What is Feldenkrais?

The Feldenkrais Method uses gentle movement to help you become aware of:

        • How you move
        • Any unhelpful habits you have acquired
        • Moving differently to increase your comfort, ease and fluidity.

The human body is designed to move with minimum effort and maximum ease, yet few people move in this way. A lifetime of limiting habits affects comfort, flexibility, self-confidence and performance. The Feldenkrais Method is a unique approach to improving movement and awareness, named after the man who developed it, Moshe Feldenkrais.

Awareness is evoked using gentle movement and directed attention, creating greater ease and vitality, leaving you feeling more centred and balanced.  
Taught using both “hands on” lessons called Functional Integration, or group classes called Awareness Through Movement, the Method facilitates balanced posture, flexibility, coordination and wellbeing.
(See descriptions of these below)

INTRODUCTORY CLASS SERIES  Sept - December, 2007

FIRST CLASS FREE
FOR EACH SERIES IN 2007
BOOK NOW

For the remainder of 2007, we are offering three series of Awareness Through Movement lessons that are designed for people with little or no experience of the Feldenkrais Method. The first lesson in each series is free and includes a brief introduction to the Method. Each series of lessons will have a particular theme which focuses on ideas such as moving with less effort and more ease, finding connections in the body that make movement more efficient and reducing effort to improve awareness. Each practitioner is teaching the series at a different time in the week.

SECOND SERIES Nov 2007

Are your hands overworked? Find ease in using your hands and arms - part 1

Our hands and arms are an important part of ourselves – for expressing, sensing and acting. Many people experience fatigue and strain in their hands and arms with overuse.

These classes are helpful for those at risk of, or experiencing, over-use syndromes with repetitive manual tasks such as computer use, playing an instrument, cleaning or creating. This series of lessons is designed to evoke more comfort, power and pleasure in using our arms.
 

When:

Fridays      2 Nov - 23 Nov, 10 – 11 am
contact      Julia Broome  0407 749 404

Fridays      2 Nov - 23 Non, 5.30 – 6.30 pm
contact       Naomi Richards 0407 839 890

Where:
The Yoga Room
C 1.30 Wellbeing Centre
Abbotsford Convent
1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford

Wear:
Warm, loose, comfortable clothing

Cost:
First class and introduction free
Next 3 classes:  $55.00 full  $45 concession/ACF tenants

Will Feldenkrais lessons be useful for me?

You will find the applications of the Feldenkrais method are broad, ranging from reduction of pain and improving mobility to performance enhancement for athletes, dancers, musicians and actors. It is valuable for people with neurologically based movement difficulties including children with movement, learning and developmental difficulties. As well as addressing these specific situations, it offers a unique exploration for anyone wanting to improve their quality of everyday life.

Benefits include improved functioning, regained curiosity, greater vitality, enhancement of one’s self-image, improved breathing, posture and flexibility, and reduction of pain. By bringing our attention back to the process of what we are actually doing we feel lighter, more graceful, and our intentions are more accurately brought into action.

Individual sessions – Functional Integration (FI):

Functional Integration is a hands-on process with lessons tailored to meet your particular needs. Lessons are generally carried out in lying on a low padded table or in sitting. The practitioner guides your movements through precise touch to bring present habits into focus and offer new movement options. The learning is then applied to everyday activities such as reaching, sitting, standing, walking, and to activities specific to your needs.

Awareness Through Movement (ATM) classes:

ATM lessons are usually taught in groups on a weekly basis. The practitioner guides you through a planned sequence of movement explorations. Attention is drawn to the process of each movement pattern. Through observing your movements, you learn easier ways of moving in everyday activities. Exploration of movement in these classes is designed to improve overall wellbeing.
 
“There is nothing permanent about our behaviour patterns,
except our belief that they are so.”  Moshe Feldenkrais

 
Useful Links:
For more detailed information, you can explore the following:

The Australian Feldenkrais Guild website has some useful information on the Feldenkrais Method, and also has a link to the International Feldenkrais Guild website which includes research articles.

http://www.feldenkrais.org.au/

The North American Guild website has a variety of articles, including some helpful overviews of the method, and short articles on different applications of the Method.

http://www.feldenkrais.com/content/method/index/C68/