Feldenkrais

, , ,

Creating Space

, , ,
Creating Space

‘As above so below, as within so without.’ - The Kybalion

That’s what comes to me when I look at this picture, not seeing the head above the water but what’s beneath the surface. Feldenkrais taught that it doesn’t matter which part you pay attention to - each part it is a reflection of the whole. And in the case of creating space, the act of making space for the class in your weekly schedule, for the recording in case you are not available for the class, creating the space in your home in which to practise, taking the space within your family construct. Allowing yourself to take your space on the floor, and within the class. In so many ways this reflects back to ourselves, inwards to outwards, within without how we make space within our whole being. And how comfortable are we when there is a space. When there is enough space to feel.

,

The Challenge Is On..

,
The Challenge Is On..

By Melinda Glenister.  This was originally written for Feldenkrais Awareness Week and the audio lesson I'm referring to- Four Points can be found here..

The lesson I am sharing here is not an easy lesson.. I would call it an extreme lesson. It doesn’t mean that it’s not possible for a beginner to do it.. But it does mean that it’s for the more adventurous.
I love teaching challenging lessons.. and not only to athletes but to all kinds of people.  Feldenkrais is not only about slow and gentle movements. An important part of the method is about how we deal with challenges, and so I have never been one to shy away from these types of lessons.

How to approach it...


, ,

The Myth of The Core Continues...

, ,
The Myth of The Core Continues...

We live in a changing world.  A time of paradoxes.  Everything we thought we knew has been turned upside down.  It’s easy to be disoriented when we cannot find which way is up.

As I discussed in my last blog, letting go of our attachment to our identity is necessary to find any feeling of flow, and to remove the massive resistance that many of us are experiencing,

We now live in a world where we do not know who to believe when we look around. And it is more important than ever before to find a guidance system which will foster trust not create more anxiety.      This becomes a very big issue when we have adopted beliefs and practises which inhibit our ability to tune our own guidance system.

I’d love to present this in a more palatable way, maybe with a ribbon around it, but the truth is we are screwed if we think the answers we are looking for are going to come from outside us.  We are equally screwed if we continue to dissociate our heads from the rest of our bodies and give creative and reasoning control to the parts above the neck, and keep that prioritised above any other information the body may present us with.

, , ,

A New year Message from Me to You

, , ,

I have been really blown away by how many people have been listening to my recordings over the last few months, form all corners of the world.. I have been receiving messages from people who have been affected or inspired or moved by them in all different ways.  So I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you…

, ,

Elite Tennis Magazine- Body Equilibrium

, ,
Elite Tennis Magazine- Body Equilibrium

Body Intelligence

As players push themselves and each other to ever increasing levels of physical abilities, they also increasingly push themselves to and beyond their limits.   More and more players are breaking down under the strain.   This becomes a dangerous trend particularly if we perceive the increasing level of injuries as the new norm, or just part and parcel of the game.  If instead we take it as a sign to look at the problem in a different way, it could be the beginning of a different approach to training, where players train smarter not harder.  


Burnout

It is my belief that players can’t just push themselves continually through training. That eventually will lead to breakdown.  Something is missing in the way most players are training, and that is sensory body awareness.  The incredible demands that players have to face during matches require them to be faster, stronger, fitter, and to go beyond pain or discomfort.  If training also pushes them beyond their limits, they start to lose touch with themselves and lose their ability to manage themselves. In other words, push hard enough for long enough and performance, ability to adapt, ability to recover, as well as enjoyment will start to go backwards. This is burnout....

Learning to Listen

Something from Edward Yu‘s book The Art of Slowing Down stays with me, about the difference between listening to the whispers your body tells you, or waiting til you can no longer ignore the screams.  How many of us have become expert at waiting for the screams, and then manage to ignore those too.  But eventually if we don’t listen long enough we hit the brick wall, our bodies have a way of making us stop in the end, one way or another.....

,

The London Riots, Self-Respect & Moshe Feldenkrais

,

The riots and destruction in London and other parts of England over the last week has got me to think about what causes this kind of mentality in society and in the individual. and what we can do about it, as I think many many people were asking themselves this week.  It is particularly the kids as young as 11 caught up in the violence which seems to shock people the most.  I can’t help but wonder if what I have chosen to do- Feldenkrais- is helpless in the face of this scale of breakdown in society....