This summer I reengaged with Feldenkrais. There is a revival taking place in Seattle. One of the early teachers who studied with Moshe, Jeff Haller, is developing a new training to revive the way Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais first developed the work, as a way to live. It was not meant to be simply a body work modality. For Moshe it was a way of life, he explored movement to heal his own injuries, then brought these lessons to the world. In my words, he went back to the early development stages of a baby, to learn how to orient the body in gravity to move from any position.
I’ve explored a variety of movement work and have two favorites: Continuum and Feldenkrais. Moshe Feldenkrais founded Feldenkrais and Emilie Conrad (Da’Oud) founded Continuum. Both of these teachers came into their prime on the tailwind of Ida Rolf, the creator of Rolfing, or deep connective tissue restructuring. Moshe and Emilie were considered the Mother and Father of the modern body work movement. They used to run workshops at Esalen in the 1960s. Moshe lived from 1904-1984. Emilie lived from 1934-2014.
When I lived in New York, I took Feldenkrais classes and loved the slow movement that integrated imagination, which helps you move further in subsequent moves. Also the goal is to only move so there is no pain. At the time I had back pain, and it is the Feldenkrais Method that I return to when I feel tinges of stress in my lower back.
I found Continuum in 1988 and it changed my life. Seriously! It was the turning point that ‘rewired’ my brain; after my first Continuum intensive I made the decision to leave New York City. Later it was the impetus to change my name, it inspired me to teach classes combining movement and hand-to-page writing exploration, and it is part of my protocol to stay healthy.
Here are the principles’ of Feldenkrais, it is profound but elemental work:
- Do everything very slowly
- Look for the pleasant sensation
- Do not “try” to do well
- Do not “try” to do nicely
- Insist on easy, light movement
- It’s easier to tell the difference when the effort is light
- Learning and life are not the same thing
- Do not concentrate
- We do not say at the start what the final stage will be
- Do a little less than you can
The booklet these are listed in is titled Learn to Learn, available online.