Feldenkrais FAQs

How do you pronounce it?

Feldenkrais®. It rhymes with rice! In Australia, most students & practitioners affectionately call it Feldy.

Is Feldenkrais® (FELDY) like Yoga or Pilates? 

While Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement (ATM) classes are mostly done on the floor, the similarity ends there. In an ATM class, you will not be asked to stretch or effort but in fact to Effort-Less! When you make less effort and move more slowly, you will learn an increasing sense of awareness. Your nervous system can begin to sense subtle differences. I want to teach you to increase your repertoire of movements, not simply move within limited patterns & ranges. It’s truly something that you need to ‘feel’ to understand the difference between these modalities. The self-awareness learned in Feldy improves your Yoga or Pilates. A perfect combination! But essentially; classes are quite different.

Do I need to be flexible? 

No. If fact, 1 of Moshe’s quotes was “What I am after is flexible minds, not flexible bodies “

When you discover new ways for your joints to move, you find you have more mobility & suppleness. With mobility, often flexibility follows naturally.

What is the different about an ATM class?

An ATM class is more about the ‘how’ we move. There is no perfect way, as we all have a different history. You are looking for a clear pathway for your skeletal system to move. In time, as you discover more about your own movement patterns, your muscular system begins to find a more even tonus throughout your whole body so that no one part is efforting more than another.

Is Feldenkrais ® & Somatic movement the same?

Yes. I want you to become conscious of how you perform a movement & begin to feel & sense how you move, rather than focusing on the result. Our brain & body learn through senses. By learning self-awareness, we can become very attuned to spatial awareness & how we move through space.

How is awareness different to mindfulness?

Awareness is knowledge or the perception you have of a situation. Feldenkrais®, is ultimately a learning method. You consciously input the data to your brain because you are paying attention to the how.

What do you do in a class? 

Generally, one of my class’s will generally begin with some type of ‘test movement or body scan. This allows you to have something to compare with at the end of the lesson. It then depends on the lesson of the day! We could be learning how to roll, go from laying prone to side sitting in one motion, we could be teaching our systems to co-ordinate our flexors & extensors. Some lessons will teach us the connections our eye movement has with our neck muscles. The common theme in lessons is to teach our body to work as a system, not in bits and pieces.

I have a lot of pain and my movement is restricted. Is Feldenkrais® good for me?

Absolutely. Feldenkrais® is about exploring options. But we always start with ease. What does your system already know? We then make small changes, gentle explorations, being kind to our system by not forcing anything. I want your system to be as comfortable as possible so it can learn. If it’s a laying down lesson, you use something under your head or knees if you need.  Sore knee? A kneeling lesson can be done sitting on a chair. If the lesson is sitting cross legged, you have the options of the floor, sitting on a block or sitting on a chair with your ankles gently crossed.

Scientific research proves that even imagining a movement increases your ability to change the neural pathways & improve function.

Who uses The Feldenkrais® Method?

Anyone who wants to improve the way they move! Some of my students who are the greatest fans are Personal Trainers, Yogis, & gym enthusiast’s. They all find that the increased awareness improves their chosen method of exercise. Many people who practice due to pain, simply enjoy the slower speed, the options and the understanding there is no one right way but looking for their ease. 

Are Awareness Through Movement classes strenuous? 

No! If you sweat in an ATM class, you are trying too hard! Theres a saying ‘The quieter you are the more you can hear” & the same goes for movement. “The smaller & slower you move the more you can feel”. 

What does Neuroplasticity have to do with Feldenkrais? 

Feldenkrais is neuroplasticity in action! Neuroplasticity is the ability to learn. We can retrain our brains. Nobody ever teaches us how to move. We learned as babies by exploration, trial & error, watching others, shifting our weight, playing & so forth. As we grow, patterns are formed in our brains & our movements become ‘habits’. These habits are not always our best option, so we explore new directions or different ways to shift weight as well as the sequence we move ourselves to create a sense of lightness in daily movement. 

I already move well. What can Feldenkrais® do for me?

Everything can be improved. When you learn to take advantage of your skeletal movement, everything becomes easier, lighter. A weightlifter finds they can lift more. A golf player finds their swing improves as their rotation and suppleness of their spine & ribcage improves.