The Feldenkrais Method
Engaging the Mind and Body Together
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Awareness. Attention. Notice.
These are not words that you would expect your health care provider to use in the context of treating your knee pain or back pain. Unless, that is, your physical therapist also is familiar with the theory and methods of Moshe Feldenkrais. Janet utilizes both the Feldenkrais Method and physical therapy as complementary interventions. When you see a physical therapist, the focus of attention is the part of your body that hurts. The therapist’s goal is to relieve pain and restore the painful or injured area to its normal function. You might be given exercises focused on stretching the injured joint or strengthening the muscles around it. |
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TheFeldenkrais method, on the other hand, focus attention on how you move in areas other than where it hurts. Pain often occurs where an immobile, or stiff, area of the body and a flexible area of the body meet. The pain continues in those locations because of the patterns of how we move. If we can learn to pay attention, or be more aware, of the way we move, then we can also recognize that we have choices, learn different ways to move, and experience less pain.
Physical therapy mainly attends to the painful area and relieving that specific pain, while Feldenkrais Method shifts the attention to the broader picture of how you move and how that can contribute to pain. The Feldenkrais Method empowers you to be in control of your movement, by recognizing your own pattern of movement, noticing differences from one side to the other, and being able to choose how you move. |
The practices created by Moshe Feldenkrais use gentle movement and directed attention to enhance the connection between movement and thinking. Awareness Through Movement (ATM) consists of verbally directed, guided movements done in small groups. Functional Integration (FI) is a hands on, one-on-one session with a practitioner. By gently guiding movement, the practitioner helps the student become aware of their own patterns of movement and how they might change them.