Body Wise*

By Kim Cottrell

To learn more
about the
Feldenkrais Method®,
go to www.feldenkraisguild.com.

To learn more about
the way Kim Cottrell Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner incorporates the Feldenkrais work into her practice, go to www.kimcottrell.com.

*The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat ANY medical condition.

Part Two
The Feldenkrais Method

By Kim Cottrell

Part one described the individuals who are drawn to the Feldenkrais Method® and the benefits they gain. Go to part one.

Moshe Feldenkrais developed the Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Education as part of his recovery from a serious knee injury. An athlete and physicist, his method emphasizes the individual’s capacity to learn how to learn and furthers the growth of a mature self-image leading to a more potent life. For decades, people have been using the Feldenkrais Method¨ to enhance performance and change habits that create limitations.

For self-motivated and curious individuals, curious about improving the quality of their lives, there are two strategies through which to learn about changing old habits and learning new options.

During the Awareness Through Movement® aspect of Feldenkrais’s work, a practitioner guides you through a sequence of movements that relate to the action you are studying. This process of exploring specific actions promotes understanding of your tendencies and highlights new possibilities. The practitioner then weaves connections between the lesson and everyday activities.

Classes are typically taught once a week and workshops range in length from a few hours to a weekend or an entire week. Students wear loose, comfortable clothing and lessons are frequently taught while students lie or sit on the floor. The practitioner guides the students’ attention and awareness to finer and finer details, increasing the ability to notice and make subtle changes.

The goal of the Feldenkrais work is not to achieve a particular goal, though it can be exhilarating to accomplish something you didn’t think was possible. The objective is to learn to focus your efforts in a distributed manner, to notice what it is that prevents freedom of movement, and to learn to access and use your whole self.

The movement lessons Feldenkrais designed, and there are hundreds, are exquisite in their complexity. All were based on simple developmental activities, movements that children learn and explore through trial and error, movements that adults have forgotten in their day-to-day lives.

Individuals wishing to personalize their learning can participate in Functional Integration® lessons, the other aspect of the Feldenkrais Method®. In these private sessions, the practitioner guides the student with hands-on feedback and facilitates a greater awareness of what the range of possibilities might be. This means that whether someone arrives complaining of pain or discomfort in a relationship, the practitioner begins a process of inquiry into how that person sits, stands, walks, and travels through life to get a better understanding of the student’s habits.

The Feldenkrais Method® process is deeply personal and is focused so the individual gains understanding of self in order to make lasting changes in everyday life. It is only by changing one’s posture, perspective, and actions that we have a possibility of not repeating patterns that create suffering and difficulty.

To summarize, if you participate in the classes and private sessions of the Feldenkrais Method®, you can expect to learn more about your habits and compulsions. You can expect to develop and hone your attention and awareness skills and find ways to distribute the effort of an activity throughout your skeletal form. In addition, when the movements require less effort, you can expect to find freedom and a greater sense of possibility. And, with that greater sense of possibility, other aspects of your life begin to shift and change. You can gain access to a more potent you.

To learn more about the Feldenkrais Method®, go to www.feldenkraisguild.com. To learn more about the way Kim Cottrell Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner incorporates the Feldenkrais work into her practice, go to www.kimcottrell.com.