Stiff from too much time at a computer? Feldenkrais to the rescue.

Feldenkrais method can appear magical but it is rooted in good science. It has withstood the test of time. Moshe Feldenkrais, a prominent Israeli physicist, developed his method over 70 years ago. You can read more about the science behind this method in my blog post from three years ago.

I continue to recommend it to patients with neck, back, and other pains. You can watch me do some of the exercises here, here and here.

You can find a local practitioner at Feldenkrais.com but these days you can see one virtually from anywhere.

What prompted this blog post is a flier I came across in my files from the now-defunct Feldenkrais Institute. From reading it you can see that anyone can practice Feldenkrais method – it requires no physical strength or major effort. And, it cannot hurt you.

Awareness Through Movement: Keys for Success

Feldenkrais exercises are called Awareness Through Movement® lessons. Awareness Through Movement® works by changing the messages that your brain sends to your musculature, creating new options for movement, health, and vitality. Contrary to popular belief, your brain and nervous system—not your muscles—determine the health of your posture, and the ease and comfort of your movement.

When you do Awareness Through Movement®, your brain has the opportunity to discover the most efficient and comfortable way to organize your movement. You will enjoy relief from pain, tension, and discomfort, and enhance your flexibility, ease of movement, relaxation, and posture.

Following these simple guidelines will ensure that each lesson is communicated effectively and will help maximize your benefits.

1. DO ONLY WHAT IS EASY: Make each movement easy and
   comfortable. Do not strain or stretch. Doing only what is
   easy will facilitate your ability to pay attention to the
   quality of your movement.

2. MAKE EACH MOVEMENT SMALL: Small movements, done easily, enable your body to improve most effectively. Large movements, done with effort, reduce your ability to heal and improve.

3. GO SLOWLY: Do each movement slowly. This will give you time to sense and feel what you are doing, so that you can easily detect and reduce unnecessary effort and strain.

4. PAUSE BETWEEN EACH MOVEMENT: Do not repeat the movements quickly, one after another. Awareness Through Movement® is most effective when you pause and relax completely for a moment after each movement, allowing your brain time to absorb new and useful sensory information.

5. REDUCE UNNECESSARY EFFORT: Small, slow, and easy movements allow you to detect the unnecessary effort in your body. With reduced effort, your movement will automatically improve.

6. DON’T TRY: Your improvement will be greater and quicker if you do not ‘try to succeed’. When you try, you are more likely to use more effort than necessary.

7. TAKE RESTS: Fatigue causes unnecessary and inefficient effort in your movement, interfering with your ability to heal and improve. If at any time during a lesson you feel a need to rest, simply pause until you are ready to continue.

8. AVOID PAIN AND DISCOMFORT: You should never experience discomfort or pain while doing Awareness Through Movement. Only do the small amount that feels comfortable and easy. If you experience pain or discomfort, use even less effort and make each movement even smaller and slower, or try doing the movements in your imagination.

9. USE YOUR KINESTHETIC IMAGINATION: When you visualize doing a movement, your brain sends essentially the same message to your muscles as when you are actually moving. To use your imagination, close your eyes and imagine doing the movements with ease and with as much kinesthetic detail as you can.

10. CONTINUE YOUR PROGRESS: By doing Awareness Through Movement® often, you will initiate a process of steady improvement. You can also maximize the benefits by periodically recalling the movements of a recent lesson, including your feelings and sensations.

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