A Feldenkrais Blog

Happy Holidays:
Remember there will be no Feldenkrais classes on:  Dec. 22, 24, 29 & 31!  I will however be available by appointment for Functional Integration sessions at Improving Through Movement during that time.  To help you prepare for the new year, I  posted my workshop dates and times for 2016 so you can schedule them in your calendar. Click here to learn more.  

Name the person that Dr. Feldenkrais is working with in the picture to the right and  earn $20 off a Functional Integration session to be used this month (Dec. 2015).  This offer is available to the first five people that contact me with the correct answer!

This Feldenkrais student was a Philadelphia icon when Dr. Feldenkrais worked with him.
Can you tell me his name using only 3 letters?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is it possible to improve your tennis stroke without picking up a tennis racket?
The answer is yes – it happened for me!  The last time I tried to hit a tennis ball against this wall I couldn’t return it and I didn’t have a back hand.

For over two decades I have not given one thought to tennis until I came upon this wall again from my childhood.  As if by magic when I hit the ball for the first time recently,  I was able to volley it back and forth for quite awhile including with a back hand! Now I look forward to playing tennis with this wall every time I visit it!

How is this improvement possible when I didn’t pick up a tennis racket for over 25 years?  The impossible became possible for me because I have been supporting my brain development through the Feldenkrais Method.  This is an explanation that not everyone will believe until they experience it themselves.   Another person studying this method may report that without trying they became a better artist or mathematician.  What have you become better at due to your brain development?  I would love to hear about it and share it with others.  Contact me with your story.

Have a wonderful holiday season and I hope to see you often in the New Year!
~Donna

Dear Students:
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember that there will be no class on Thanksgiving day. For the remaining of 2015, I will teach upon request your favorite Awareness Through Movement class lesson, thus far.  Contact me and explain the lesson as best as you can and I will teach it once again! I look forward to Repeating your Favorite Lesson!

I am excited to share a sweet video with you to help you understand what I mean when I say things like, “move slowly; gently & become curious about how you do this movement.”  You will see a curious toddler teaching himself how to move up & down stairs in a more self pleasing way.  This little fellow demonstrates what I am always trying to invoke in you.  Take the time to watch this child show you how it is done!  I can’t come close to expressing what you will see captured on this film!   
[To view click here.]

The next time you come to Feldenkrais class remember how this little guy’s attention became captivated with his learning. When you explore with curiosity like this you will be able to figure out how to do whatever you desire!

The way this child explores movement is what Moshe Feldenkrais studied when he watched babies. Instinctively he knew that he had to teach people of all ages and ability levels, this way of exploring movement in order for them to succeed.   Fortunately he was able to bring this philosophy to us through the Feldenkrais Method.  I am so grateful!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Avowed Dream Coming True:
I am proud to announce that I will be performing with Netco Modern Dance company for their upcoming season.  Becoming a member of a dance company has been a dream in the making for me.  As a teenager I was deathly afraid of stepping onto a dance floor yet I admired everyone dancing from the sidelines.  After years of doing Feldenkrais I realized that I could learn to do what I desired.   Now many dance classes later I will be dancing for the first time the amazing choreography of Jen Berlet’s at the Lancaster Country Day school on Nov. 21 & 22.  Click here to find out the details.

“Health is the ability to realize our avowed and unavowed dreams.” –Moshe Feldenkrais

I am grateful to all of you for supporting me and allowing me to make a living teaching what I love to do!  Happy Thanksgiving!
~Donna

Hi Students:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all the people that sponsored me for Izzy’s 5K walk.  I raised over $300 for five year old, Israel Newswanger’s  alternative therapies.  Please keep sending him positive energy with your thoughts and prayers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The photo to your right is another very determined Feldenkrais student of mine. Tim is a 38 year old husband with three children. I am helping him relearn movement that he lost due to surgery on an aneurysm located near his brain stem.
If you would like to learn more about Tim or help support his Feldenkrais sessions click here to donate directly! Thank you for your support!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My latest video (below) will give you an idea of what a Child’Space session is like for parents and babies. 

“Am I giving my baby enough “tummy time”?”  This is a common question young Mothers are concerned about today so I decided to teach Marie, the difference between transitioning time vs. tummy time.
Please share this with any parents you think would like to learn how to support their baby’s brain development.  I greatly appreciate your help in getting the word out!
~Donna

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

Dear Students:

I highly recommend Dr. Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain’s Way of Healing for anyone that wants to learn how to heal, through natural ways without toxic medicines or invasive surgeries.  I wish I could put this book in the hands of every parent with a child with special needs and every person suffering from brain injury, chronic pain or disease.

Each alternative therapy mentioned in this book encourages neuroplastic learning much like the Feldenkrais Method® does.  I think you will find the book easy to read because of your own understanding of how the brain learns through your experiences with classes and sessions.  I hope that I can inspire you to read the entire book in this short review.

Chapter 1:  Physician Hurt, Then Heal Thyself, Michael Moskowitz Discovers That Chronic Pain Can Be Unlearned

This chapter is for anyone dealing with chronic pain.  Dr. Michael Moskowitz, a pain specialist used the knowledge he discovered when recovering from his own injuries to teach people how to “unlearn chronic pain”.  Continue reading Book Review: The Brain’s Way of Healing

HI Students:
Following is a favorite excerpt of mine from Dr. Norman Doidge’s, latest book about the brain’s ability to heal itself.

“According to Feldenkrais, these attempts to leapfrog through development are a huge error because no one ever learned to walk by walking. Other skills have to be in place for a child to walk—skills adults don’t think about or remember learning, such as the ability to arch the back and lift the head. Only when all these pieces are in place will a child learn to walk, spontaneously.”  ~“The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries From the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity” by Norman Doidge

This statement applies to everyone, no matter the problem one is dealing with. Whether I am helping a baby that missed crawling; an adult with a back injury; a person suffering from a stroke; or a child with special needs- teaching them the movements a baby learns in the first year of life creates & restores functioning. This may look like a baby rolling for the first time; a person dealing with a stroke speaking more clearly; or a teenager figuring out a math problem more easily.

A baby is born without curves in the spine.  The curves develop as the baby’s curiosity invites them to do movements such as rolling onto the belly and lifting the head to see something in their environment. Crawling, sitting and walking are discovered in much the same way.  Allowing a baby to go through these motions supports brain development. An adult re-visiting these movements can create new pathways in the brain and reshape the curves in their vertebral column.  All of this will improve balance and functioning no matter one’s age!

Attend a Feldenkrais class or workshop soon so you can continue to grow and heal. The workshop I taught in March sold out so I recommend signing up early for the workshop, Taking the Weight Off Your Shoulders on May 2nd.

~Donna

Hi Students:
Inside every one is a beautiful dancer that can be expressed in many unique and individual ways.

One of the things I love most about my job as a Feldenkrais® Practitioner is that I enjoy watching the dancer from within my students, emerge.  The following quotes express how this woman pictured to the left could go about finding her dancer through the Feldenkrais Method®.

“Health is measured not by the capacity to stay standing but by the ability to be knocked down and then return to standing.”~Moshe Feldenkrais

“It follows that any posture is acceptable in itself as long as it does not conflict with the law of nature, which is that the skeletal structure should counteract the pull of gravity, leaving the muscles free for movement.” ~Moshe Feldenkrais

When a student says to me, “I am getting old and was told that I shouldn’t do this or that anymore…” I kindly remind them not to give their power and dreams away and if they want they can learn to do “this and that”.

When you witness without judgement, how you move, behave and imagine yourself to be in the world, you can initiate change.  Change can happen by learning to become aware through enjoyable movements that may bring to light personal details about yourself you never knew.

“Without learning to know ourselves as intimately as we possibly can, we limit our choices.  Life is not very sweet without freedom of choice.” ~Moshe Feldenkrais

How much time & energy do you want to commit to finding your inner dancer? Remember you are worth every second.  Imagine your loved ones interacting with you, the dancer, right now.  What do you see?~Donna

HI Students!
“What I love most about Feldenkrais is that after a class or private session the “chatter” inside my head comes to a standstill,” a student shares.

When the fear of the unknown future or when the compulsive thinking stops, you are living in the present moment. Feldenkrais® helps us to get there and I appreciate this wonderful gift we can achieve even when not in class.   To live in the present moment, is as simple and elusive as becoming aware, using any of your 5 senses.

Take a moment and feel your feet on the floor; hear the sounds around you; smell the fragrance of the room; look at the vastness of the sky; or truly taste your food when eating. The present moment allows a person to find peace when being. Living in the past and/or future, can create physical, emotional and mental stress.

Aknowledge your thoughts and let them go as you come to the present.  Remember your thoughts / emotions are not you.  And when in a crisis, living in the present moment will allow you to make the best decisions based on what is currently happening and not based on a fear of what could happen.

Try it, I think you will like it!
~Donna

Hi Students:
I am excited to be teaching CHILD’SPACE classes, starting on Jan. 20, this year.
Please send new parents to my website if you think they would be interested in learning how to support their baby’s development through movement & touch.

I made this video, inspired by requests from students in my Feldenkrais classes. Many have difficulty remembering the lesson after class is over.  This lesson will help jog your memory.  I am confident that if you get down on the floor and explore, you will remember more.  It will also help you to make up some variations on your own.  Have fun!

May you spend lots of time in nature, exploring movement this new year!
~Donna

Happy Holidays,
As a gift to you I have created a new section on my website called, “videos”. If you click on the link you will find all of my videos in one place for your viewing. Since I will not be teaching Feldenkais classes from Dec. 25 until Jan. 1, it will be the perfect time for you to do lessons on your own and stay rejuvenated.

I am happy to announce that I will begin teaching Child’Space classes for parents & babies, in January at the Susquehanna Dance Center.  I will teach parents how to support their baby’s brain development through movement and touch.

I would appreciate it if you could hang a flyer like the one on your left, or forward this post to anyone you think would be interested in Child’Space classes.  Contact me if you want me to mail you some flyers.

Thank you for your support in 2014.  Because of you I feel very fortunate & grateful to share the Feldenkrais Method with you.
~Donna