On its basic level, the Feldenkrais Method improves posture, coordination, flexibility and suppleness. Moreover, Feldenkrais alleviates pain by minimizing physiological and psychological stress associated with restricted functions. Patterns of inefficiency, compromised self-expression, and forgotten ways of feeling can all be improved.
The positive integration of the mind and body through the Feldenkrais Method enables people to live more comfortable and rewarding lives. With improved efficiency comes greater enjoyment and pleasure in daily living. Ordinary problems associated with the work place or caused by aging are remedied. Persons with orthopedic or neurological
problems experience wonderful therapeutic benefits. Meanwhile athletes, actors, dancers and musicians substantially improve their performance skills through the Feldenkrais Method.
The Feldenkrais Method is named after the distinguished scientist and educator Moshe Feldenkrais, 1904-1984. Dr. Feldenkrais earned his doctorate in Physics at the Sorbonne and later was an associate to the Nobel Prize laureate Frederic Joliot-Curie in Paris. He was also the first European to earn a black belt in judo and is credited with introducing the sport to the West.
Upon suffering a serious knee injury, Feldenkrais was faced with a 50 percent chance for recovery and the possibility of confinement to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Unsatisfied with the prognosis and conventional treatments available, he embarked on exploring new relationships between the mind and body to improve physical movement and function. For 40 years, Feldenkrais developed an ingenious method for effective neuromuscular reeducation. He shared this special knowledge among a select group of students worldwide.
Today, Dr. Feldenkrais’s teachings are recognized as a dynamic methodolgy to improve neuromuscular control and biomechanical efficiency. There are nearly 3000 certified practitioners of The Feldenkrais Method worldwide. The largest number have been trained by the Feldenkrais Movement Institute of Berkeley, CA, under the direction of Frank Wildman, PhD.
The Feldenkrais Movement Institute training programs are certified by the Feldenkrais Guild of North America. The institute provides the two parallel forms of classes known as Awareness Through Movement®and Functional Integration®. Students who complete the curriculum are entitled to all rights and privileges granted by an approved Feldenkrais training program.
“I recommend the Feldenkrais Method to patients whose movement has been restricted by injury, cerebral palsy, stroke, fibromyalgia or chronic pain…I also believe that the Feldenkrais Method can help all of us feel more comfortable in our bodies.”
– Andrew Weil, MD,
Bestselling author of Spontaneous Healing