Lately I have been doing quite a bit of reflecting on my 30+ year career working with movement and on Moving Well’s 20th anniversary now in sight. Where is my practice now, where has it been, and where do I see it going?

Reflecting on how my path has evolved since personal experience with dance-related injures led to an interest in working with injured dancers and how that interest led me physical therapy school. Reflecting on the wide variety of adults I worked with as a physical therapist as well as the situations in which that approach was likely to effective, and those in which it was not. It was my interest in the situations where the traditional model was less than effective that led me to my Feldenkrais training looking for a more holistic approach.

With the perspective of a Feldenkrais practitioner, I can now articulate three key reasons why traditional PT is not always successful. First is an emphasis on “fixing what is broken” rather than seeing the body as an interrelated whole. Related is a tendency to see an injury or condition rather than a whole human being. This can be especially heartbreaking with children who have special needs. Lastly is a failure to address subtlety in movement and a person's felt sense of that movement, and the overemphasis on strengthening of specific muscles.

I remember how becoming a Feldenkrais practitioner led me to working with a very special little boy who inspired a passion for working with children and my decision to do further training with Anat Baniel about working with children who have special needs.

I remember early on as a Feldenkrais practitioner working with a “mom” who had overuse problems in her arms and later with her younger sister who is a professional dancer. Eventually I worked with her daughter who has special needs as well as with this child’s grandmother. I could share other examples where I have helped several family members in different generations.

We live in an era of specialists. As business people we are asked to define a well-niched “ideal client” and their “gateway problem”. I’ve attempted to do this and it has really felt inauthentic if I truly examine my experience, interests and skills. What I have distilled is that my “ideal clients” and their families are willing to embrace a somewhat non-traditional approach to their difficulties, and as appropriate, be active participants in our work together.

My “ideal clients” are all of you or your family members who need to either learn/relearn movement skills or would like to move through life with greater comfort, ease and effectiveness.

I invite you to read the article below that is an exploration of this and why it is all about Moving Well.

WHAT GETS IN THE WAY OF MOVING WITH COMFORT AND EASE?

As humans we share certain ways of moving that distinguish us from other species. If we are fortunate we achieve developmental milestones and become walkers within our first year or a few months later. From there we continue to expand and refine our movement skills and hopefully are able to remain active through our later years. We move through our lives with comfort and ease.

As we all know this is not always the case. So what is it that gets in the way?

Of course this question has many answers, the details of which are unique to your situation. That said, as a “big picture” thinker I can distill the answer into two broad categories.

There is movement currently not doable. Here we find movement that has yet to be learned as in the case of children with motor-related special needs or alternatively a performing artist or athlete where that next step seems impossible. A variation on this theme is movement that needs to be relearned, usually as the result of a stroke or other neurologic condition.

Second we have movement that is doable, but is either difficult or painful. In the over 30 years that I have been in the movement business, I have found that when movement is difficult or painful less than optimal movement or postural habits are often the root cause of these difficulties. Sometimes folks are aware that something isn’t right and at other times these habits are completely unconscious. Critical to long-term resolution is shining a light on these habits and patterns and developing more efficient and effective ones. Often these relate to a sense that you have to work hard to move well or have good posture.

Something else that I know is that comfortable, efficient and effective movement has certain characteristics. One is that when more of the body is involved in a movement there is less strain on any one muscle or joint. The more of yourself that you involve in the movement, the easier it feels.

Beyond that I know that to truly improve how you move you need to become aware of the feeling of the movement –from the inside. The ability to do this allows you to learn new movement and independently make changes needed to move comfortably and effectively. This is in sharp contrast to attempts to copy some ideal or exercise some specific body part that appears to have a role in the problem.

What I know from my years of helping people from babies and children with special needs to adult Special Olympians, from young athletes and dancers to members of Pacific NW Ballet and Seattle Symphony, and many many folks who have pain and injuries is this. When I combine my knowledge of optimal movement with my keen observation skills, gentle hands on work, simple comfortable movement and conversation as appropriate, I can help you and your family members, as Moshe Feldenkrais famously said,

“Make the impossible possible, the possible easy, and the easy elegant”

If you would like more information or to schedule a consultation please click here.

MOVING WELL FROM THE INSIDE OUT
Feldenkrais® Awareness through Movement Workshop

This workshop is designed to give you the tools to move with comfort and ease. As adults most of our movement models are external. In the Feldenkrais Method we believe that key is developing a felt sense of what makes movement easier, more comfortable and more effective. In addition training yourself to be more aware of how you move, it trains you to be more aware overall … of your emotions, of your needs, and the list goes on. Workshop will include a short talk about the method, two movement lessons and the chance to ask questions and share your experience.

WHEN? Saturday April 29th from 11am- 1pm
WHERE? ReSource Together 213 Madison Ave N., Bainbridge Is.
COST? $45
QUESTIONS/REGISTRATION? Please call me at 206-842-4608. Space is limited.