic conditions. It has been taught as a means of increasing flexibility in the elderly. Actors, singers, dancers and athletes have studied it to improve breathing, balance, coordination, and endurance, and in response to injury. Students have used it to improve their mental abilities and self-awareness. Moshe Feldenkrais felt that the benefits of this approach reach far beyond the physical, expanding the range of use of one’s brain power, enhancing self-esteem and improving overall quality of life.</p>
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<p class="timestamp">Content last modified on Mar 26, 2003</p>
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