Working Harder Than We Need To
Printed from http://www.bodytalksystem.com//learn/news/article.cfm?id=1181 on May 02, 2024.
Jun 15, 2023
By Bonnie Kissam
At our next Mini Members Conference, long-time Feldenkrais Practitioner Bonnie Kissam will guide Members through an "Awareness Through Movement" exercise. Feldenkrais work is very complementary to IBA's course offerings and can support the unwinding of age-old tensions and patterns. Below, Bonnie shares more about the experience of this work. Note, even if you are reading this after the event, all event recordings are available to Members in the Free Members Recordings area!
Today, I met a massage therapist in town. I was introduced as 'Feldenkrais.' I asked if he had heard the name, and his response was vague, something like "posture and subtle movement." He stood there with his arms crossed, and although it's not my usual approach when meeting someone, I suggested, "The Feldenkrais Method really focuses on patterns. Notice how your arms are crossed, with the left one over the right. What would it feel like to reverse that?" This suggestion was met with confusion. Then I brought up interlacing fingers and the automatic default when interlacing fingers. I asked, "What happens if you change that?" He responded, "Oh, I do that in yoga a lot--I am having trouble with an ulnar nerve, and I notice that makes a difference." "Great," I said, while observing that he interlaced his fingers with one-hundred-percent effort. I asked, "What would happen if you lightened up your effort?"
Once again, he responded with confusion, so I interlaced my fingers (with a soft hand) with his to give him a sensory experience of how hard he was working. I suggested that his brain would receive much clearer messages and open up to a new 'change in action' if it could sense a difference--not just in effort but in other messages as well. The brain more easily receives messages when less effort is exerted. This seemed to grab his attention.
The paradox is that Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais created hundreds of Awareness through Movement® lessons that are movement lessons, but he always emphasized that the movements themselves are not as important as taking on the challenge to visualize and sense the movements.
Consider bending your knees to your chest (hands on knees) and rolling from back to hands and knees or performing a judo roll. Many of you can easily accomplish these movements and likely visualize them as well. However, those who cannot visualize or sense these movements do not have them in what I refer to as their 'image of action.' The significance of these movements was NOT solely in doing them but in noticing (kinesthetically visualizing) the many different variations one can find to prepare for the movement so that movement can be done easily and effortlessly.
Speaking to this nice young man, I had to adopt multiple approaches to help him sense how his hands, and consequently his arms, could function in a lighter way. My soft hands with his strong hands required a few extra steps where I attempted to match his strength and then soften together.
Why, I ask, do we all want to hold our breath or unnecessarily tense our muscles and work harder than necessary?
I grew up in the 50s, and to this day, we still hold onto beliefs about 'working hard' or even 'no pain, no gain.' As Feldenkrais practitioners, we like to say, "NO BRAIN, NO GAIN."
People's issues are more complex than many are willing to recognize. The problem, or even the solution, isn't as simple as any one thing. My process is to help you, or my clients, honor what the inner voice is saying. One way to develop this listening skill is to pay attention to your movements, variations, and which ones offer more ease and pleasure--and less pain. Learning to listen and discern differences at the sensory level is where you can discover more than what you expected.
Thank you,
Bonnie
Print this Article
Facebook
Twitter
The BodyTalk System can be learned easily and will produce professional results while broadening your scope of professional practice.