I don’t need to be convinced about the features and benefits of the Feldenkrais Method®as I have been immersed in in the practice and teaching of it for more than 20 years.
But this week I had two personal experiences that validated for me its positive impact.
One evening while out for a walk, I tripped while stepping up onto the sidewalk from the road. I went down onto my hands and knees and then immediately rolled onto the grass in front of me and then popped up! As my husband said, “that is your Feldenkrais training at work.” I escaped with no injuries or road rash except for the tiniest minor knee scrape, with no blood or tears in my clothes. I was grateful and impressed with myself, knowing full well that I could have sustained a myriad of more significant injuries.
The other good news was the determination, at a recent doctor’s visit, that I have not lost any height. You all know that I am already vertically challenged (e.g., short!) and have never qualified to join any basketball team. Precisely for that reason any decrease in height can be significant for me; I don’t want to be a bent over old lady prone to falls and subsequent fractures or other injuries. Someone asked me this week if I had shrunken yet and I could confidently say that I hadn’t.
Some of my students describe the Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® classes as magic! They often connect to their new found feeling of ease, length, increased height, relaxation and overall well-being. We can add to that the importance of knowing how to roll and recover from an upset. Young children learn how to roll and they like to roll around a lot. Rolling is important for physical development of their bones and other structures and helps the brain learn to navigate across axes.
Moshe Feldenkrais, the founder of the method said that it was important that our movements be reversible. Many of us thought that falling was not a reversible action but my experience suggests otherwise. It is the way we handle a new situation or insult and the recovery from it that Dr Feldenkrais called good health.
So, our classes (and individual sessions) are magic! Come join us and experience the magic.
