Dear Students:
A common request people ask me is: “ can you give me a movement that will help my (shoulder, back, leg) pain go away?” The answer to this popular question follows with a video to help you understand my explanation.
Following I use an example of shooting a basketball into a hoop (replace it with any movement you want). One day a basketball player who’s shot is usually on target plays a game where his shot is off.
It is the same player and the same court so what has changed? During this particular game the player organizes himself in such a slightly different manner that only a person with a trained eye could detect it. Listed are some reasons that could cause him to make minor yet consequential changes in his organization: playing a better team; a pre-game argument; wearing new sneakers; or favoring an injured leg; etc.
This is the reason why one day a particular Feldenkrais® movement takes your back pain away and weeks later the same movement doesn’t. It is also why a new organization that allows you to walk without pain seems to suddenly disappear. The good news is, the more you become aware of the way you move, the better you can move how you want.
Fortunately the Feldenkrais Method® has given us wonderful tools to use so you can constantly train your brain through Functional Integration® sessions and Awareness Through Movement® classes & workshops!
Included is a video that demonstrates what it takes to learn a new movement organization. You will watch how a man learns to ride a bike differently than his habitual way of 20+ years! His curiosity, determination, and belief in his abilities allowed him to accomplish this difficult task. Without these traits he would have found many excuses not to practice 5 minutes every day in deep concentration. This along with his playful way of not giving up when he made many mistakes was the key to his success. Today he is able to ride a bike in an unusually new way, and he understands the remarkable way his brain works.
Watch him do this while using the following analogies to assist you to think in a Feldenkrais® way.
The regular bike riding movement pattern will 
symbolize a habitual movement pattern that doesn’t serve you any longer. This pattern could turn into: back pain; a knee injury; carpal tunnel syndrome; depression; attention deficit; etc.
Learning the backwards bike riding movement pattern will be like creating a new movement pattern. This pattern may feel like: pain relief; a supportive knee; restored feeling in the hands; uplifted emotions; a quieter mind; etc.
The little boy’s regular bike riding movement pattern will represent a young habitual movement pattern that doesn’t serve you any longer.
Learning to move in a way that doesn’t cause pain (or injury) is just like learning to ride a bike! Remember this man’s delightful attitude and let it become contagious when you feel like giving up!
~Donna