How to make sense of these apparent contradictions?

Feldenkrais had a strong conviction that:

       Latent abilities in every one of us are considerably greater than the ones
       we live with…[and that] the latency is actively imposed by ourselves
       because of lack of awareness (1981: p98).

He saw his work as an educational approach, which principally used movement as its medium, to reverse shortcomings in awareness.  Students would develop the ability to expand their palette of options in any situation, enabling them to do what they wanted, rather than acting compulsively without control.  Often the result of this would be reduced physical pain, and a greater sense of wellbeing.

He saw learning how to learn, in a comprehensive and profound way, as the means to this end.  Feldenkrais writes of how young children make use of ‘organic’ learning (1981: pp29-37).  They are not instructed by a teacher. Their own impulses encourage them – through trial and error – to develop key human abilities such as walking and talking.

The type of learning Feldenkrais advocates draws heavily on this approach.  There is no need to rush, there is little emphasis on right or wrong, or judgement of results.  It’s key the student moves at their own pace, that the learning is pleasurable and their attention is not concentrated (alternating between central focus and the foreground.)  And it’s important to remember that ‘Errors cannot be avoided…learning to us means grasping the unknown.’ (Feldenkrais, 1981: p94).

He gives an example of how a man, who says he doesn’t know how to dance, is nevertheless encouraged to do so.  As time goes by, and on subsequent occasions, the man then finds that he does know how to dance. 'He learned’, Feldenkrais notes, ‘notwithstanding the ignorance of his latent ability’ (1981: p8).  Or Feldenkrais remembers how he himself learned to draw as an adult, thinking he was unable to do so, without being instructed directly what to do (1981: pp10-12).

Learning how to learn, as Feldenkrais sees it, is the process of a student making sense of how they had learnt to dance or, say, walk in comfort, even if they had not at first consciously altered their actions to do so.  The student can then apply this improved understanding to future learning situations. Traditional education Feldenkrais saw, as ‘no more than the means to impose the habits of the prevailing generation’, whether or not they suited the individual (1972: p16).  Better understanding our own learning process is therefore often fertile ground for self-realization.

This improved understanding need not be restricted to movement alone.  Rather, due to the connections between our thoughts, sensations, feelings and movement latent abilities in all our spheres of action can become more evident.  ‘Habit has lost its chief support, that of the muscles, and has become more amenable to change’ (1972: p39). And what better area to change our habits could there be?  Namely, in the way we learn how to do new things in the world.
 
References:
Feldenkrais, M (1972) Awareness Through Movement. New York: Harper Collins
Feldenkrais, M (1981) The Elusive Obvious. Capitola, CA: Meta Publications

Article by Ed Bartram, April 2018

News from the UK Feldenkrais Community
 

International Feldenkrais Week (IFW)

IFW takes place this year from 6th May to 13th May.  It’s a chance to celebrate Feldenkrais’s work, timed to coincide with his birthday on 6th May 1904.  The theme this year is Feldenkrais ACTIVE - a chance to show how the Method can help develop sporting activities.

Each day of the week the Guild will make a available free audio lessons, and practitioners around the country will be organising events.  Keep an eye out for these on Facebook, Twitter and our website.

Classes and Workshops

Take a look at the Guild website to find a teacher or a class.  For a list of Feldenkrais workshops taking place in the UK in the next month

London

• Saturday, 21 April 2018, 1.30 - 4.30 pm
Lou Coleman: Breathing Room - Breathing, the Ribs and Lungs
Yoga Point 122 Dalberg Road, Brixton, SW2 1AP; loucoleman.org 

• Sunday, 22 April 2018, 10.30 am - 5.30 pm
Victoria Worsley: Would MY Character Walk Like That?
The Actors Centre, 1A Tower Street, London WC2H 9NP; www.feldenkraisworks.co.uk

• Sunday, 22 April 2018, 10 am - 1 pm
Sabine Riske: Effortless posture - More upright, more supple, more at ease
Wren Academy, Hilton Avenue, London N12 9HB; www.feldenkraislearning.co.uk

• Saturday, 28 April 2018, 10.30 am - 4.30 pm
Victoria Worsley: How Did We Learn To Move? From floor to standing
Dharma Shala, 92-94 Drummond Street, London, NW1 2HN; www.feldenkraisworks.co.uk 

• Sunday, 29 April 2018, 2pm - 6 pm
Maggy Burrowes: Breath, Heart & Spinal Column–Boost Your Inner Fire
The Sunflower Centre, 81 Tressillian Rd, Brockley SE4 1XZ; www.vocaldynamix.com/blog


South East and Central England 

• Sunday, 29 April 2018, 11 am - 4.30 pm
Melinda Glenister: Unwinding the Neck & Shoulders
Berkhamsted Town Hall, 196 High Street, Berkhamsted, HP4 3AP; www.melindaglenister.com

• Saturday - Monday, 28 - 30 April, 10 am - 1 pm
Karin Major: Improve Your Seat - Movement Lessons for Riders
Westcote Village Hall, Church Westcote, Chipping Norton, Oxon OX7 6SF, web link to workshop


South West England

• Saturday 5th May to Sunday 12th May 2018, times vary during the week
Shelagh O’Neil: Finding Flexible and Responsive Breathing
St Ives Guildhall, Street-an-Pol, Cornwall, TR26 2DS; web link to course


East of England  

• Sunday, 15 April 2018
Yeu-Meng Chan: Body Mindfulness through the Feldenkrais Method
Quaker Meeting House, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 1NB; www.feldenkrais-essex.com 

• Saturday, 21 April 2018, 2pm - 5.30 pm
Valérie Fabre: Be as tall as you really are
Bodywise Studio, Unit 4, Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge CB1 2LJ; link to course


Wales 

• Thursday, 19 April 2018, 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm
Andrew Paget: Walk Your Walk
Penpynfarch Studio, Llandysul SA44 4RU, www.facebook.com/pg/thisissomatic

• Sunday, 22 April 2018, 10 am - 1 pm
Veronica Rock: All About Arms & Hands
Verve Fitness, Health & Wellbeing, 2-4 George St., Llangollen, LL20 8RE; Email: vhrock@feldenkrais.co.uk


North of England 

• Saturday, 28 April 2018, 10 am - 1 pm
Joan M Winter: Moving with a Flexible Spine
Friends Meeting House, Chesterfield, S40 4AG, www.simplymoving.info 

• Saturday, 28 April 2018, 10 am - 4.00 pm
Steve Cheslett-Davey: Feldenkrais Fundamentals - Introductory Workshop Day
The Tara Centre The Storey Lancaster, Lancashire; www.awarenessworks.co.uk

• Friday, 4 May 2018; 12 - 3 pm
Veronica Rock: Eye/Hand Co-ordination
Romiley LifeCentre, ROMILEY SK6 4BN; E-mail: vhrock@feldenkrais.co.uk  

• Saturday, 5 May 2018; 10.30 am - 12 pm
Dianne Hancock: Better Balance and Coordination
Breathe Pilates, 85 Clark House Road, Sheffield, S10 2LG; www.diannehancock.co.uk


Scotland 

• Saturday, 14 April 2018; 2 - 6 pmJackie Adkins: Mobilising Pelvis & Legs
Salisbury Centre, 2 Salisbury Rd, EDINBURGH EH16 5AB; www.movetolive.co.uk
Training to be a Feldenkrais Practitioner in the UK:

The Feldenkrais International Training Centre (FITC) in Sussex has some places available to join their most recent training from June 2018, click here for further information.  

  
Feldenkrais Guild (UK) AGM and ‘Big Weekend’ 2018
 
Come and join us in Manchester this year on Saturday 22nd, and Sunday 23rd of September.  As well as the AGM, we are delighted to have practitioners Veronica Rock and Joan Winter teaching on the Saturday afternoon.  Ruthy Alon, one of Feldenkrais’s first teachers, will then be teaching all day on the Sunday.  Further details to follow.