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For all ages
Feldenkrais-Not just for adults
By: Rinat
Levin-Chervin
The feldenkrais
method is a unique form of learning through fun, pleasure,
curiosity and play – a method which entails both educational
achievements and social advantages.
What is the
Feldenkrais method?
The Feldenkrais
method is, first and foremost, a way of thinking which
provides optimal conditions for learning and re-educating. It
guides the student to instant information processing, while
performing action, and feeling.
Dr. Moshe
Feldenkrais researched and developed his method, which is
based on scientific rules and laws, and influenced from basic
principles in martial arts and self defense. He was the first
Israeli to have a black belt in Judo.
The Feldenkrais
method emphasizes the strong relation between the natural
development of the human being and the nervous system, and
their connection to the skeleton and the muscles. It is on
this foundation, that the lessons are based.
Participating in
group lessons stimulates learning, listening to your body,
sensing and motion. It is meant to increase the awareness to
your body and to the way you move.
This way,
internal processes are initiated. Such processes that enable
change and substantial improvement in the body’s posture,
coordination, orientation and breathing. One is able to reach
a deeper understanding of the body parts, the range of the
movement of his joints, his center and the different relations
between the body systems. One can notice the existing possible
movements as well as newly learned possibilities. This way,
the student is able to distinguish between his/her efficient
motion habits, which serve him well, and those habits which
are damaging, limiting, undermining and frustrating him, and
which may some day cause pain, inconvenience and degeneration
of the body.
You can prevent
future disorders
In the
Feldenkrais lessons, the ability of the student (infant,
child, youth, adult) is being improved. The process allows us
to preserve and spontaneously maintain the good habits, while
changing those habits which require change. This way, future
disorders can be prevented and the student returns to normal
ability and functioning.
Discover your
reactions and everyday habits
Most babies and
children have flexible, well formed organized bodies. Their
manner of motion is easy and pleasant, and they enjoy moving
while playing etc. This is why they do not suffer from chronic
pain or posture disorders.
A well formed
organized body enables normal movement and functioning,
efficiently and painlessly.
The older a
person gets, the more he/she tends to adopt his/her own unique
ways of motion and posture. These habits are usually in
accordance with one’s body structure, heredity, surrounding,
life story and experience, occupation, character and body self
image. For example: sitting in a classroom while watching the
board, listening and writing, standing, walking, running,
swimming, jumping, riding bicycle, bending, lifting objects,
carrying a school bag, getting up etc.
Postural and
behavioral disorders can be observed already during
adolescence: Youth who walk bent or sit all bent in class, or
carry school bags in an unbalanced way that is harmful mostly
to the back, shoulders and neck.
Body and soul
From my work
experience, I can testify that these various disorders may
cause a deterioration in the overall functioning and ability
of a student. This is expressed in pain, discomfort, inability
to concentrate, fatigue and stress. This deterioration in the
functioning of the student at school and outside school, will
in some cases cause deterioration in (his/her) academic
achievement, listening capability, perception and analytical
capability during and after class. The student’s thinking and
will power will be damaged.
Gradually, this
may cause a student to interfer his friends and teachers, show
intolerance to others, lack self confidence, show inability to
solve problems and make decisions, lack maturity, become
dependent on others and look for easy, adventurous and
stimulating engagements such as drug addiction, theft,
mischief, violence etc. Such a person, upon finishing high
school, will not be properly ready, mentally and physically,
towards life – e.g. military service – and his/her
contribution to society will be limited throughout his/her
life.
The ingenuity in
the way of learning
In the lessons,
the learning takes after the natural learning of a baby, when
it begins to turn over from lying on his back to lying on his
stomach, or lift its head, crawl, sit, walk for the first
time. In the primary, voluntary stage of learning and
acquiring a new ability, the baby examines, by listening and
using all his senses, how the motion takes place, which
organs, joints and muscles are involved in the movement. To
what extent, and when, a feedback is received from the nervous
system as to how was the performance compared with the
original, planned motion. An attempt to improve and adapt the
performance takes place instantly, if necessary. But this kind
of learning is not sufficient.
In order for the
newly acquired movement pattern to assimilate and become a
habitual, comfortable, automatic movement, we repeat the same
pattern in different situations of posture, surroundings and
motivation. This is motor learning. In order to develop an
ability, the baby will make many attempts to extend his hand
forward while lying on its back, and then while lying on its
stomach, once to catch a noise-making toy, another time to
lean on a chair so as not to fall down during the numerous,
various attempts to stand up. The motivation and the
development of the cognitive perception are essential in the
process of acquiring skills.
In the beginning,
the baby extends its hand forward and touches a ball, an apple
and an orange, while being incapable to distinguish between
them. It puts everything in his mouth. In time, the baby
learns to recognize the objects and tell them apart. It knows
that he can play with the ball, eat the apple without peeling
it, and eat the orange after peeling the skin. The baby’s
behavior is adaptive to the surrounding (adaptive behavior),
and includes planned, organized skills.
There are some
conditions on which this behavior is dependent: the brain’s
ability to absorb the received stimulations and organize them,
the inner motivation of human beings to examine their
surrounding and experience challenges.
This behavior
also includes curiosity, pleasure and learning. All these are
developed during a Feldenkrais lesson. Children like to move
and touch a lot, because the stimuli caused by touch encourage
certain organization in their brain. This is one of the most
important advantage of the Method. It creates numerous
opportunities for trial and error experiences and
amazements.
Published
in: “Briut al burya”, an Israeli alternative medicine magazine
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