For many people September marks a new start. Whether it’s memories of going back to school or the changing seasons, it’s a time of beginnings and shifts.
So this September, why not invest in yourself and try a new activity? We’ve all done yoga, and Pilates is familiar – is now the time to investigate Feldenkrais?
The Feldenkrais Method is named after its originator, Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984), an engineer and physicist as well as a Judo teacher. It’s a practical and unique way to realise your potential, focusing on learning and movement, which will bring improved movement and enhanced functioning.
The benefits of Feldenkrais include:
Awareness
At the heart of Feldenkrais is the idea of awareness through movement. Becoming more aware of how you move and experience movement facilitates learning about how to move efficiently and gracefully as well as making a clear connection between mind, body and your environment.
Breath
Many people report feeling that they breathe more freely after Feldenkrais by including more of the body in the movement of breathing. This in turn reduces stress levels, increases energy and supports balance in the nervous system.
Relieve tension and reduce the risk of injury
Muscular tension develops when you use more muscular effort than you need to, usually as a result of habit. Tension and contraction increase the risk of injury and can cause pain and fatigue. The Feldenkrais method is an opportunity to relieve areas of tension by learning to distribute effort more evenly throughout the body, often generating a sense of lightness and ease of movement as well as optimising strength and flexibility.
Increased vitality
By drawing all of your body into what you do, you access energy and reserves that are usually left untapped. This gives your body more vitality, allowing you to move through life with more vigour.
Enhanced performance
You’ll move with greater accuracy, speed, and efficiency which will enhance any sports or arts performance. You’re using your whole body, and using it more effectively, in a way that feels more natural than forced. It is often the case that these benefits are accompanied by improved mental health and resilience.
So what do the sessions look like?
Working in a group, but with focused attention to your individual needs, the online Feldenkrais sessions from Moving Pieces aim to enhance and support your functioning and general wellbeing. Each session has a theme, from supporting your back to freeing your head, and provides an opportunity to be guided through a series of movements designed to explore the most efficient use of yourself.
As well as group sessions, Charlie Blowers, the founder and director of Moving Pieces, will be offering 1:1 Feldenkrais sessions that are personally tailored to your needs and interests.
One participant of a recent workshop, which included Feldenkrais said “Thank you so much for this morning’s workshop. It was a wonderful introduction to you and your work and the feeling of freedom it brought has stayed with me.” Another described how the session allowed them to “open up’’ my thinking about lockdown/aloneness and coming out of lockdown/togetherness, both in the context of my body and in the context of a community.”
Details
Group sessions: Thursdays, 6-7pm, via Zoom. £15.
Individual sessions, sixty minute session, via Zoom, £70.
Concessions are available.
For more details head to Moving Pieces.