The Feldenkrais Method® is a mind-body approach that uses a process of organic learning to improve physical and emotional well-being. This method has the power to impact the way you sense, feel, think and act. This Awareness Through Movement® class proposes to bring awareness to pre-existing movement patterns and introduces new movement possibilities unexplored thus far – improving your sense of self (how you feel) and self-use (how you move). This sensorial experience of your whole system in action allows you to free yourself from your habitual physical and emotional responses. The students – most often laying on the floor – are invited to explore movement sequences in a judgment free atmosphere where curiosity and playfulness are encouraged. By cultivating a state of full presence, you will ultimately experience yourself as a whole, in a fully integrated motion where there is no dissonance.
What to Expect:
Students would be often lying down on a yoga type-of-mat (either on their back, side, or stomach) but can also be seated or standing for part or most of the lesson.The class starts with a body scan to establish some sensorial baseline/reference point to go back to at the end of the class to compare and feel the differences. The practitioner will give verbal instructions leading students through a sequence of movements, adding qualitative and sensorial cues as needed – what to look for, pay attention to, coordination, quality of movement, trajectory, sense of effort etc..
Students/clients can move with their eyes closed or open and are encouraged to follow their own journey through physical inquiry within the frame of the lesson. This practice, demanding a high level of sustained attention and rigor is yet playful and light hearted, and always done in a judgement free zone.
Accessibility Notes
- This class includes auditive guidance.
- For access information about Gibney’s facilities refer to their website.
To request ASL interpretation or Audio Description, please email accessibility@movementresearch.org, subject line “ASL/Audio Description Request, Marion Helfenstein” at least three (3) weeks prior to the date you plan to attend.
For access-related questions and requests, please contact accessibility@movementresearch.org, subject line “Marion Helfenstein.”