FELDENKRAIS METHOD Figure 1: Guidance through manual contact

Developing new options for effective action In the case study, the student experiences back pain as a consequence of her inefficient pattern of extension. The source of her problem is not, however, in her muscles but in her inability to perceive accurately how she is moving. Without the sensory acuity to regulate and coordinate her movement more efficiently,

she compulsively and

unconsciously reproduces her habitual pattern, whether or not it is appropriate for the particular activity.

Figure 2: Guidance through verbal instruction Figure 3: Constraints

strategies that help the students refine their kinesthetic perception and improve their motor control.

HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM EXERCISE OR APPROACHES SUCH AS MASSAGE OR CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENTS? In the exercise model it is assumed that if you are weak you should strengthen your muscles, if you are inflexible you should stretch, or if you think bad posture causes your problem, you should correct it and stand up straight. These approaches assume that the body is something that must be moulded, reshaped and put in its proper place. None of these look at how you move, and how that could relate to the problem you are experiencing. Massage, chiropractic and many other treatment

modalities are structural

approaches that seek to effect change through changes in your structure. The Feldenkrais Method, on the other hand, is a functional approach that works with your ability to regulate and coordinate your movement. In a Feldenkrais lesson the practitioner is working with the nervous system and the whole person.

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Strategies for replacing habits Figure 2: Unusual movements in unlikely positions In this image the students are exploring kinematic linkage – the chain of movement through the skeleton - by pushing the standing foot into the floor and finding a pathway through the skeleton to the reaching arm. Emphasis is not on strengthening the extensors or stretching the flexors, but on exploring slowly and attentively how forces are able to travel joint by joint so that every part of the body can organise the action of reaching. Notice how closely related this exercise is to serving in tennis.

Figure 3: Constraints Constraints simplify the motor control task, inhibit habitual action, and high- light specific aspects of dynamic action. In this photo, the constraint of holding onto a foot with one hand whilst gently moving the bent knee forward and back- ward is a device to invite the spine and pelvis into the movement of flexing and extending the hip and leg. Imagine a goal keeper kicking as far down field as possi- ble.: in order to find the power for the kick, his whole spine extends as he takes his leg behind him; as he completes the arc of his kick, his whole spine flexes to the extent that his head almost touches his knee.

WEBSITES

■ www.catherinemccrum.com The website of the author ■ www.feldenkraislondon.com The website of Scott Clark ■ www.feldenkraisuk.com The UK Feldenkrais Guild website ■ www.feldenkraisresources.com Great source of books, DVDs etc on every aspect of human learning including latest research on neuroscience, biomechanics, psychology ■ www.mindinmotion-online.com The website of Feldenkrais trainer, cynberneticist and movement scientist Larry Goldfarb. Excellent articles on the method and courses for manual, occupational and physical therapists.

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LEARNING AND EXPLORATION In both individual and group lessons, emphasis is placed on exploration not performance and on awareness rather than mindless repetition. The student is asked to move slowly and gently so that he or she can tune-in to the qualitative aspects of the movement. At no point is the ‘right’ way demonstrated or suggested. The Feldenkrais teacher’s job is to guide the students’ exploration so that they discover for themselves new ways of moving in varied and often challenging situations. Learning has taken place when the students can take away these discover- ies and make them useful not only in their sport but in every activity in daily life.

THE AUTHOR

Catherine McCrum is an accredited Feldenkrais practitioner who has been teaching sport, fitness and movement since 1986. She is an internationally qualified ski instructor and ski instructor coach and has taught in Europe, New Zealand and USA. On her return to London she worked as a personal trainer and was one of the first to incorporate Pilates into her training methods. Catherine is one of the presenters at the sportEX 2007 Conference where she will be presenting and offering workshops introducing the Feldenkrais Method.

FURTHER READING 1. Feldenkrais, Moshe. Awareness Through Movement. Harper and Row 1972. ISBN 0060623454 2. Feldenkrais, Moshe.

The Elusive

Obvious. Meta Publications 1981. ISBN 0916990095 3. Feldenkrais, Moshe. The Potent Self. Frog Ltd 2002. ISBN 1583940685 4. Feldenkrais, Moshe, The Case of Nora, Somatic Resources 1977. ISBN 1883319080 5. Heggie, Jack. Running With The Whole Body. North Atlantic Books 1996. ISBN 1556432267.