Awareness Through Movement

Twelve exercises for developing renewed health and increased sensory awareness so that the body and mind can work together in harmony. The exercises are simple, painless and medically approved.

Thousands have found renewed health and increased sensory awareness through the Feldenkrais method as explained in Awareness Through Movement. Here is a way for people of every age to integrate physical and mental development into a new, invigorating wholeness. Feldenkrais provides a modern-day, practical program for the perennial ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body. His down-to-earth method carefully avoids any mystical component and never obliges any pupil to master abstruse theories. Exercises for posture, eyes, imagination, and more will simultaneously build better body habits and focus new dimensions of awareness, self-image, and human potential.

The Feldenkrais Method is a presentation of the system of Functional Integration devised by the Israeli scientist Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. This system is a way of handling the body by communicating specific sensations to the central nervous system in order to improve the functions of the motor-system. Functional Integration is unique in that it evokes changes in the human brain at a level heretofore thought unachievable by any known educational technique.

This book brings the Feldenkrais Method® and the concept of Somatic Education to a wide audience. As well as providing an introduction to the Feldenkrais Method® and its applications, a team of highly qualified contributors, representing a variety of therapeutic professions, explore how the Feldenkrais Method® interacts with and supports other professions and modalities, including Pilates, yoga, dance, physical therapy, sports coaching, rehabilitation medicine, and more. (See the table of contents for full details.) Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984), the founder of the Feldenkrais Method®, built his Method around the concept of improving human functioning by increasing self-awareness through movement. The concept of neuroplasticity - the brain's amazing capacity to change and adapt - was one of Feldenkrais' basic tenets of how the brain organizes movement, and is now in our daily lexicon. Pain, illness and injuries all affect how our nervous system and brain react to events in us and around us. Feldenkrais' thesis is that our nervous system always does the best it can with the information it has, and learning through the nervous system is the theme that runs through this book. Coverage includes: Comparisons about similarities as well as differences between the different modalities. Theory and practice of how the Feldenkrais Method® can be applied in a variety of specific settings. Coverage of the research base that supports evidence-informed practices for clients Online video of theory and practice accessed by QR codes throughout the book

The classic text on the relationship between movement, learning, and health—from the scientist and martial artist whose revolutionary exercise therapy techniques promote health, vitality, and lasting pain relief. The two main strands of the Feldenkrais Method—Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration—are now known by many around the world for reducing pain and anxiety, cultivating vitality, and improving performance. The Elusive Obvious presents a thorough explanation of the Moshe Feldenkrais’ revolutionary exercise therapy system, revealing how the solutions to many of our problems are hidden in plain sight. Hailed as one Moshe Feldenkrais’ most accessible texts on the body and healthy functioning, this beautiful new edition is ready to be treasured by an emerging generation of somatic practitioners, movement teachers, performing artists, and anyone interested in self-improvement and healing.

A pain relief expert provides a gentle workout to relax and release tight muscles and help you move through the world more comfortably. Unlearn the psychic and physical responses to stress that cause discomfort—in less than 15 minutes a day! These safe, easy, natural movements will relax and release chronically tight muscles, resulting in a more efficient, coordinated, and pain-free body. Discover a gentle workout that can be done anywhere, anytime—at any age. Includes: Movements to help ease pain in your back, neck, hips, and other areas Facts on how the brain interacts with your musculoskeletal system Tips on developing body awareness and changing bad posture habits Photos illustrating postures and exercises and more “This book shows us how to regain the ease and freedom of movement of our youth.” —C. William Hanson III, MD, Professor of Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania

Relieve pain, recover from stress, and enhance pleasure with the Feldenkrais Method The Feldenkrais Method is a revolutionary approach to health and fitness. Using what Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais called "Awareness Through Movement," people of any age or condition can learn to move more comfortably and effectively. In pleasant yet powerful ways, his method reawakens the natural process by which we as babies learned to crawl, walk, and talk. In the U.S. and Canada more than one thousand guild-certified practitioners teach the Feldenkrais Method. Awareness Heals is the first book to present the full benefits of the Feldenkrais Method in clear language. It details six basic lessons which help you to become more aware of how you breathe, sit, walk, and otherwise move. By sensing these natural actions, you grow more skillful and supple in all your movements. Through the Feldenkrais Method, you can learn to relieve pain, enhance flexibility, and recover from physical or emotional stress. The gentle movements in Awareness Heals are designed for practice at home and work, and even in your car. They fit into any program of fitness, exercise, or therapy. Most important, Feldenkrais lessons demonstrate that such problems as stiffness and stress do not require outside intervention--the remedy lies within each of us.