What is the Feldenkrais Method?
I began my experience with the Feldenkrais method in 2023. I was intrigued by an acquaintance of mine (now friend) who is a practitioner and described the practice to me. “It is a practice to find inner resource” she explained. Being a movement fanatic, and kinesthetic learner, words were not enough for me, I had to experience it. So, I followed my curiosity and dove in. My friend gave zoom classes to a group of people who met every Sunday morning, and we would take classes labeled as, “The Spiral that Exists in Your Spine” and “The Wings of your Pelvis.” Just the titles of the classes made me think about my body in a different way!
We began most classes lying on the floor (to be distinguished later, laying WITH the floor). And our teacher would lead us through a series of cues (mostly questions) that would make us move in the smallest way, and think about our body in a completely new way. This stimulated a little frustration in me, it was so slow and I kept wondering if I was doing it right. Then, (maybe the last 15 mins of the lesson) something would click. I would sense a new part of my spine I wasn’t able to access before, or I was able to unlock a new way of walking with my pelvis, I even had a small emotional release in a rib cage lesson! After the lessons I would leave feeling more 3 dimensional, whole, and more grounded in my body.
So what is the meaning behind all of this? Why was Feldenkrais developed? Who was Feldenkrais? Is there science to back it up?
Mosche Feldenkrais was a born a to a Ukrainian Jewish Family in 1904. He studied to be an engineer, and later got his doctorate in Physics. He is also a martial artist, Judo being his main art. In 1929 he injured his knee playing football (soccer) which ignited his curiosity about his own healing process. He began to develop his method based on his knowledge of physics and his own self study of the human body and the practice of Judo. He settled in Tel Aviv where he further developed his system and taught it to others.
What does the method do?
According to Feldenkrais, his system helps repair the motor cortex’s connection to the body. It is a form of somatic therapy “that integrates the body, mind and psyche through an educational model in which a trained Feldenkrais practitioner guides a client (the ‘student’) through movements with hands-on and verbally administered cues," according to Clinical Sports Medicine
The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance describes FM as "an experiential learning process that uses movement and guided attention to develop and refine self-awareness." It notes that FM is "increasingly used among high-level performers, such as musicians, actors, dancers, and athletes."
Is there science to back these claims up?
There are not many studies to back up the effectiveness of this movement method. In 2015 Australian Department’s Government of Health deemed FM 1 of the 16 alterative therapies to not cover because of lack of evidence of effectiveness. However, there have been small results on the effectiveness of people with Parkinson’s disease compared to a passive lecture program. At this time it seems that we can only go by our own experience until more comprehensive research is done on this type of movement system.
For me, I have experienced overall wellbeing, and had many somatic breakthroughs!
If you are looking to try out this method, check out my friend Nikki’s website to sign up for a class on zoom! https://www.nikidesaintamour.com/membership
