Can the Feldenkais Method help Attention Deficit Disorder, Compulsive Behaviors, Anxiety, Emotional and Mental States of Mind?
The answer is yes when one explores Feldenkrais, over time. What most people don’t realize is that the Feldenkrais Method is largely about growing the plasticity of the brain. Moshe Feldenkrais was most interested in helping people become flexible in mind. He is famous for saying, “What I’m after isn’t flexible bodies, but flexible brains. What I’m after is to restore each person to their human dignity. ”
Dr. Feldenkrais understood that an effective way to change the message patterns in the brain is through movement. Knowing that in order to move, the brain has to send nerve impulses to the muscles, he used movement as a vehicle to change peoples’ thought processes for the better. By increasing one’s movement repertoire, one can experience broader behavioral responses; opened emotional avenues; increased mental clarity; lengthened attention spans; lower anxiety levels; etc.
Moshe Feldenkais used movement as a way for people to become aware of themselves physically, behaviorally, environmentally, emotionally and mentally. He said, “I believe that the unity of mind and body is an objective reality. They are not just parts somehow related to each other, but an inseparable whole while functioning. A brain without a body could not think.”
This is why I love the Feldenkrais Method so much. When I work with people I love seeing them change not only physically, but in so many other ways. Most of my students come to me because they want to free themselves of physical pain, the ones that stay, stay because they grow as a person in all areas of their lives.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I will be teaching my classes the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Saturday after! I hope to see you there!
Donna