Read the Washington Post article about Feldenkrais and Chrish’s practice

You can read the article here:  A different way to relieve years of back pain

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FEEL, MOVE, AND LOOK BETTER?

The Feldenkrais Method® might be the answer for you! Feldenkrais is a mental and physical improvement system based on discovering natural, easy, efficient and pleasurable ways of moving your mind and body. It is an advanced educational approach to well-being using your brain’s amazing capacity to reorganize yourself.

It is based on the premise that all human beings have the potential to learn to do everything they do in easier, less effortful and more satisfying ways than is their habit. The particular way a person is “organized” to sit, stand, walk, run or speak in public, etc., reflects that person’s inner state, or their self-image. Human beings have a tendency to acquire subtle and sometimes damaging physical and mental habits of functioning which can become deeply ingrained. Some habits are useful – many are not. The Feldenkrais Method® can facilitate change by creating the awareness you need to alter those habits which don’t serve you well.

The Feldenkrais Method® was founded by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, (Bio) an Israeli engineer, nuclear physicist and black belt in judo, who spent over 40 years researching the field of mind/body/environment integration. Using movement as a tool, he developed a step-by-step process involving hundreds of different lessons designed to improve our awareness and self-image. His method has been taught to a wide variety of people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, including teachers, musicians, artists, scientists, athletes, and physical therapists.

Dr. Feldenkrais applied his extensive knowledge of anatomy, physiology, physics, and engineering as well as his mastery of martial arts to restore his own functioning and that of countless others.

On its basic level, the Feldenkrais Method®improves posture, coordination, flexibility, and suppleness. Moreover, it alleviates pain by minimizing physiological and psychological stress associated with restricted functions. Patterns of inefficiency, compromised self-expression, and forgotten ways of feeling can all be improved. Feldenkrais can be experienced through:

GROUP CLASSES (Awareness Through Movement®): You are verbally guided through gentle movement sequences called Awareness Through Movement® (ATM) lessons. In these group classes, gentle exploratory movement sequences are designed to give each person more understanding of themselves. You learn to move with less pain and effort, and in such a way that changes occur in the brain patterns which organize control of your body. You will learn how to translate intention into action with ease while getting rid of unnecessary interfering habits.

Lessons last approximately one hour. Most people take one class per week, though you will improve more rapidly if you take two classes. There are hundreds of ATMs to choose from in the Feldenkrais Method. The aim of these lessons is not necessarily relaxation, but rather healthy, powerful, easy, and pleasurable action.

INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS (Functional Integration®): This is “hands-on” Feldenkrais to meet your specific needs. The practitioner communicates, through gentle and non-invasive touch, the experience of comfort, pleasure, and ease of movement, while the client learns how to reorganize their body and behavior in new and more effective ways. The practitioner’s touch is instructive and informative, never corrective. Feldenkrais practitioners are trained to detect minute resistances in your movement patterns which often represent emotional, psychological as well as physical limitations. Using highly sensitive touch and gentle, exploratory movements, you will find freedom from compulsive, imprisoning patterns. It’s often a huge relief! Functional Integration (FI) lessons are particularly suitable for people with specific problems such as back, neck, shoulder or other chronic pain, movement limitations or a need to improve any type of function.

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Do you know that there are important PRINCIPLES based on physics and engineering that are used in every Feldenkrais® lesson:

Good posture is the ability to move in any direction without hesitation or preparation.

Clear skeletal support: the bones below move to support the bones above.

Evenly distributed muscular effort/tone (proportional work: the big muscles do the big work; the small muscles do the smaller work). Every movement is generated through an equal and opposite force delivered to/received from the ground.

Force must travel up and through the skeleton, not across it, in order to avoid shearing forces into the joints.

The head and eyes are free in all activity.

Breathing is free in all activity.

Reversibility: the ability to organize action and its suspension or reversal at any moment.