Frank Wildman, GCFT, PhD
Educational Director
Feldenkrais Movement Institute

Welcome to the Feldenkrais Movement Institute

Greetings!

My name is Frank Wildman; I am the director of the Feldenkrais Movement Institute. I would like to thank you for your interest in the Feldenkrais Method and I look forward to the opportunity to acquaint you with the unique benefits of this intriguing and remarkably effective work via our e-newsletter.

We plan to send you one newsletter a month, each containing a short audio lesson and addressing one specific idea of the Feldenkrais Method. The lessons are kept quite short to allow you to do them during a brief break at your office or at home (the first lesson is about 6 minutes in length). They require virtually no preparation and can be done by anybody regardless of age or physical condition.

You might wonder why the movement sequences you are about to experience are called lessons rather than exercises. This is not just a matter of terminology, but points to an important difference between this method and other systems: The emphasis here is not on the number of repetitions you can do or the range of motion you can achieve, but on the quality of your movements and the skill with which you do them.  With each lesson you will be able to make better use of yourself, move with less effort, and be better organized. You will learn to improve ineffective movement habits, rather than reinforce and perpetuate them - that is why they are called “lessons.”

The first four lessons will be done in sitting. Most of us spend long hours in sitting, whether at work, at home, at the computer, watching TV, driving, traveling by plane. Although it’s a seemingly passive and effortless “activity,” there actually is a skill to sitting as all those can attest to who suffer from back pain.

And now without further ado, let’s begin with your first lesson:

Awareness Advice

• Go Slowly Time is an extremely valuable tool in the Feldenkrais Method. The movements you are learning may seem unusual and unfamiliar to you. You will need time to assimilate them, to feel the way your body is moving and changing. Do not rush! Pause whenever you feel like it and repeat movements you find pleasurable or want to experience more fully.

• Insist on Comfort There is no reward in doing any of the movements in an uncomfortable position. Gently alter the position in whatever way makes it comfortable for you. I want you to enjoy the process of the movement as much as the result. If it hurts, it’s not helping you (“No pain, no gain” does not apply in this method!) Never try to overcome pain, if you feel it. Pain is a signal that your body is asking you to find a new way to move. Answer it with gentleness and respect.

• Don’t test your limits The Feldenkrais Method is not about seeing how far you can move, how high you can lift, how long you can stretch. Your goal should be to discover how your body achieves a movement so that you can learn to make that movement easier. Your movements should always be light, and as effortless as possible. Imagine how good it will feel to do simple mobile tasks without trying hard, without working

• Use your imagination Take the time to do different movements from these lessons in your head only, before doing them in practice. Allow the movement to become very clear and lucid in your mind, like a scene from a movie. Imagine a movement before attempting it can make an enormous difference in your ease of motion. You may find that your body responds to your mind by moving as if it is replaying the imagined movement, with almost no effort at all.

• Rest frequently The movements in these lessons, while gentle and pleasurable, may cause slight strain because you are using parts of muscles you may not have used in a long time, or in ways that are not familiar to you. Rest often during each lesson. You cannot rest too much. Relax and let the movement settle in, enjoy the feeling. Who knows – it could become a habit.

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