From the Summer 2006 Schedule

Refining awareness of sensation

     The Feldenkrais Method is a way to help you do better and feel better by guiding you to notice better.

It takes you on a journey, inward, to the land of sensation.

In this domain many discoveries await you.

You know already that you need your nerves to control your body. But you may not know that your nerves are divided into two tracts, incoming and outgoing, called sensory and motor. These are separate fibers, each with its own unique job. The incoming nerves bring information to the brain about where things are. The outgoing nerves give direction from the brain to the muscles.

Nearly everyone likes to be the director! In keeping with this, our physical training has emphasized the doing side of movement: “Put your arm there.” “Keep your shoulder down.” “Go faster.”

But this approach, when used exclusively, fails to notice that action depends on sensation. You can only do better as you sense better. Working in synch with the brain, the sensory and motor nerves form a feedback loop.

By taking group classes or private sessions in the Feldenkrais Method, you can develop this often neglected aspect of yourself. As you participate, you will sometimes be standing, sitting, or kneeling, but most often you will be lying down. This approach reduces muscular effort and, thus, makes it easier to tune in to sensation.

It is relaxing to turn inward. It is also practical. We all know of injuries that were caused by not paying attention. By practicing paying attention, one can reduce the probability of another such injury. Also, many pains retain their grip on us through faulty use of self. These, too, can often be unraveled by paying attention to how one moves.

Modern life is too sedentary. Everyone knows this, but what to do? Feldenkrais introduces you to a greater variety of movements, which spark your kinesthetic imagination.

Beyond these physical benefits, attending to the body opens other doorways. When your sense of self is rooted in a lively experience of the whole body functioning harmoniously, you are more likely to feel a vital connection to self and others.

© All Rights Reserved Maureen McHugh 2006