“What I’m after isn’t flexible bodies, but flexible brains.

What I’m after is to restore each person to their human dignity.”

“Nothing is permanent about our behavior patterns except our belief that they are so.”

— Moshé Feldenkrais

What is The Feldenkrais Method®?The Feldenkrais Method®is a scientifically grounded learning method that expands human potential by improving the way we learn, feel and function. Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® lessons (ATM® Lessons)are learning explorations that remap and generate connections in the brain and nervous system, helping people to improve their functioning, sense of self, mental and overall health, and capacity to continue learning and changing. Feldenkrais Functional Integration® lessons use non-invasive touch to guide people through developmental and functional movement patterns and organizations in a way that invites change and healing from the top down, through the central nervous system. Both modalities of the method are potent ways to achieve global change in a person’s life and functioning. For more information about the method, visit the Feldenkrais Guild of North America www.feldenkrais.com.‍ ‍Along with meditation, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, The Feldenkrais Method® is recognized by the National Institute of Health as a Complementary Health practice with physical and psychological benefits.

A physicist, engineer, athlete, and jiu-jitsu and judo master, Moshé Feldenkrais conceived the method to help himself and others overcome injury, disrupt dysfunctional habits, and live with vitality and independence. He learned when people have a new experience that connects through the sensory-motor system in a way that bypasses muscular habits, there is a neurological change that spreads into other areas of the brain and nervous system. People change without having to will themselves to change, freeing themselves from habits of thought and behavior.  The way the lessons accomplish these learning experiences is one of the great innovations of Feldenkrais.  The Feldenkrais® method of learning has been borne out by current neurological and behavioral science, and Dr. Feldenkrais is considered a pioneer in the science of neuroplasticity. Though he created the work to be accessible to everyone as a method of somatic education rather than a medical practice, health professionals refer clients to Feldenkrais practitioners to enhance rehabilitation and healing and overcome developmental challenges.

Who is it for? Athletes use the method to increase their strength and capabilities and punch up their performance. Musicians engage with the method to stimulate creativity, expand ability and technique, accelerate learning and memory, relieve chronic pain and fend off injury.  Actors and dancers use the method to enhance the possibilities of their instrument, structure and presence. Whatever the case, everyone uses it to help recover from injury, prevent further injury, relieve stress, find sleep, discover comfort, release habits, increase mental acuity and spur creativity. The benefits of the method can be surprising, showing up unexpectedly in everyday life. We also use the method to address developmental challenges and expand possibilities. Changes and new abilities can take hold right away, not after months or years of study or “practice.” Best of all — there are lessons for everyone, and it is never too late to begin!

What do we do? ATM® Lessons (group or individual) invite us to explore unusual movements and movement patterns or puzzles designed to harness the attention, cultivate awareness, and “rewire” the brain. ATM® Lessons are verbally directed experiences that are structured to stimulate embodied thinking and redirect us out of our habits, assumptions and limitations. Lessons unfold as adventures with discoveries, and they engage the brain and nervous system in novel ways. People discover new ways of moving, thinking and feeling in all that they do. They may feel stronger, even without changing their exercise routine. They may run faster, sleep better, improve focus and attention, and be more able to regulate mood.  Functional Integration® lessons are potent one-on-one sessions that can both introduce and accelerate these changes. They are powerful interventions for addressing pain and injury and other distress, as well as being a way to set a new course for better self-use. These are the lessons of legend, the ones that can generate transformation and well-being in so little time with so little effort.  Whatever your first experiences with The Feldenkrais Method® may be, the cumulative long-term effects on the way you learn can be extraordinary.