feldypt

Feldenkrais® and Performance (part two)

2012-01-25T16:30:00.000-08:00

photo courtesy of Brett Nielsen

What do David Ben-Gurion, Milton Erickson, Margaret Mead, Michael Merzenich, Beck, Tim Ferris and Ida Rolf all have in common?

They have all explored the Feldenkrais Method®.They also are pioneers in their own fields (leadership, hypnosis, anthropology, neuroscience, music, author/entrepreneur, chemist,...)

It is only a matter of time that a pioneer in the field of sport and athletic performance will also discover the Feldenkrais Method.

Every trainer and coach knows that proper form is the key to optimal athletic performance. But maintaining correct alignment, body position, balance and breathing during exercise requires a well-developed kinesthetic sensibility that does not come naturally to all but the most gifted athletes.

The Feldenkrais Method is an educational approach based on neuroscience, physics, child development, and sensory motor learning that cultivates a better body awareness and helps one find new ways to move as seamlessly as possible.

Why better body awareness or a better body sense? According to Dr. Alan Fogel, "body sense is the ability to feel our movements, body sensations, and emotions in the present moment." With refined awareness you are given choices, and can opt for the better choice to move optimally.

Also, we know that using motor imagery leads to nearly the same level of body map reorganization as does physical practice. According to science author Sandra Blakeslee, “motor imagery is the off line operation of your brain’s motor machinery unfolding as if it were happening in real time.” But, this ability to sense accurately draws from actually doing movements, and drawing distinctions to find the best movement solution, especially when done slowly and with guided attention. Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, brain child of the Feldenkrais Method, knew that we need to engage the brain in motor learning through experience, attention (non-judgmental and playful observation) and novel learning conditions. Athlete’s are seldom directed to pay attention to how they sense their bodies directly after they perform a movement to access learning. Instead they are often left finding this relaxed readiness or zone by accident.

Feldenkrais delivers a benefit that many athletes are in search for, to help find better ways to prime themselves before they act and to acheive a relaxed readiness in high level performance.

Come join us this year at the 30th IDEA World Fitness Conference. I will be offering a workshop titled, Feldenkrais® for Performance: Do This Before You Do That! Joining me will be Andrew Heffernan, CSCS, Personal Trainer, health and fitness journalist, and teacher of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement®. Discover how the Feldenkrais Method cultivates movement awareness, enabling both athletes and weekend warriors to achieve dynamic, functional posture, eliminate counterproductive muscular tension and promote graceful, efficient movement."

FELDENKRAIS® and Performance

2011-12-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

I am amazed that so much time has passed since my last post, but a few projects have been in my way. I am excited to announce that a Feldenkras workshop will be offered in the 30th Anniversary World IDEA Conferance in 2012, the World's largest, most comprehensive and longest-running fitness convention. This places Feldenkrais amongst other mainstream strategies to address finding and achieving optimal performance. Since this will be a first exploration with this type of sensory motor learning, I will be using this space to start to introduce some concepts that are key to learning from a Feldenkrais perspective. Stay tuned...

Feldenkrais^® is a sophisticated method of improving the body’s coordination, flexibility and intelligence of movement. It is a unique system of exercise, which can be thought of as the ‘missing link’ in performance training for athletes, musicians, dancers, and those who desire easier movement in everyday tasks.— Mark Reese, Feldenkrais® Trainer

FELDENKRAIS®: ACTURE AND TENSEGRITY

2011-03-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

As a Physical Therapist, I have long been interested in the study of posture. When I was in PT school, my learning tools were posters, cadavers, skeletal models, ..., all creations that were static. It wasn't until I entered a Feldenkrais training that I discovered how to address this study through my own skeleton while I was using movement. Dr. Feldenkrais helped me think of posture in a more action ready way.

He coined the term "Acture", which combined the word ‘posture’ and ‘action’ together to help illuminate dynamic posture. This would make the static concepts around posture to be more action oriented.

When foam rollers were first accessed by Dr. Feldenkrais, they were used for support, balance and to help facilitate new learning while using movement. We used them in ways that avoided stretching or over stimulation to help create ideal conditions for learning.

As some of you may know, I have been using the SMARTROLLER® to create access to these ideas that I discovered in studying the Feldenkrais Method®. I found that most people's body tissues were not prepared for the harsh pull that they were reproducing and when I came across the word tensegrity, it all made sense. “Tensegrity” is a term that Buckminster Fuller, (engineer and creator of the geodesic dome) also created with combining two words together, ‘tension’ and ‘integrity’. In Amy Edmondson's book, A FULLER EXPLANATION, she states "all systems consist of some combination of tension and compression forces."

Thank you again Sara.

So what about the human musculoskeletal system? And what happens when we apply too much tension in the fascial system? What happens to the biological balance, and the Feldenkrais ideas we support for motor learning? I would like to not make this a commercial for the Smartroller, but instead I would like to invite the dialogue of how props can be used in support of the tensegrity and acture models when we are looking to improve posture.

THE MAKING OF A SMART BOOK

2011-02-21T17:42:00.000-08:00

Sara re-enacting balance with style

Myron and Dewey

Cathy and Stacy on Smartrollers going over notes

I do feel that someone was looking over me when I flew into Minneapolis last week for a brief visit. The trip was for our photo shoot and we arrived with 50ºsunny sky weather. Looking at today's forecast and the week before, we slid in between two storms.

Feldy doll posing with a SMARTROLLER

The photo shoot was amazing. I had the great pleasure of watching true professionals at work. Our photographer and assistant at Gamut One studio, were not only excellent artists, but they took an amazing interest in the work that we were promoting, the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®. Cathy from OPTP was also wonderful. She took a leap of faith and allowed me to manage the photos. She was able to make the entire experience run smoothly and efficiently. The most amazing thing to witness was my beautiful model, AKA Pilates teacher Sara. We shot over 150 photos in eight hours. Not a studio record, but close. What was most fascinating to watch was how Sara took cues from all of us and every adjustment she made, she embodied. How she kept this up for over eight hours, is beyond me.

I cannot wait to see the photos, and I am so grateful for all the help I am receiving in the making of the SMARTROLLER® book. Stay tuned....

Smart Solutions!

2010-11-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

2010 PMA Conference booth

I attended the 2010 PMA Conference yesterday to introduce the new Smart Somatic products, Smartroller® Links and Sits . The speakers were so exceptional that the program drew an audience of over 900 attendees.
I was pleased to find our products sold out. Fortunately, I was able to use the floor samples to help the attendees explore the products inspiration, somatic learning through the Feldenkrais Method®.
The interest also drew attention to other Feldenkrais products that OPTP offered, especially the Collected Papers of Moshe Feldenkrais, EMBODIED WISDOM. The additional bonus was when Marie-Jose Blom debuted the Smartroller in her workshop. Most people in the Pilates world can appreciate this amazing contribution. I look forward to introducing the Feldenkrais Method with the Smart products in LA next month to more fitness and heath professionals.

feldypt: Huffington Post and Feldenkrais®

2010-06-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

feldypt: Huffington Post and Feldenkrais®

Huffington Post and Feldenkrais®

2010-06-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Michael Sigman, there was another posting about the Feldenkrais Method. see posting

Through his own perspective and despite his skeptism, the author was able to draw from his curiosity to explore a way to fully recover from injuries. Because his story is so personal and familiar, I watched it quickly go viral. Many people spoke out with similar stories of chronic injuries. They not only appreciated the author's plight on wellness and recovery, but seemed to acknowledge how many different approaches there are to return to a pain free life. This is probably one of the most difficult areas that I see in my PT practice. That is, to help people go through all the self care tools they have been given and find the ones that seem to make the true difference. But, by starting with the Feldenkrais Method, people discover how to sense what is right for themselves.

The Feldenkrais Method sounds like almost any new agey approach to improvement, but when you look more closely, you see it is about becoming a better learner. It is so simple. You move, you notice and you learn. "You discover that real sharpness comes without effort."(Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon).

"What you truly learn best will appear to you later as your own discovery." (Moshe Feldenkrais)

PUBLIC AWARENESS WITH THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD®

2010-05-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

A busy weekend, but what an exciting time to be working in the field of neuroscience and therapy. I am a PT/Feldenkrais practitioner and have a passion to help bring others to the Feldenkrais Method. I was able to attend the Fibromyalgia Awareness day at California State University, Fullerton on Saturday. Thanks to Mary Wagner, GCFP, there was a Feldenkrais class offered to the participants. I attended Dr. David Chen's Qi Gong class and met a wonderful collegue that promotes wellness quoting the Tao Te Ching. He also told me that he was fascinated with the Feldenkrais Method and had read one of Dr. Feldenkrais' books, THE POTENT SELF. I left with many hand outs including a pamphlet entitled, Questions and Answers about Fibromyalgia authored by NIAMS. There was a listing for Feldenkrais under the heading of complementary and alternative therapies. This is great progress. I have wanted this to happen since I was able to research the benefits of this work in the early 90's.

The following morning I came upon a blog that is an extremely empowering site devoted to resources for individuals that would benefit with knowledge and advocacy on health and wellness issues. Reji Mathew, PhD is an excellent writer/researcher and will have excellent postings to browse. She honored me with a column on Feldenkrais.

Sunday, I was able to visit the Santa Fe Art Colony Open Studios to see a very wonderful friend and fine artist that thanked me profusely for helping her move better to continue her art by using the Feldenkrais Method. I have had the privilege to have her in my classes, and she states she directly applies what she learns to moving in an effortless way as she creates her art.

Let"s see what next weekend will bring. (photo courtesy of Heidi Halverson)

FELDENKRAIS WEEK AT CENTURY CITY PHYSICAL THERAPY

2010-05-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Thank you feldy students for celebrating this event! The lesson was appropriately engaging with a lesson connecting the foot to the ground. One of the students commented on sensing the floor for the first time. We topped it off with cake and more stories.

Happy Birthday Moshe!

Feldenkrais® at the Body Mind Spirit Conference

2010-04-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Train the Brain

This last weekend I had the pleasure to teach a Feldenkrais introductory course to some extraordinary wellness and fitness professionals. The shift I am now seeing is a wonderful enthusiasm to explore this form of somatic education. Most of the students had heard of Feldenkrais, but only a few had experienced it before. I was thankful that my courses were offered early on in the conference so that the participants were able to carry around their new awareness to their other courses. I also was able to watch a few of them telling people at the OPTP booth how the Smartroller® was a different tool since it was made especially for heightening sensory awareness and it had features that supported easy and comfortable learning.

I was also able to experience a Watsu session provided by a wonderful practitioner, Kathleen Harper. I have had an inspiration that the Smartroller would also be well suited for water as well as land, so we gave it a try.

Feldenkrais® on the Golf Course

2010-03-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

I have had the privilege over the last 15 years to spend a day giving hands on therapy to golfers that are playing to honor the Police and Fire Department Memorial Foundation. This one was hosted for the South Bay at the Los Verdes Golf Course and Century City PT was invited to donate Physical Therapy. The weather was spectacular. I am at the first tee, and this was my view as I worked with the golfers.My services were to offer manual therapy to the participants as they played through and I used this opportunity to integrate the Feldenkrais Method to assist many of them to find ways to move better. I incorporated the gym ball and the Smartroller® to improve such things as their shoulder turn while they reduced their effort to avoid over gripping their club. Many of the players had over use injuries and I used small movements with my hands that lead them to find alternative ways to use other parts of their bodies to change their movement habits. They even found better ways to balance as they swung their clubs. This is done in a matter of a few minutes. That is what is so amazing when you improve body awareness. The results are instant, and can be long lasting if the client is able to notice the changes they make. Golfers are generally interested in noticing themselves to improve on the links. That is why I enjoy working with golfers. Even though they can be a bit superstitious about exploring something new, they are often excited when you can show them how to golf easier and how to avoid strain. I tell them that golf was one of the very first mind body sports. In golf, if you are not mindful, your results are immediate and will let you know how you are doing.

I look forward to next year. I am so fortunate that each year more golfers find my services and ask for more help.

For more information on Feldenkrais and Golf

This feels like Feldenkrais®!

2010-02-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a day! I was at the CSM: National Physical Therapy Conference today to debut the SMARTROLLER®. The entry to the exhibit hall was the booth showing off the SMARTROLLER®. The best part was when the exhibitors told me that when the pariticpants tried out the SR, they either said, "oh this will be much better for my older clients"or they said "this is truly Feldenkrais."This was the biggest show room that you can imagine and the Smartroller was the only product that connected people to Feldenkrais. I could not have bee more proud to show it off.

SMART SOMATIC SOLUTIONS

2010-02-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

I have been working with a new site to specifially address classes and references that relate to what I teach. This is an interesting venture since I have other websites, but as I grow in more than one direction, I need to follow ways to explore how to send new out going information. Just recently returning from teaching in Japan, my Feldenkrais training resurfaces in so many ways to adapt to my new environment. http://web.me.com/smartroller1/SmartSomaticSolutions/Welcome.html

I was told recently from a patient that she had difficulty finding something postive to think about. If we can shift our perspective to look past the negative in flow of information and follow what seems to give our bodies a sense of well being, we can help negate the negative influences that pull us down. Try and search for the feelings that lifted us up. Listen to music that was a part of you when you had optimism about the future. Take a walk and look for something that interests you. It is amazing how this influences a basic organic connection in the brain, neuroplasticity, and find a way to work it to your benefit.

Moving Smarter in the New Year: SMARTROLLER®

2010-02-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a trip to Japan to teach an introduction to the Feldenkrais Method®.
I had some very sophisticated PT's, Pilates and Gyrotonic students to show them how to use the Smartroller and how to access a new kind of sensory motor learning.
Despite speaking through an interpreter, the learning was visible. I was amazed how the student's bodies had transformed through the movement education and how their curiosity was contagious.
The experience was so powerful for me to break out of my own teaching habits and to be prepared to not know what to expect. The Feldenkrais work has enabled me to be a facilitator to someones own learning process and to be able to support their learning in a new way.
I hope I am invited back, I have so much more to learn from them.

FOAM ROLLERS THE FELDENKRAIS® WAY: THE SMARTROLLER®:

2009-12-07T05:12:00.000-08:00

Foam rollers are now seen in almost any gym or therapy clinic. But do we know where foam rollers came from? Moshe Feldenkrais, a doctor of science, a judo master and pioneer in movement science was one of the first to use foam rollers as educational and therapeutic tools. Dr. Feldenkrais developed a method to create better learning conditions for human development, the Feldenkrais Method.
I was fortunate to discover foam rollers in the early years of my Feldenkrais® training and fell in love with them. I soon adopted them into my physical therapy practice and found that they assisted me in teaching people the many benefits of the Feldenkrais Method. For the last 7 years I have been working on a foam roller design to continue to assist people towards self care. While traditional foam rollers can be very helpful tools,they may not be right for everyone. Many people cannot tolerate their standard round shape, height and firmness. They can be too uncomfortable or even painful to lie on. As a balance training aid, a traditional round roller is very challenging -- often too unstable for many people to stand on. Even half round rollers, with one flat side and one round, are an incomplete solution; they restrict movement, they are not anatomically friendly, and in some positions, their hard corners pinch the skin.

The SMARTROLLER® is a patented design that solves these problems with its unique dual-curve design. The revolutionary new shape takes the advantages of traditional round and half round rollers to the next level, making a much more versatile tool for Relaxation and Relief, Fitness and Sports, mind-body disciplines like Pilates, Yoga and Feldenkrais® as well as Therapy and Rehabilitation.

Please be sure, as with any exercise equipment, you are cleared by your heath professional to use the SMARTROLLER®.

Go to OPTP to order your SMARTROLLER® today.

THE YEAR OF THE BRAIN: Neuroplasticity picture by Scott Barrows

2009-11-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

What a great time to be interested in the study of neuroscience. Now there is a magazine on every newsstand that has pictures of brains with captions like FEED YOUR BRAIN, HOW THE BRAIN REWIRES ITSELF, BUILD A BRAIN, etc.
As a PT/Feldenkrais practitioner™ I have been very intrigued about the study of neuroscience. I watch changes happen when a client accesses their own human potential by turning the learning switch on when they move to learn. The key is helping people know that they have these powerful tools. Movement is our first language and when movement hurts, we can turn off exploring our world this way. Pain that lasts long enough like chronic pain can change our body maps (holographic maps in our brain that tell us where we are in space that are effected through our learning experiences). This can happen in such a way that we no longer have the adaptability to move in many directions.
When pain has lasted long after an injury, pain can become chronic.Often we address treating pain as a cause and effect problem, but pain can also be learned. Once this happens, many associations that were learned at the time of encountering pain signals can also trigger a pain response. Now you are not just dealing with the unhealed pain but the pain that has been learned along the way. Scientists are now exploring chronic pain as something truly different than acute pain.
When I work with clients that have had pain for a long period of time, I start to help them improve their body awareness through exploring areas of their body that does not hurt. The pain source is not ignored, in fact, it is clarified. Then, as the client searches for sensing other areas that have other sensations, there can be other brain signals that are aroused to diminish the heightened pain response. Comfort scales, easy movement scales and other sensory tools like listening to movement can be very creative ways to explore movement without pain. Imagining movement without pain is highly effective, but this may be very difficult for people who have had to live with long term pain.
The Feldenkrais Method® and mindfulness training through meditation are highly successful tools to assist in this process. Both strategies allow people to explore at their own rate and to access the brain in a way that encourages neurogenesis, the capacity to reorganize the brain pertaining to experiential learning.

FEAST FOR THE SENSES: The 2009 Feldenkrais® Conference

2009-08-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

Boarding my plane to return home from the National Feldenkrais Conference in Forest Grove Oregon, I caught a title from the airline magazine that captured my experience for the week: A Feast for the Senses. The conference was spectacular. The event followed their mission, Learning to Learn. You could not have been more clear how defining this is of the Feldenkrais Method.

The workshops were well laid out with very dynamic and organized speakers. One of the surprises I experienced was when I attended the “Tipping Point” workshop. We were guided through an activity of gathering information from each other through an interview process. We were then led to collect the information through a dynamic systems approach to incorporate all of our view points on what we felt defined the Feldenkrais Method and where would we like to see this method in the future. These ideas were than developed into headlines to move closer to Moshe Feldenkrais’s dream to return each individual to their true humanity. Our sign in the photo above reads: OBAMA ENDORSES THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD STATING YES YOU CAN!

We had the opportunity to hear from some of the greatest master teachers of the Feldenkrais Method: Russell Dellman~creator of the Embodied Life: http://www.russelldelman.com; Mia Segal and Leora Gastor:~(http://www.mbsacademy.org/) and Linda Tellington-Jones~creator of TTOUCH®: (http://ttouch.com/). The truly extraordinary part to this was when we watched these progressive thinkers talk about how they have followed their true passion and credit the ability to do this from their mentor, Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. Russell summarized it nicely when he stated that we owe it to those we work with to help "them stand on their own feet and love themselves".

Through these inspiring teachers who have created their own individual hand writings as well as Michael Krugman’s inspiration(http://www.soundersleep.com/start.php), I found more enthusiasm to introduce the Smartroller™. I intend to use this dynamic tool to assist others to connect to their own inner wisdom by way of learning more about the Feldenkrais Method. Feldenkrais was the first to use the original foam roller.

On the last day, I decided to go for a run and as I noticed my run, I recalled Mia’s look for what you are not including, Russell’s sense of space and how we move in and around it, Judy’s use of the resonance of sound to heighten our sensory perception, and Linda’s ideas of creating a way to access our learning. I found that I became more whole with my run. Through this feast for my senses I felt I made the easy elegant. Thank you Feldenkrais Guild.

"The Feldenkrais Method is an educational system centered on movement, aiming to expand and refine the use of the self through awareness. It is intended for those who wish to improve their movement repertoire (dancers, musicians, artists), as well as those wishing to reduce pain or limitations in movement, and many who want to improve their general well-being and personal development." Wikipedia

FELDENKRAIS® FOR BALANCE

2009-06-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to see a fellow colleague publish her study: "Feldenkrais Method® Balance Classes Improve Balance in Older Adults: A Controlled Trial": http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/nep055v1

If you read through this study you will find a good definition of the Feldenkrais Method and the functional applications of this work using movement with attention to accomplish higher motor skills that are needed for balance. The Feldenkrais Method as defined by Connors et. al. is an exploratory learning approach in which participants are verbally guided through movement sequences aimed at improvement of body awareness and movement organization. The study had “26 participants in the treatment group engaged in twice-weekly Feldenkrais classes that were specifically tailored to address balance issues. The combination of exercises was named “Getting Grounded Gracefully” and lasted a total of 10 weeks. An “activities specific” questionnaire, a physical test known as the Four Square Step Test (FSST), and “self-selected gait speed” (walking speed) were assessed before and after the trial. All measures of balance and mobility were improved in the Feldenkrais treatment group. In addition, most of the active participants noted benefits with regard to body image and a greater ability to engage in everyday activities, such as walking pets and climbing slopes." Healthy Fellow: http://www.healthyfellow.com/275/the-feldenkrais-method/

Also this week I had the pleasure to see another colleague create a workshop called "High Heeled Boot-camp using the Feldenkrais Method". Here the instructor uses Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement™ lessons to assist women to wear high heels safely. http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7879452

Two different applications that address balance needs using the Feldenkrais Method.

Lets face it, we all need to find better ways to balance and in my opinion there is no better approach than using the Feldenkrais Method.

Agelessness: the Feldenkrais Method®

2009-06-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

How do you observe aging and preservation? Looking and feeling young? Perhaps you think of it as keeping your skin taught or maintaining your muscle tone. However, what has a large importance with aging gracefully is moving youthfully. How will you preserve this? As a physical therapist and Feldenkrais movement teacher, I often discuss this with my clients. Living in LA, there are many people addressing how to stay young. But, if a person is a hundred feet away, what is the first thing you notice? Their smooth skin, their firm abs, how about their graceful movement, their upright posture, the spring in their step? I spend a great deal of time observing movement and I am amazed how rigid people have become without noticing.

There are many strategies to work with functional strength, flexibility, coordination, conditioning and balance. But where do we re-capture suspension, calibration, creative choices, even distribution of movement, reduction of effort?

If you notice how children move, they have an enormous amount of variation and adaptation to their environment. If you observe a toddler manipulating an object to notice it, they use many choices, slow, fast, hard, soft, etc.

When I work with someone and ask them to show me a particular movement and slow it down so we can both observe how they are moving, the common response is “I never move slowly.” “I am always rushing.” No surprise, given the time demands people have these days. But, again when I ask them to do this, they are unable to execute moving slowly even under time controlled conditions.

As adults we reduce variety of movement to move more quickly and these patterns become habituated. There is a phrase things that fire together wire together. Neuroscientists discovered that the nervous system will make short cuts for efficiency. However, as much as we benefit from this, it closes down the ability to move in a child like way with freedom of choice, variation in speed of movement and using our internal error detection. So to address these ideas try to use these tools:

start to move slowly
notice how your entire body moves with a particular movement
vary the way you do a movement when possible
bring your full attention to what you are doing
notice if you need to use your eyes in a particular way, can you do a particular task while using your peripheral vision? Think of this like using a wide angle lens to look out from.

To move and think in these ways, you will support a process that is called neuroplasticity ( the process of developing new neural pathways). Dr. Feldenkrais was ahead of his time when he utilized these and many more ideas to promote learning like a child to promote the process of neuroplasticity.

This kind of learning will allow us to adapt in a child like way with youthful movement and assist us in fall recovery, less stress on joints and better movement patterns to keep doing the things we love to do. My favorite quote from Feldenkrais is : "Make the impossible possible, the possible easy and the easy elegant."

Feldenkrais® for professionals

2009-05-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful group attended the Feldenkrais® for Fitness course yesterday. When the introductions were made around the room, we all smiled knowing that the day was going to be a fun experience for all of us. The room was filled with many credentialed specialists, from DPT's, OT's to high end yoga instructors...

Their backgrounds were very diversified and they came ready to learn about something they didn't know about. I could not have stepped into a better place to have them explore the Feldenkrais Method®. The Feldenkrais Method is an educational work that will allow you to explore movement by experimenting and processing small movements to promote a better way of moving.

Initially, the responses were familiar, how could such small movements, and such gentle touch be so effective? How do I translate this into my field? You mean if I just listen with my hands I can actually help someone? But as the day moved on I could tell they were getting it. Smiles were more prominent and there was an easiness in learning and exploring. The students were truly having fun while they were learning.

We also watched movement differently when we observed Feldenkrais on some YouTube videos. There was some shifting gears while we observed and considered to promote movement to happen from within a person rather than making it happen by other means.

There has been a true shift in the professional field in regards to learning the Feldenkrais Method. I look forward to many new colleagues coming on board, thank you feldy students.

We are all just learning, thank goodness...

Feldenkrais® and a Reunion

2009-04-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful experience this weekend. I was able to attend a reunion of my old alumni, CSUN Physical Therapy school. I was also able to connect with a very dear friend and colleague. We drove together and talked non stop about kids, parents, husbands, etc. So one of the best parts was when she launched into wonderful questions about the Feldenkrais Method. I have always had the greatest respect for this colleague from the day we met and became friends and class mates. I got so excited, that I got winded most the time just sharing insights to the value to this work on a clinical level, self growth and more.

We toured the new PT dept. with fun curiosity, talked to the current PT students, and then made it over to the school's reunion. We talked to some other PT's from other classes, then went right back to the conversation of Feldenkrais.

This concluded by saying good bye with a short FI on the Smartroller™, hugs and promises to keep in touch.

I could not have had a better time.

Technology and the Feldenkrais Method®

2009-04-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

I have been very intrigued with the ability to learn and develop my budding technology skills. I have purchased the latest Macbook and signed up for the personal training to make the switch from PC to Mac.

Wow, what a great service and it fosters learning in such a non threatening way. (where have I heard that before?). I am so happy to play and make mistakes to process my learning with the help of an encouraging staff and tools that support getting and integrating information.

From there I have explored Face Book, Linkedin, blogging, ideablob, forum groups, website changes, the list goes on. I would not boast for the most sophisticated website, but my website is the tool I had always wanted so it could point people to recommended articles, references, podcasts and more. This keeps with my interests to make my resources to be available and hopefully I can be more Earth friendly at the same time.

What has been the most exciting part for me was having my Feldenkrais training transferred from tapes that were recorded in the early 90's and being able to plug it into my iPod. Now I can hear my Feldenkrais teachers in many environments and my poor worn out logs can have a rest.

This can be an exiting time, and I would love to hear from others who have had similar experiences...

Swimming and the Feldenkrais Method®

2009-02-23T16:55:00.000-08:00

My last posting on this blog followed when I had just finished teaching to Health and Fitness professionals on the Feldenkrais Method. I have since had some time to reflect on my thoughts of where I am today with Fitness and Feldenkrais. I started my power point presentation with a short story on one of the ways I discovered I was a kinesthetic learner. My parents and I were at a neighbor’s pool and I decided to jump in. I was under the age of 4. Our wonderful neighbor jumped in fully dressed to rescue me. Once we were both out of the pool, I proceeded to jump in again. This is when my parents decided to start me with swim lessons.

I have returned to the pool again. I do this time to time. In the past it usually was attached to competition, i.e. triathlons and ocean races, but this time it was different. I usually have certain drills that I do to push me and then I follow with something fun. What felt new to me this time was that it all had become fun. I found I could continue to fantasize and move towards a relaxed readiness the way Michael Phelps inspired us to do. But this took my Feldenkrais and athletic training to the next level. I began to play with the strokes to see how I could pace for strength and play at the same time. Wow! I found that I was thrilled to return to the backstroke because of the pleasure of swimming with sensing the two symmetrical sides. I also found that the backstroke became more interesting because my breathing was simplified. Since my face was open to breathe in anyway I chose, it was fascinating to see how taking that effort away created even more ways to follow with more observations. As I watched the pace clock I noticed that my timing was also improving.

My habits of working out had been so ingrained and through this process the water baby I started out being had returned. I finished the work out with resting on my back with my ankles on foam tools. As I floated on my back I could tune out sound and feel the ease of floating while I observed my breathing and comfort. I have often thought that my kinesthetic curiosity was linked to my athletics and over the years I have been fascinated to find that this inspired learning had existed in many other ways.I am looking forward to my next time in the pool to continue to develop new ideas to address this renewed awareness.

Go to www.californiaeducationconnection.com for the next upcoming course on Feldenkrais and Fitness

feldenkrais and fitness

2008-12-30T16:58:00.000-08:00

Recently, I had the pleasure to teach one of my favorite subjects, Feldenkrais and Fitness.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the students reported that they wanted to know more about Feldenkrais for professional reasons. This marks progress since I am used to being approached from my colleagues on this subject with much scepticism. Don't misunderstand, I fully appreciate skepticism. But, from my own experience, it held me back on my own learning. In the past, I had studied movement, anatomy, pathology and treatment with the need to weed out quackery. This method was an entirely new idea that supported a non linear/experiential form of teaching.I discovered the limitations of my former learning when I was in a class for PTs studying Feldenkrais. I was analyzing how the colleague that I was practicing with had range of motion limitations. When the instructor came over to me and showed me my limitations, my colleagues limitations had improved. It then hit me, my hands on skills were in question.I was hooked, so you would think. It took me a couple of years to still reason with myself to sign up for the 4 year program.

The students in this class that I taught ranged from PT's, Pilates instructors and personal trainers. I fully appreciated how the students were patiently ready to follow a discovery process that led them to easier movement and softer postures. All with more comfort and less pain by report. Additionally, I was able to read the following blog the next day from one of the participants:
"The workshop consisted largely of the instructor leading the ten participants through a series of nearly-imperceptible movements, usually done lying on the floor in a darkened room. I'd done a few hours of Feldenkrais work in graduate school and so knew a little about its wonders, but I sensed the skepticism among some of the other students: What could THIS be doing?
It didn't last long, because almost instantly, most of us felt different. Taller, longer, more aligned, more easy in our movements. As a guy with some theatre background, I noticed that the voices in the room sounded richer, more resonant.
And, as cheesy as it sounds, people looked happier.
I was, once again, blown away, and totally sold on its benefits."
to read more, please refer to: http://www.malepatternfitness.com/2008/12/8/686691/sold-on-the-feldenkrais-me

I look forward to more opportunities in teaching the Feldenkrais Method and look forward to learning from both sides of the aisle.

Palin

2008-09-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Recently I was sending out a request to write in to any newspaper publication to state their views on the campaign, and here was my response:

I was able to watch the Republican Convention with my 16 year old son and I watched how the attacks on someone that he felt strongly about, take effect. He is new to this political play, and with his much researched understanding about the unnecessary war, global warming and women's rights (don't underestimate the education our kids are getting), he was amazed that these issues were never addressed and instead his choice was torn down. Can we look at the big picture? Are we to be confused about the issues once again? We have the worst economy that I have experienced, we have a war that sucks all our resources out, we are not looked upon well in the global community, so is it not time to look at it differently? We have some huge issues at stake, and all of us need to look at it this way and push away the political war to get reunited. Obama seems to me a person that just may listen to the other side. My hope and vision is that Obama gets elected and appoints some very smart Republicans to come in and be a part of his cabinet so we can get this job finally done.

Here is what my son wrote when I asked him to write:

The fact that I am not old enough to vote has absolutely no effect on my views of our country. I am simply sixteen years old, but there is no certain age where you can see right choices from wrong. McCain and Palin do not seem to understand that America has reached its tolerance level. People have had enough of seemingly blind leadership. The hypocritical views of McCain and Palin are not the change that America so desperately needs right now. McCain, "the reformer" seems to think that voting with George W. 91% of the time is the change that our country is craving. This could not be farther from the truth. He has given tax credits to big oil companies, leaving the middle class mystified as to why he is giving these huge corporations more breaks. He used to be against the tax cuts set in motion by George W., but now he completely endorses them. He has recently flip-flopped on many other issues too. I though it was pretty interesting how the entire republican convention showed no effort to even bring up existing American problems and their views on how the issues should be solved. I did not hear them speak of the incredible, record breaking debt of 9 trillion dollars, or the heath care issues, or even global climate change, which undoubtedly will affect the United States. I don't care what governor Palin says, global warming is in effect, and there's no way that incredible amounts of pollution and exhaustion of resources cannot have any effect on the planet. Whether the consequences have an enormous effect or a small one, I believe we are definitely contributing to the temperature. The climate has risen 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since the industrial revolution, says National Geographic. Senator Obama understands this and other present problems. I believe that Obama knows how to approach and face the issues that exist in modern day middle class homes. He has experienced growing up and living without a contorted view of how actual American communities live. John McCain has seven houses, how can he possibly be in touch with the common man? I can see why big corporate business owners would like him. Quite honestly, my parents are considering moving to another country if our nation continues its quick descent. I hope that the American populace can realize that Senator Obama has the altruistic ideals that are necessary to keep our country together.

Feldenkrais Conference Boulder

2008-08-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

I just returned home from the 2008 Feldenkrais Conference in Boulder, Colorado and had all my expectations met and more. I signed up for workshops that were to be new explorations for me and to find new ways to embody more Feldenkrais into my life outside of my work.

The week kicked off with our keynote speaker Dr. Joan Borysenko who is an internationally known speaker on spirituality, integrative medicine and the mind/body connection. She also has a doctorate in medical sciences from Harvard Medical School. To her surprise, she had not heard of the Feldenkrais Method before and when she had three sessions with a practitioner prior to coming to the conference she was surprised to see that she could lift her left shoulder without pain (as she demonstrated this at her podium). This is the same shoulder that had not responded to physical therapy and was awaiting surgery for a rotator cuff repair. Being a PT, it was not the first time I had witnessed this story. In her words, "How come I didn't know about you before, the world should know about you." She continued on to reference the Feldenkrais research that had shown how medical costs could be reduced with this modality and many other references revealing how this work is scientifically grounded and respected.

I spent another one of the evenings with the Feldenkrais Method and research. Jim Stephens, P.T.,PhD.,G.C.F.P. who led this meeting is co-chair of the Feldenkrais Educational Foundation of North America Research Committee and has a PhD in Neuroscience. There were excellent research papers given and it was well attended by many practitioners and physical therapists.

I was able to debut the Smartroller (a patented two sided foam roller) for the first time at a national conference and was pleased to see how well they were received and sold out in the first few days.Foam rollers were introduced to us by way of the Feldenkrais Method and the Smartroller is a foam roller tool that was invented to be used as a sensory motor learning tool for the public and professionals. The SR also works with one of the main ideas that are supported with Feldenkrais Method like the "No Pain, More Gain" rule and "More is not always Better". For more information you can reach me at: http://www.centurycitypt.com

The early classes I attended were Feldenkrais and bridging the worlds (the title of the conference) with sound and music. Starting with liberating the voice, how holding your instrument affects your performance and ending with Feldenkrais with music composition and improvisation. I was able to not only see changes in the postures and effort with professional musicians as they performed but I was amazed how much I could hear the changes in their musical performances. The final courses I attended were from some of the first teachers in the Feldenkrais Method with titles such as Making the Feldenkrais Method a Part of Our Daily Lives. This completed the week nicely.

I had heard that Boulder would be an incredible place, and even with the 90 degree heat, it was a place that I could easily imagine living in. I was able to not get into a car for the entire week and instead explored the area by foot and bicycle. My classes were on the University of Colorado and as I traveled on bike with my backpack, it took me back to similar days as a college student.

I was able to meet with two dear friends as well as a dear Rabbi/Sage that so kindly made time for me. In all, the week was a truly transcending experience and when you have those times in your life, you come back excited to continue to explore more in this world.