FELDENKRAIS®: ACTURE AND TENSEGRITY

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. 

Smart Solutions!

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.

Feldenkrais® on the Golf Course

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

FOAM ROLLERS THE FELDENKRAIS® WAY: THE SMARTROLLER®:

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.