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Sunday, December 19, 2010

A Reno Medical Doctor's Personal Experience with Feldenkrais

Although founded nearly 70 years ago and known worldwide, the Feldenkrais Method is not well known in Nevada.  Thus Dr. Feldenkrais's unique system of learning as change and improvement at any age, and how these ingenious yet simple, carefully structured movements act on the body and brain is what we want to convey.

Feldenkrais' early observations and work were the groundwork for neuroplasticity half a century before the technology existed to confirm brain changes! (See the YOUTUBE clip at bottom of this page for more information.)

Here is the experience of a Reno MD who has been been taking Feldenkrais classes and lessons from Reno Feldenkrais during the last year:

“I am a medical doctor and have been using the Feldenkrais Method personally for one year. I have attended classes and 2 workshops; while not having in depth understanding of the Feldenkrais method, I have found the lessons very beneficial. The success of this technique lies in the fact that it works from inside to out, and from the bottom up. In other words the awareness starts at an internal level (proprioceptors) in the muscle cells, joints, tendons, inner ear) and feeds back to the central nervous system/brain via the spinal cord. It thus bypasses some of the conscious awareness of movement, making it easier to progress--whether one is recovering from severe injuries, a stroke or trying to progress as a trained athlete. It eliminates the intellectual defense that often interferes with recovery and/or reaching higher levels of skill.

For myself, I struggle with severe arthritis and soft tissue injuries from 2 major motor vehicle accidents. Despite this, the Awareness Through Movement techniques in Feldenkrais classes and personal sessions, allow me to develop improved range of motion, increased flexibility, more energy, improved posture and a decrease in pain via retraining of my movements. The technique requires slow, small movements and is against inducing pain of any kind. Due to vast integration of eye and contralateral movements, the Feldenkrais curriculum/sessions stimulate right and left brain hemisphere integration, visual pathway feedback, etc. This is ultimately how the improved awareness arises. In short, the method utilizes our intuitive capacity to induce change, a quality we have all lost in our high tech, fast paced world.

It is truly an asset to now have 2 fully trained Feldenkrais instructors in the Reno, NV area. I thus hope more people take advantage of this opportunity. Even a once monthly attendance could prove beneficial.”

AM Waldron, MD
Physician