Feldenkrais® Somatic Education
FELDENKRAIS® Somatic Education re-patterns the way your brain and nervous system perceives pain, pleasure and movement. Feldenkrais improves how all the parts work together to increase efficiency and power. There are two ways to explore Feldenkrais, individual Functional Integration® sessions and Awareness Through Movement® lessons:
Functional Integration® sessions are individual hands-on learning sessions shaped to your specific needs and usually done while you are lying down, or sitting fully clothed on a low padded table. Through touch and movement you are gently led into experiences that can transform how you feel about your body. With support from the practitioner you can explore options you may not be able to access by yourself. Clients often discover ways to improve they never considered before.
Awareness Through Movement® lessons are movement explorations done in a group context, or during an individual session, which are designed around specific themes, such as being able to twist and look around yourself, standing, sitting, walking, or learning how to breath easier. The lessons improve flexibility, coordination, strength and balance, yet also can reduce stress and produce a feeling of calm, clarity, and self harmony.
A little background about Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984)
Moshe Feldenkrais, who was a physicist and a highly trained Judo expert, developed an approach to body-mind integration involving movement lessons and a discovery process. He was interested in improving the students’ awareness of how he was using his body in order to increase efficiency and ease. Feldenkrais’ approach was about how all the parts can work together as a whole to create graceful and powerful action, rather than repetitive strength exercises.
Awareness of habitual behavioral patterns and learning newer more “user friendly” options of doing things was the goal. Moshe Feldenkrais’ quest for health and body-mind integration was related to his own need to learn how to walk normally after severely damaging a knee. Disenchanted with the thought of a medical procedure with a 50/50 chance of leaving him crippled for life, or learning to live with his disability, he decided to try and invent his own recovery. He discovered many things by observing the process of how children learn to walk and how children and adults can acquire movement and postural habits that seem permanent yet can be changed if you create the correct learning environment. He was eventually successful in helping himself and began devoting all of his time towards helping others.
Feldenkrais observed that children learn because they need to interact with the world, be nourished, protected and loved. Our desire to be part of it all requires orientating with our head and eyes, touching with our hands, pushing and pulling and exploring what works and what does not work. Anything that hampers this experiential process can have serious consequences for movement, speech, and intelligence. Discovering the most effective use of your effort and learning to make fine distinctions between what works and what does not work is emphasized. Ernie Adams has been a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner since 1993.
SPECIAL CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
BETTER BALANCE & EASY WALKING: (July & August classes in El Cerrito or Berkeley to be announced soon)
In this course we will explore movement lessons that increase mobility in feet, knees, and hips, improve your ability to twist and look around yourself, and learn how the pelvis can be the center of control to improve balance and walking.
• Sharpen reflexes, improve balance, prevent falls
• Gain confidence and become more active
• Discover your natural stride
LEARNING HOW TO FALL GRACEFULLY: For Persons with Parkinson’s Disease
DATES:
• First Series: May 4, 11, 18, 25
• Second Series: June 1, 8, 15, 22
LOCATION: Emeryville Martial Arts, 4770 San Pablo ave, unit B, Emeryville, CA 94608
Sponsored by Parkinson’s Disease Active: http://pdactive.wordpress.com/
PD Active is a group of Berkeley/Oakland-based people impacted by Parkinson’s disease who act to build and strengthen our local community through advocacy, dance classes and other activities. We believe that we are our own best advocates and that acting on our own behalf fosters independence, dignity and respect, while preventing isolation and depression. PD Active began in late 2007, following an energizing dance class for people with Parkinson’s sponsored by the Mark Morris Dance Group. We obtained 501(c) 3 federally exempt non-profit status in January of 2009.
REGISTRATION: Email or call for more information (510) 479-6119 or email us at:
INFORMATION about the class: Ernie Adams at 510-619-9223 or
The Feldenkrais Method®: Neuroplasticity & Working with Parkinson’s Disease: Wed Sept 5, 10am-5pm.
Open to 3rd and 4th year trainees and Certified Feldenkrais Practitioners.
San Mateo Marriott, San Francisco Airport, 1770 South Amphlett Blvd, San Mateo, California 94402, USA. One Day Seminar for the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America (FGNA) Educational Conference 2012.
Presented by Ernie Adams
For a person with Parkinson’s Disease the natural flow of perception and movement is disrupted. The intention of a movement often lacks enough rhythmic and organizing structure to be truly functional. I have discovered that including clear rhythmic patterns within the context of a Feldenkrais® lesson can carry the action forward to a more normal completion in time and space. This is particularly useful for walking, rolling, and turning. Exploring tempo, dynamic range, and movement qualities also helps actions become “musically” connected. Working with Feldenkrais this way is fun for the student, facilitates “movement memory”, and develops learning strategies that can transfer into everyday activities.
More Information:
http://www.feldenkrais.com/events/conference/2012/
http://www.feldenkrais.com/events/conference/2012/esther_thelen_symposium
510-619-9223 (Ernie Adams)
5 x sessions: $375 (pre-paid), 10 x sessions: $700 (pre-paid), 1 Session: $85:Usually one session is enough to tell if this work can help you. You will receive valuable feedback and an assessment about your needs. Sessions are 50-55 minutes.
