Maureen McHugh, Feldenkrais Practitioner Short Essays 703-751-2111
From the Spring 2007 Schedule
Whole Body
Integration
by Maureen McHugh
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The Feldenkrais Method “An action becomes easy to perform and the movement becomes light when the huge muscles of the center of the body do the bulk of the work and the limbs only direct the bones to the destination of the effort.” 1
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An interesting fact about the nervous system is that the distribution of nerve cells throughout the body is not equal. Nerve cells are concentrated in certain places. It is similar to the US population being concentrated in big cities on the coasts. In your nervous system “New York” and “San Fransisco” are the hands, eyes, mouth, genitals and feet. These parts get a disproportionate share of nerve endings. The big central parts of the body, the torso and legs, are, by contrast, more like the Midwest in being more sparsely populated.
I think this fact helps to explain why our movement patterns become fragmented as the years go by. We lose track of the center of the body. We only recognize that “I see something, I want it, I reach with my arm.” We lose the sense that the whole body reaches.
It is the restoration of this unity that is one of the principle aims of the Feldenkrais Method.
We have movement sequences, which we call lessons, that help you become more aware of the middle of you and re-integrate the middle with the limbs.
You feel a lot better as you get back what you had as a younger person. You become more effective in whatever you do. You last longer. You have more joy in movement, and in living.
1Feldenkrais, Moshe. Awareness through Movement. New York: Harper & Row, 1972, p 91.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor www.rosalieoconnor.com
