The Feldenkrais Method is for anyone who wants to reconnect with his natural abilities to move, think and feel. A gentle method of bodywork involving movement therapy, Feldenkrais teaches you how to alter the way your body is held and moved. A great addition to any mind/body fitness routine, Moshe Feldenkrais developed this bodywork technique after a knee injury. By studying and combining principles of anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and psychology he integrated this knowledge with his own awareness of correct movement.
Flexibility and Coordination
The Feldenkrais method works by developing an awareness of body movement patterns and changing them through specific exercises, flexibility and coordination to improve range of motion. A qualified practitioner will guide you through a series of movements that include bending, reaching and walking. These movements help reduce stress and pain and can improve self-image. Accessing the central nervous system, there are two types of sessions.
Awareness Through Movement
The first is a set of bodywork movements learned in a group setting and called awareness through movement. These lessons consist of comfortable, easy movements that gradually evolve into movements of greater range and complexity. The emphasis is on learning which movements work better for each individual and noticing the quality of these changes in your body.
Functional Integration
The second type involves individual hands-on sessions and is called functional integration. The practitioner talks through how to organise your body and through gentle touching and movement, gives you an experience of comfort, pleasure and ease of movement while you learn how to reorganise your body and behavior in new and more expanded patterns. The practitioner/instructor develops a lesson for you, tailor-made to your unique configuration at that particular moment, relating to a desire, intention or needs. Both types benefit mind and body.
Feldenkrais teaches body awareness, how to move properly and attain better range of motion. It can be helpful with strokes, arthritis, back pain, spinal cord injuries, cerebral plasy, multiple sclerosis, digestive problems, breathing problems and can help with concentration.
The Trager Approach
Trager is another bodywork method of passive gentle movements using traction and rotation to re-educate muscles and joints. Developed by physician Milton Trager in the 1920s, this method relieves tightness in the muscles without pain and leaves a sense of flexibility, lightness and freedom with better coordination and range of motion.
Movement Therapy
Trager works through a series of smooth joint movements and gentle rhythmic rocking. Communication with the nerves controlling muscle movement releases and re-organizes old patterns of tension, muscle restriction and pain. A session generally lasts around an hour to an hour and a half. Afterwards, a series of simple movements called mentastics helps maintain results and keep the body flexible. These movements also aim to promote deep relaxation of both mind and body.
Trager work can be useful for chronic pain, severe disability, neuromuscular disorders, fibromyalgia and headaches. There are no harmful side effects if done with a qualified practitioner.
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