How Feldenkrais helps your brain work better.

Hi Everyone!

Students often ask me what is the mechanism that makes the Feldenkrais Method such an important vehicle in improving our physical functioning--and sometimes even more important--in the functioning of our brain? Today the answers are found in neuroscience.

We have confirmed the observations that Dr. Feldenkrais made nearly 70 years ago as he saw his students, clients, and patients respond to the modalities known today as Functional Integration (FI) and Awareness Through Movement (ATM). We have the technology to measure and track activity in the brain and can see which activities enhance our brain function. We can verify that working mindfully with attention while doing non-habitual movement produces specific reactions in the brain, reactions that are good for us in every way - not only in our movement.

To explain this a little further, below is an interesting article from the Feldenkrais Journal. It explains more about brain function and why doing ATM lessons produces the kind of response in the brain that we want -- for better movement, cognition, vitality and life. At the very end of the article, you will also find a micro-ATM that lets you explore your peripheral vision and discover how our mindful attention can even expand what we see. It's pretty cool.

I hope to see you soon! Happy Spring and Summer! Carole

______________________________________________
FLEXIBLE BRAIN - by Fiona Morris Upward, GCFP.

Flexibility in the brain can be described as the ability to find new pathways that interconnect, so that a change can be observed. How can we view this change in the brain function? Neuroscientists have been able to apply modern technology to discover which parts of the brain are ‘lighting up’ with information: either efferent nerve function (messages going outwards), or afferent nerve function (messages coming into the brain) with new signals registering on the cerebral cortex. Awareness Through Movement® lessons can deliver both improved flexibility for our bodies and also the stretching of the mind to sense, feel, discover and apply the new idea of learning with ease and attention to detail.

The key is in attention to the details; and the brain can sort quite a lot of signals in an orderly way when we are relaxed, happy, and not under the pressure to perform or to do more or to be better. Awareness through Movement lessons support each individual’s functional ability for improvement inviting a relaxed, sensing brain that is more apt to be open to change.

Dr. Feldenkrais was curious about how we as human beings can learn and change and so demonstrate higher function. In his Method, each person in an Awareness Through Movement lesson is given verbal guidance to explore this idea of change.

In his book, The Master Moves, Dr. Feldenkrais poses the question: ‘What sort of learning is important? You find an incredible thing. Once you look at it very closely you find that the learning that enables you to do the thing you know in another way, and one more way, and then three more ways, is the learning that is important. And when you see learning in that light, you find that a whole world of important things is open to us.’


In an Awareness Through Movement lesson each person learns to attend to him/herself in a new way and this ‘attention’ may be the link that triggers the brain to become more flexible.

Daniel J. Siegel writes: ‘The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is thought to play a major role in working memory…and the focusing of conscious attention…The middle prefrontal regions are part of a ‘team’ that work together as a functional whole to link widely separated areas to one another. They have important integrative functions that help coordinate and balance cortical activity of thought and feeling with the lower limbic, brainstem, and bodily areas’ functions.’ Awareness Through Movement lessons are designed to promote flexibility in these integrative functions and thereby allow improved functional ability. This is why Dr. Feldenkrais emphasizes that openness to learn is of such paramount importance. There is the possibility that as one improves one’s awareness and learning through movement, the brain’s flexibility will also improve.

Moshe Feldenkrais, The Master Moves, Meta Publications, 1984, p 19.
Daniel J. Siegel, The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are The Guildford Press, NY, 2012, Second Edition pp 18-19.

Pelvic floor class starts Apr 24 at the Reno Buddhist Center.

UPDATE:  The 6 wk Pelvic Floor Class Starts this Thursday, April 24, at 4 pm.

We improvised and came up with this new start date that worked for more people, me included. If you still want to sign up, just come at 3:45 this Thursday and that will be fine.

The nature of this class is that you get a really good understanding of what and how to do the lessons, so that you can do them at home successfully at the end of the 6 weeks. The effort may be life-long, but the work can be done at home, in your car, in the grocery line, in a movie and so on!  Success means renewed capacity, and you will get that from this class.

Doing the work will help the usual issues, plus low back pain, spinal conditions, scoliosis, hip joint pain, pre or post hip replacement, etc.  I will also teach you how to sit comfortably and update your self use!  If you have questions, contact me via the upper right hand corner contact form, or via renofeldenkrais@aol.com.

See you Thursday!
Carole

6 week Pelvic Floor Class - sign up now!

Hi Everyone! The 6 wk PELVIC FLOOR CLASS begins again - great work for balance, breathing, scoliosis, low back pain, riding, walking/hiking and vital energy (and, of course, all the more well-known pelvic organ conditions).

The pelvic floor class starts next Thursday April 10 at the Reno Buddhist Center, 4 pm. We will decide together about scheduling into the future, days and times, etc. so contact me NOW to sign up. Be sure to be there if you want to be in on the scheduling process.  Minimum sign up 7 students, maximum 15.  If you are new, plan to at arrive no later than 3:40. See you soon!  

------------------------------

The class is highly recommended for people who have issues with pelvic organ function, pelvic structure concerns, SCOLIOSIS and lower back pain, problems with balance or breathing.

Specifically pelvic floor work can dramatically improve incontinence, ED, constipation/IBS, many urogenital issues and can be critical in recovery from certain pelvic surgeries. But for best results the work should be begun prior to surgery.

Generally, working with the pelvic floor introduces a groundedness and balance to the whole skeleton system, which when combined with Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement sequences, reestablishes function throughout the system that will help you regain and sustain a higher level of functioning system-wide.

Because it is so helpful, I prefer that everyone attend 1 or more regular Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® classes before beginning the Pelvic floor class.  You must contact me and arrange to meet with me 20 mins early for preparation prior to your first class.

Bring water, a towel, blanket/comforter and wear layers.  You may contact me via email if you have other questions.

The Subtle Movement of Breath in the Body

Sensing and Breathing

This week's Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® lesson is a quiet exploration of the subtle movements of breath in the body. We begin to see and feel how our breath supports and connects to other movement functions as we discover each small and delicate response to breathing in and out. The movement sequence is done on the back, front, lying on both sides, and in sitting.  The results include an easier and more spacious sense of breathing in the chest, lungs, and torso, much more movement in the ribs and shoulder girdle and a feeling of lightness in the whole body.

 

This is an exquisite example of the way in which work with our attention to via the simple organic movements of our bodies creates a deep grounding with life and joy.  It is a derivation of Lesson 4 by Dr. Feldenkrais in his book, 'Awareness Through Movement.'

 

See the Class Schedule in the Right Side Bar for details of times and places.  

 

This lovely photo is from Anatomy in Motion. 

Pelvic Floor Workshop #3, Mar. 30

Just a brief heads-up to announce that our 3rd Feldenkrais Pelvic Floor/low back pain workshop is now scheduled for March 30 at Midtown Fitness, in Reno, from 12-noon to 3 pm.  It is completely different material from the previous workshops and will be lots of fun and practical use.

I will post more info about it this weekend.  Please sign up as soon as possible if you want to get in.  The first 2 PF events were sold out within 10 days.  There are only 20 spots available, and 9 people have already signed up since last night's email. The workshop is an excellent support for equestrian activities and for scoliosis management.

Have a great week! Carole

Why Feldenkrais? Great reason! Move it or lose - please read on:

The need for movement increases as we age.  However, the actual amount of movement we get is far more likely to decrease drastically, the older we get. And not surprisingly, the results of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle are extremely debilitating, as the article below explains. 

You might be interested in the important reasons to get yourself into shape to move more, by decreasing your sitting time and increasing the things you enjoy and love: walking, gardening, hiking, riding bikes or horses.  Feldenkrais will make it possible to do nearly everything more comfortably and stably.  Remember Spring is just around the corner. 

I hope you will investigate Feldenkrais as your pathway to engaging in life again, getting more movement, as you sit less. The great advantage will be that you can use everything you learn in both Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement classes or individual Functional Integration lessons in everything you do.  

My priority has been to make Feldenkrais accessible and affordable for people in the Reno-Tahoe-Carson-Minden-Gardnerville area.  I have offered the only ongoing Feldenkrais classes and lessons in this area since 2009. Please contact me if you have questions.  Best regards, Carole

(HealthDay News) -- Too much sitting has been linked to increased risk for health problems such as heart failure and earlier death. Now, a new study finds older adults who sit too much are more likely to be disabled -- regardless of their exercise habits.

"Sedentary behavior is its own separate risk factor [for disability]," said study researcher Dorothy Dunlop, a professor of medicine at the Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. She evaluated the exercise habits of more than 2,000 men and women, aged 60 and above, and their ability to perform normal everyday activities.

"Regardless of how much time they spent in moderate physical activity, the more time they spent being sedentary, the more likely they were to be disabled," Dunlop said.

However, another expert wonders if the relationship may occur in the opposite way -- that the more disabled people are, the more sedentary they are due to inability to exercise.

The study was supported in part by the U.S. National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases. It was published online Feb. 19 in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health.

Dunlop and her colleagues evaluated responses given to the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The men and women answering the survey wore accelerometer devices to measure their activity on at least four different days between 2002 and 2005.

Few met the guidelines of getting moderate activity for 2.5 hours a week, Dunlop said. Only about 6 percent met that goal, and the other 94 percent did not, the study found.

On average, the men and women spent nine hours a day being sedentary during waking hours. About 4 percent reported being disabled. Disability was defined as having much difficulty (or inability) in performing activities of daily living, such as getting out of bed, dressing and walking.

For each additional daily hour of being sedentary, the odds of disability rose about 50 percent, Dunlop said. For instance, a woman aged 65 who was sedentary for 13 hours a day was 50 percent more likely to be disabled than a woman who was sedentary for 12 hours, she explained.

What is it about sitting? Dunlop can't say for sure, but said experts think that sitting for an extended period causes muscles to burn less fat and blood to flow more sluggishly. Idle muscles and sluggish blood flow can contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, swollen ankles and diabetes.

Dunlop's study found a link, not a cause-and-effect relationship.

The connection may actually go the other way, said Andrea LaCroix, a professor of epidemiology in family and preventive medicine and director of the Women's Health Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. She recently found a link in her own study between higher amounts of sedentary time and higher risk of death in older women.

In the new study, however, the disability may be driving the inactivity, she said. "The more disabled people are, the more sedentary, because they are unable to exercise," LaCroix said.

Among the study's limitations, she noted, was that it looks only at a snapshot in time -- four days of tracking over a few years. A better approach would be to follow people over time and see if being sedentary leads to disability, said LaCroix, who is also an affiliate investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle.

The take-home message, study author Dunlop said, is that older adults, regardless of how much they exercise, should decrease their sedentary behaviors. So, she's still encouraging exercise. But if that's difficult, decreasing sitting time is another goal.

How to do that? Stand up when you talk on the phone, she suggested. Park in a far-away space at the mall or market when you shop. At work or home, walk around a bit when you get up for coffee or water, she advised. Walk to nearby errands instead of taking the car. If you're able, take stairs, not elevators. You can use a pedometer to track your activity.

Feldenkrais Pelvic Floor Workshop Pictures.

The Power and Movement Center of Our Bodies!  

Learning to use ourselves in stable, supportive, reversible ways is the most important aspect of understanding our skeletal structure.  Here are a few pictures from yesterday's Pelvic Floor workshop, which addressed and presented the pelvis as the initiator of movement and center of balance and grace.

The Reno Feldenkrais Integrative Movement and Health Pelvic Floor workshop, January 26 - it was a great group and many many aspects of the application of this work were explored. A strong and balanced pelvic floor pertains to so many things, balance, movement function, breathing, uro-genital function, strengthening the body in scoliosis, overall stability, equestrian activities, running and hiking, to name a few. 

This was the second of 3 pelvic floor workshops, each a stand alone experience and resource. Each has been sold out well in advance.  If you are interested in attending workshop 3 (date not set yet), please contact me.

The Feldenkrais Method - David Zemach Bersin

Working with the Whole Self

Another succinct and lovely explanation from the Feldenkrais Institute of New York, to help you understand how the Feldenkrais Method and principles empower and create change in mind and body. This, of course, leads to measurable improvement in our general feeling of wellbeing, our joy in living.

The Feldenkrais Institute - Working With The Whole Self from SixDay Productions on Vimeo.

Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lesson Jan. 21-25

MOVEMENT and VITALITY

This week's Feldenkrais lesson is a slow, lengthening, comfortable, large rolling lesson that is also rib opening, shoulder loosening, hip integrating. It feels FABULOUS, balances the whole skeleton and relieves pain. The lesson is a child development lesson that brings movement and center of gravity in the direction of the pelvis. The rolling comes at the end and is very gentle. 

We had a wonderful class this morning and look forward to seeing students Thursday and Saturday! If you are coming to your first class, please contact me and come 15 minutes early.  Bring a comforter/blanket, water and wear layers. This lesson will give you a great feeling of what movement was when we were younger, more free and unselfconscious.

Class Schedule:  
Tues at Midtown Fitness 10 am; Thurs at Reno Buddhist Center 5:30 pm;  and Saturday at Midtown Fitness 3 pm, in addition to Sunday's Sold out Pelvic Floor workshop. 

Getting The Most Benefit from Your Feldenkrais Class or Workshop!

What you need to know and do to have a great Feldenkrais® experience in your Awareness Through Movement (ATM)® classes, workshops and at home.

1. The most important thing to know about ATM lessons is that deep and lasting change comes from your ability to sense and follow movement as you do it. This is how tension is released, not from ‘doing’ the movement 'right' or achieving any special form or position.
2. There is NO ‘RIGHT’ way or form, other than working with your attention, going slowly, and keeping the movements comfortable and small, gradually allowing the size of the movement to grow as you find your way.  NOT doing anything that causes pain is RIGHT.
3. We begin by doing each movement in a small, slow way.  Explore the feeling; see how your muscles and skeleton respond to the movement, listen to verbal direction.  Experiment. Enlarge the movement gradually, as your body becomes accustomed to it.  If you find it uncomfortable, visualize the movement, imagine doing it, in your minds’ eye.
4. Every time you repeat a movement, look for simpler, easier and less effortful ways of moving. There are many ways to do every movement.  Explore several different possibilities, see what is comfortable for you, what feels natural, and what feels good.
5. Give yourself the time and emotional room to discover movement that is comfortable for YOU, even when you visualize.  Discovering how you move, what your movement patterns are, is fundamental to your making deeper changes connections to yourself.  This will awaken your brain so that it can learn, and will release tension and stress.
6. The smaller and slower your make your movement, the more you will feel.  You learn to make finer and finer discriminations with your nervous system each time you move with attention and awareness.  Visualizing movement in your imagination is a very powerful brain activator--you use the same neural pathways as you do when you move; your mental activity while visualizing is actually equal or greater than in movement, and really makes your neurons fire.
7. If you practice sensing and moving at home, do it only as long as you are interested in it.  Stop if your attention wanders too long or if the movement becomes boring to you.  Automatic movement is of no benefit to your brain.  Only when you are working with attention and interest will your neurons fire, will you develop new capacity.
8. Non-habitual movement and sensing is learning in the most complete way possible.  Sensing with attention activates your proprioceptors, the sensory mechanisms in your ligaments and tendons around every joint. Your body will subconsciously make better movement choices as you accumulate more ability to sense and track your movement from inside yourself.
9. Visit renofeldenkrais.blogspot.com to view the youtube clips and for detailed information about the Feldenkrais Method®. Email me at renofeldenkrais@aol.com if you have questions.

Carole Bucher, BA, GCFP/T
www.renofeldenkrais.blogspot.com
renofeldenkrais@aol.com, 775-240-7882