Awareness Through Movement (atm)
Classes
FELDENKRAIS Method®
Live Online CLASSES
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in-person classes
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what is awareness through movement?
It's a gentle movement class which utilizes novel (unusual) movements, done slowly and with attention and awareness, to repattern the brain to have more choices in movement and organization. The effects (immediately and over time) can be more aligned posture, reduced pain and stiffness from chronic pain or old injuries, feeling taller, lighter, more organized, more comfortable, more graceful.
Is this for me?
What doesn't work: trying to break old habits
What does work: creating CHOICE by adding new habits to the old
Habits build up over a lifetime: habits of movement, thought, and feeling. And of course, you need habits to get through your day without figuring out every single task from scratch! But what about when habits become hinderances - habits from old injuries, sitting in chairs a lot, emotional states, phone use, and so on? Then these once helpful habits can cause chronic pain, poor self-use that leads to injuries, limited mobility, and for athletes a cap on performance or abilities.
You probably know from experience that habits are hard to break through sheer will and you can feel stuck or trapped in these old, outdated habits.
Feeling stuck or trapped means choice is missing. When you have options available to you, whether in movement, thought or feeling, you have choice. To have choice you need more than one option, more than one movement habit. Actually you need at least three, as a binary is not really choice. When you have more options you can choose the one that is most powerful, graceful, comfortable, functional, efficient, sustainable or otherwise appropriate for the situation.
So how do you create new habits?
Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement classes are specifically designed to lead the students to discover new choices for movement through movement. Moving in slow, gentle ways with attention and awareness, the body remembers its intelligent design, remembers whole body connection and organization. These intelligent movement patterns are more comfortable, more effortless, sometimes even more joyful. Old habits will reassert themselves as old habits do, but over time, as the new more-comfortable movements become more familiar, you choose them more often and eventually they become the new habit.
This work can be beneficial for those with chronic pain or limited mobility, but also for folks who want to increase their abilities in a physical activity or sport like skiing, dancing, archery, or any activity that you use your body for such as playing an instrument, knitting, and so on.
Anyone who has a body can benefit from this work, however this work is not for everybody. It asks you to slow down and listen to yourself, and not everyone wants to or is in a place in their lives where they can do this.
Listening to yourself means meeting yourself where you are, which can be frustrating if you want to be more or different.
Listening to yourself means remembering that you have a body, which might be a shock if you're one of the many people who feel disconnected from their bodies.
Listening to yourself means discovering your habits, of movement, but also of thought and feeling, and this can be disheartening and you might fear that you'll never be able to break them.
Each Feldenkrais Method Awareness Through Movement class takes you on a journey from your current habits and limitations to a discovery of new options for movement, thoughts and feelings. I often hear sounds of insight, delight, curiosity, and wonder during a class. We call these classes lessons and the participants students because it is a process of learning, and your body and the movements are the teachers. Students stand up from a lesson and report that they feel taller, lighter, more fluid. Or sometimes they feel more grounded, solid, connected. They often feel relaxed, calm, spacious, but sometimes they feel energized, playful! The unique experience of every student is acknowledged and honored.
So if you're ready to meet yourself, create new choices, and love the way you move and feel, come join us in a class!
What does work: creating CHOICE by adding new habits to the old
Habits build up over a lifetime: habits of movement, thought, and feeling. And of course, you need habits to get through your day without figuring out every single task from scratch! But what about when habits become hinderances - habits from old injuries, sitting in chairs a lot, emotional states, phone use, and so on? Then these once helpful habits can cause chronic pain, poor self-use that leads to injuries, limited mobility, and for athletes a cap on performance or abilities.
You probably know from experience that habits are hard to break through sheer will and you can feel stuck or trapped in these old, outdated habits.
Feeling stuck or trapped means choice is missing. When you have options available to you, whether in movement, thought or feeling, you have choice. To have choice you need more than one option, more than one movement habit. Actually you need at least three, as a binary is not really choice. When you have more options you can choose the one that is most powerful, graceful, comfortable, functional, efficient, sustainable or otherwise appropriate for the situation.
So how do you create new habits?
Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement classes are specifically designed to lead the students to discover new choices for movement through movement. Moving in slow, gentle ways with attention and awareness, the body remembers its intelligent design, remembers whole body connection and organization. These intelligent movement patterns are more comfortable, more effortless, sometimes even more joyful. Old habits will reassert themselves as old habits do, but over time, as the new more-comfortable movements become more familiar, you choose them more often and eventually they become the new habit.
This work can be beneficial for those with chronic pain or limited mobility, but also for folks who want to increase their abilities in a physical activity or sport like skiing, dancing, archery, or any activity that you use your body for such as playing an instrument, knitting, and so on.
Anyone who has a body can benefit from this work, however this work is not for everybody. It asks you to slow down and listen to yourself, and not everyone wants to or is in a place in their lives where they can do this.
Listening to yourself means meeting yourself where you are, which can be frustrating if you want to be more or different.
Listening to yourself means remembering that you have a body, which might be a shock if you're one of the many people who feel disconnected from their bodies.
Listening to yourself means discovering your habits, of movement, but also of thought and feeling, and this can be disheartening and you might fear that you'll never be able to break them.
Each Feldenkrais Method Awareness Through Movement class takes you on a journey from your current habits and limitations to a discovery of new options for movement, thoughts and feelings. I often hear sounds of insight, delight, curiosity, and wonder during a class. We call these classes lessons and the participants students because it is a process of learning, and your body and the movements are the teachers. Students stand up from a lesson and report that they feel taller, lighter, more fluid. Or sometimes they feel more grounded, solid, connected. They often feel relaxed, calm, spacious, but sometimes they feel energized, playful! The unique experience of every student is acknowledged and honored.
So if you're ready to meet yourself, create new choices, and love the way you move and feel, come join us in a class!
What can I expect in an atm class?
- Classes are mostly on the floor (on a yoga mat, rug, or blanket), but may occasionally be sitting on a chair, or in standing.
- Lessons can be done in regular clothing, or whatever you feel comfortable in.
- There will be a self scan (body, thoughts, feelings, sensations) at the beginning and end of each lesson.
- I will be giving movement instructions and sensing cues (noticing what you are sensing/feeling and how this is changing) throughout the lesson. You don't need to be able to see me (you can do the entire lesson with your eyes closed if you like) as all movements will be described verbally.
- Most lessons will be laying on your back or side, but some more challenging lessons may be laying on your front, sitting on the floor, on hands and knees, standing, or other variations.
Ok I'm going to take a class! What do I need to know?
For most classes you will need only floor space enough to lay down and roll from side to side. You will want a yoga mat, thick carpet or rug, or folded blanket (moving blankets are great) to lay on. Occasionally you will want a firm pillow or folded towels to put under your head. If the lesson is in a chair it would ideally be a hard/firm seated chair with no arms. Lessons can be done in regular clothing.
- The key to getting the most out of a lesson is to DO LESS, but with AWARENESS and ATTENTION. More learning is possible when movements are done small and slowly.
- It is also essential to learning to NOT DO ANYTHING THAT CAUSES PAIN. Pain takes us out of the learning mode and puts our nervous system into protection mode. If any movement in the lesson causes pain DO LESS. It's preferable to even stay out of straining or stretching. Stay in a comfortable range, go slow, do less, make smaller movements, or even just imagine doing the movements. The movements may be able to be modified or adapted. Raise your hand if you need help with this.
- I will give lots of rests throughout, but please REST WHENEVER YOU NEED TO and come back to the movement when ready. Even though the movements are small and slow and gentle, your attention may need a quick break to come back to the movements fresh.
- If you don’t understand the instruction or get lost, just ask me to repeat the instructions.
- You are in charge of your experience in the lesson. I will remind you to go slow, do less, take rests, and stay in the comfortable range, but only you can know what you need and give it to yourself.
- I am not a medical professional and there will be NO MEDICAL SUPERVISION: don’t do anything that causes pain or that goes against your doctor's instructions.
Functional Integration
One-on-One Practice Lessons - Free!
As a student in the 4 year practitioner training program, we are encouraged to practice the method on real people (we practice on each other a lot!). If you would like to volunteer to be a practice human for me, please let me know!
From the feldenkrais.com website:
"Feldenkrais® private sessions are known as Functional Integration® lessons. In Functional Integration, the teacher guides an individual student in movement lessons using gentle, non-invasive touch as the primary means of communication. In a Functional Integration lesson, the Feldenkrais teacher’s touch reflects to the student how they currently organize their body and actions. They suggest, through gentle touch and movement, expanded possibilities for new movement patterns which are more comfortable, efficient, and useful."
"The learning process is carried out without the use of any invasive or forceful procedure. Through rapport and respect for the student’s abilities, qualities, and integrity, the teacher creates an environment in which the student can learn in safety and comfort. The lesson is developed, specifically for the student, custom-tailored to the unique circumstances of that particular person, at that particular moment. The student learns how to reorganize their actions in new and more effective ways through the experience of comfort, enjoyment, and ease of movement."
From the feldenkrais.com website:
"Feldenkrais® private sessions are known as Functional Integration® lessons. In Functional Integration, the teacher guides an individual student in movement lessons using gentle, non-invasive touch as the primary means of communication. In a Functional Integration lesson, the Feldenkrais teacher’s touch reflects to the student how they currently organize their body and actions. They suggest, through gentle touch and movement, expanded possibilities for new movement patterns which are more comfortable, efficient, and useful."
"The learning process is carried out without the use of any invasive or forceful procedure. Through rapport and respect for the student’s abilities, qualities, and integrity, the teacher creates an environment in which the student can learn in safety and comfort. The lesson is developed, specifically for the student, custom-tailored to the unique circumstances of that particular person, at that particular moment. The student learns how to reorganize their actions in new and more effective ways through the experience of comfort, enjoyment, and ease of movement."