Click for answers from Nick Strauss-Klein, creator and voice of The Feldenkrais Project. Add your own questions in the comments section below and Nick will reply!
Yes, we freely share over 50 Feldenkrais audio lessons. All our primary content is available to anyone with an internet connection at no charge, with no login required – we don't even require your email address to be able to study! You can simply press play.
The Feldenkrais Project exists to share the life-changing benefits of Feldenkrais study as widely as possible, so we've designed it with no barrier to entry.
We hope you enjoy and value our lessons! If you have the means, we ask you to donate to support the Project and help us make "Feldenkrais" a household word. Regardless of whether you can donate right now, we hope you tell everyone you know about The Feldenkrais Project!
Pursuing the Feldenkrais Project's vision by maintaining and improving this website, spreading the word about the Project, and creating new content comprises over half of Nick's professional hours. Additionally, paying our technical bills and compensating our part-time staff for the work Nick can't do himself costs over $25,000 annually.
We don't sell products, internet ads, or information about our users. Our only source of funding is heartfelt free-will donations from listeners!
When you join the Project as a Member or a Patron, you'll receive access to our substantial "thank you" benefits. We thank our Member-level donors with additional study tools. Our Patron-level donors have access to these study tools plus monthly new lessons, and more. Check out our donation levels and thank you benefits right here.
If you're low on time, a good option is to enjoy Getting Oriented, our first lesson collection. There you'll find short lessons (about 25-35 minutes each) covering Feldenkrais basics. And Patron-level donors can find more short lessons in Patrons Monthly.
When you're short on time but you want to study our full-length Feldenkrais class recordings (most are about an hour), stop playback during one of the rests in the lesson. Make a note of how much time has elapsed in the audio player.
Later that same day or the next day are best for continuing. When you're ready...
- Lie down on the floor, breathe and relax, and take a minute to do a "body scan" like the ones at the beginning of almost every lesson.
- For another minute or two, improvise your way through whatever movements you remember from the lesson, paying attention to the details that interested you during earlier study and noticing how things feel now.
- Now resume the audio playback. You can jump to any point in the lesson by clicking on the player bar (on mobile try landscape mode or use your phone's audio player controls). Use the 15-second & 30-second buttons for fine control.
Your comfort – or at least NO increasing discomfort – is essential to creating a self-study environment where neuroplasticity is possible. (Neuroplasticity is the brain's mechanism for changing your habits.) Please do not "push through" uncomfortable positions or movements, even ones that simply feel like you don't want to do them. Trust that sense. There are always options:
- Reduce the effort, size, and speed until it's almost as if you're doing nothing. Beginning Feldenkrais students often think moving so quietly and lightly can't possibly be useful. Suspend your disbelief and see what happens! Soon you'll understand the Feldenkrais "secret" to learning and improvement.
- Rest longer between each movement.
- Sometimes, or as often as necessary if you can't do a movement comfortably, rest so long that you're only participating in your imagination. This is remarkably effective, because your brain is still processing and organizing your sensations and musculature when you're imagining.
- You can even rest in another position and imagine doing a movement.
- You can do a movement or position "on the other side," inverting the lesson's lefts and rights, even if this means you only ever use one side of your body for some parts or all of a lesson.
- If you're frustrated, go ahead and skip the current lesson and try another one. You can almost always do lessons out of order (exceptions are clearly marked). The order of lessons in the collections is just a suggestion that often works well for students.
No, Feldenkrais is an educational method. We use movement and directed attention to stimulate your brain to learn new habits. Traditional exercises (strengthening, stretching, cardio) challenge your body tissue. Feldenkrais movements challenge your attention, which spurs your innate curiosity and helps you discover novel movements, sensations, and relationships within yourself as you develop greater awareness. This process prompts your brain’s neuroplastic ability to get free of habits which aren’t useful, and begin finding new, personalized ways of better coordinating and regulating your whole self.
Read more about the Feldenkrais Method.
Probably! Even if you’re not always sure you’re doing what I’m describing, if you are moving pleasantly, curiously, and well within your limits of comfort, you will learn and improve. Remember LESSS is more: Light, Easy, Soft, Slow, Smooth movements are far more effective at creating neuroplastic change than faster, more powerful, or mindless rote movements. So...
- Only do what’s comfortable, and rest whenever you want to.
- Breathe! If you’re not breathing easily it’s a sign that you’re straining.
- Be creative, curious, and kind to yourself as you interpret my instructions, taking all the time you need to figure out a way to move that works for you.
Most people who grew up in our culture have at least a subconscious belief that if you’re not suffering you won’t improve. It can be hard to trust that quiet, minimal movements and directed attention are potent tools for change. For your Feldenkrais study time you may need to suspend your disbelief. Feldenkrais movements aren’t gentle because I’m nice! They’re gentle because it’s the fastest and most effective way to help you notice and change your undiscovered self-destructive habits.
In today’s internet world of whiz-bang visuals, we’ve made a conscious decision to focus on audio. The reasons are simple:
- If you’re watching another student do a Feldenkrais lesson, your nervous system will automatically try to match what you’re seeing their body do. Instead, it is much better to interpret the audio instructions and find your own way of doing the movements, than to compare yourself to someone else’s movement habits and different body size and shape. This is true even if it sometimes leads to confusion.
- Or, to put it in the words of Feldenkrais Practitioner Frederick Schjang, “Watching someone else do Feldenkrais is like watching them drink a glass of wine and trying to decide if you like it.”
- Finally, because the use of our eyes is so intimately connected to all of our movement (as well as thinking, sensing, and feeling), keeping our focus and physical orientation fixed on a screen hijacks a major portion of our brain’s learning apparatus. While some Feldenkrais video learning can be very valuable, whenever you’re looking at the screen while moving and sensing the rest of your body, you’re learning patterns which include the powerful neuromuscular influence of your fixed gaze! Video can be useful for some situations, but overall we dodge a significant learning disadvantage by focusing on audio Feldenkrais study.
All those disclaimers aside, the pandemic drove Nick's weekly classes onto Zoom, where they continue to this day. Live or by replay, you can participate in a video class – but you'll still find you don't look at the screen very much! Check out The FP Weekly Zoom Class.
All users can visit our FREE Videos About Feldenkrais page for quick looks at adults, babies, and even a skeleton doing movements found in many Feldenkrais lessons.
And our donors, both Members & Patrons, have access to Bonus Video Content - replays of Zoom events with lessons and updates about the Feldenkrais Project.
Yes: if you are moving in a way that creates any increasing unpleasant experience such as pain, strain, tightness, frustration or other emotional burden, boredom, or just the sense that you don't want to, stop what you are doing. It’s not worth it. Escalating negative sensations and feelings take over your nervous system – even the ones you wouldn’t call pain! You’ll pay attention to them automatically, and you will miss out on valuable, pleasant sensations and learning.
Great – you’ll be amazed at what’s possible if make choices at every turn toward comfort! I expect that everyone will alter or skip some positions, variations, or entire sections of every lesson.
You can study Feldenkrais almost any time. When possible, it's helpful to separate study from strenuous activity or physical exercise, because intense movements and sensations can make it hard to perceive the fine sensory details you'll discover in Feldenkrais study that your brain relies on to make changes.
So, when you can, allow 15-30 minutes of regular, non-strenuous activity before doing a Feldenkrais lesson, and continue with non-rigorous movement for a couple of hours after.
Many people enjoy doing a lesson right before bed. It typically improves quality of sleep AND it's fantastic timing for learning, since our brains organize and assimilate new experiences while we rest.
Alternatively, studying in the morning often adds clarity, sensitivity, and ease to later activities.
Students benefit from lessons at very different rates of study. The Feldenkrais Project is here for you whenever the time is right! A lesson or a few lessons every week is common. Some students report great benefits from studying more often, as much as one or two lessons a day.
If you do decide to do more than one lesson in a day, allow at least 10 minutes of quiet time around the house between lessons. Rest, drink some water, do light housework, etc. As long as you remain interested in your Feldenkrais explorations, attending to your sensations and curious about what you're doing, you can continue if you wish!
There are a handful of lessons that directly lead into each other in our collections. The collection and lesson pages will point out when there are opportunities to "take a workshop" or do a Deep Dive at home by studying lessons back-to-back. It's usually not required; you can just go on to the next lesson the next time you have a chance to study.
We're glad you asked! On our Home Study "How To" page you'll find tips, tricks, and traditions straight from our listeners. You can even contribute your own!
Do you have another basic question about the Feldenkrais Project not answered above? Post it here! Or use Contact Us under the About menu, above.
Looking for a lesson for anxiety. Can’t afford anything.
Hello! Our website is designed to be used and shared even if you lack funds. All Feldenkrais lessons will quiet the nervous system and address the anxiety pattern, but it’s nice to find ones that are particularly accessible or potent for this purpose. I recommend using the lesson search bar (homepage, below the collection buttons) to look for “breathing”. The top two results are a great place to start. Also collection 1, number 1, and begin working your way through the lessons, skipping (for now) any lesson that you can’t make pleasant for yourself within 10 minutes of the start of the lesson.
UPDATE: We’ve added a mini-course called Six Lessons for Anxiety.
I’m new to the Feldenkrais project. I know that strength is not the intended result, but if I substitute the Feldenkrais exercises for yoga will I lose muscle strength?
I find I prefer it because it’s too easy to strain a muscle in yoga – but I need to maintain strong back muscles particularly. Thank you.
Welcome! This is a great question. You’re right that Feldenkrais isn’t a replacement for traditional exercise, but it can make us stronger: when we’re better organized for the movements we intend, we can deliver force more efficiently and powerfully.
For your muscle strength question, it depends on what kind of yoga practice you do, but perhaps in the short term you could do less yoga and substitute more of another physical activity you enjoy, something as simple as walking or biking or swimming. As you get better organized through Feldenkrais study, you may enjoy returning to yoga with a new awareness, and find yourself less likely to strain.
Finally I would add that there are Feldenkrais lessons which stimulate muscle strength in a more traditional way (in addition to the neuromuscular learning that is the primary goal). For example, check out the Spine Like a Chain lessons in our collection Lessons for Freeing the Spine, Chest, Shoulders, and Neck.
Hello Nick I really enjoy doing Feldenkrais and am very grateful for your audio lessons!! I was wondering if you have any tips. Sometimes when I do the lesson I get very drowsy and my mind starts to wander of or fall half asleep and I cant seem to feel resting as to actually feel hahah. Do you have any tips how to deal with this?
Studying Feldenkrais is like holding up a powerful mirror to yourself: it will tend to show you how you’re really feeling! With that in mind, it may simply be that you’re needing some more rest. That said, there’s another element, too: our lessons are designed to move your brain as far as possible from flight-or-flight mode and into rest-recharge-learn mode, where we’re more capable of lasting neuroplastic change. Getting a bit drowsy or drifty during the process is normal! It’s ok to take a break, rest/doze for a while, and resume the recording (or rewind). Even if you feel like you’re a little dreamy, you’ll still be learning. As an example: drifty, dreamy, pre-verbal, non-intellectual babies are doing the most substantial neuroplastic learning of their lives! They’re not concerned with maintaining a sharp adult consciousness as they move and explore, and we don’t have to be either!
Thank you for your initiating question and response comment. They create context for my question. I, too, have at times fallen asleep during a lesson. For me, I know this is an outcome of simply being tired. My question (hopefully Nick is listening) is about lesson length. Many lessons are about 60 minutes in length. I’m curious about the shorter-length lessons. Can you help me understand the difference in impact/benefit when comparing short versus long-form sessions. This will help me approach the task of lesson choice. Thank you 🙂
Like all things in real human learning, the optimal lesson length really depends on the individual, and their state in the current moment. Comfort and honest curiosity are the best guide. If either is diminishing, you won’t be learning too much if you choose to “stick it out” through the end of the lesson.
I enjoy the hour-long format because I really like to make time for a full scan at the beginning, and lots of rests and variations, plus a little discussion. And an hour happens to work well for my own ATM learning most times. For me there’s a fullness, a deep-dive about it that I don’t usually feel from shorter lessons.
That said, there’s a lot of consensus that 45 minutes is a really good lesson length for most people most of the time, so I assume people will “rest out” of some parts of my hour-long classes as needed, or even pause and return to a lesson (that’s discussed in the FAQ above).
Shorter lessons can be great, too, especially if doing them gets someone studying when an hour is unavailable, or feels like too much.
In the long term, engaging in ATM study can be a moment or a few minutes of literal “awareness through movement”: turning a household task into a lesson by slowing down and paying attention, for example. I dip into ATM thinking all the time. Life is an ongoing Feldenkrais lesson, if we listen closely to ourselves.
And…I also crave getting down on the floor for a formal lesson (whether it’s 20, 40, or 60 minutes) whenever I can.
Hope that helps! Feel free to follow up.
Hi Nick…please forgive me if this has been answered many times. Can you do the exercises in bed under covers? I wake up in middle of night and it is too cold to get on floor. But the weight of blankets changes sensations and makes knees, for example, really hard to glide. Thanks for your amazing gifts!
Great question! As always, in Feldenkrais we use movement to produce sensory experiences that our brains can learn and improve from, so the quality of movement and the sensory feedback it produces is important. But any approximation of a lesson that is curious and pleasant for you (that’s the quality minimum) can become a lesson, it may just be a bit different in where it points you because of the limitations caused by the environment (covers). Like a lot of people, I do little bits of Feldenkrais lessons in bed that are easy: breathing movements, subtle shifts of the head, proximal movements of the spine, chest, shoulders. Movements of the hands and feet. Back-lying, knees bent, I find that bed covers get in the way of knee tipping movements too much for my taste, but that situation is conducive for playing a different mini-lesson game: relaxing the legs into the friction of the covers! With the covers keeping your knees from falling to the side, how can you play with sensing and reducing habitual efforts of balancing them? This is offered just as a creative example of playing/learning within the constraints you find yourself in.
Wow! What an amazing resource! Thank you!
Oops! Sent too soon… I had open heart surgery and during the recovery I believe my posture of protecting my sternum led to frozen shoulder, so my once flexible yoga body has discomfort almost at all times in many places- which led me to Feldenkreis! I’m pretty new to this and would love to know any experience of others with complicated issues such as this. Can I hope one day to get my flexibility back and be pain-free? I’m going in with an open mind but just super curious of your insights with others who have been cracked down the middle or any suggestions you may have to be aware of. 🙂
There are amazing stories of ease and improvement throughout the Feldenkrais learning world, having come in all kinds of situations. I’m guessing you’ve heard some already and that may be part of why you’re here? The important thing is to remember that you’re teaching yourself a process of self-care and self-learning. It’s designed to improve all aspects of human function, so in time I believe you’ll begin to find what you’re looking for. Along the way you’ll probably also find a lot of other interesting, pleasant things. Learning isn’t linear, and it’s not a fix or cure but a way forward that we’re promoting. Curiosity and a healthy self-exploration process can work wonders.
Curiosity regarding Feldenkrais and Sleep
Dear Nick,
Firstly, thank you for developing and making this resource available – I am now a regular student and patron.
I have been practicing for several months now. In this time, I have noticed my sleep has become more and more disrupted. I wake more frequently, and when I do, I find myself in unusual and awkward positions. For example, I woke to find my head bent almost at a right angle, as if I was rehearsing or mirroring a class. Sometimes it’s as though I am ‘improvising’ Feldenkrais in my sleep. Another curiosity is that these positions are often paradoxically comfortable, but feel strange/foreign at the same time, as if someone else as put me in them..
On the one hand, this is of great interest, to observe my movement changing unconsciously. But on the other hand, I find I am less comfortable getting asleep than I used to be, and have started to dislike soft beds or ‘sleeping’ positions. It’s as though I want to be moving in my sleep, which in turn wakes me up, and then struggle to find a comfortable position once I’m awake..
I’m wondering if you have some comments or insights into this and or any resources that I could read about neuroplasticity and sleep.. Very general questions I know. I have read Norman Doidge and am starting to read some of Feldenkrais’ writings, but I feel that the relationship between sleep and practice is somehow neglected(?)
I look forward to your response.
Isabelle
Dear Isabelle,
This is a fascinating description of an interesting phenomenon. Sorry to hear your rest is a bit disturbed right now, but I’m happy to hear your nuance and curiosity about the issue. I think that shows that a process is underway which will continue to shift things, hopefully for the better soon!
I have experienced and frequently heard of sleep quality changing as people dive into Feldenkrais study, but in truth it’s usually on the improvement spectrum, so I don’t have a lot of experience with questions like yours. I’m asking myself now: if sleep usually changes, what’s to say it shouldn’t be unstable for a period in the process? Processes of change and learning are by nature unstable.
I really resonate with your line about “paradoxically comfortable…strange/foreign” positions: I do remember waking up with that feeling in my early Feldenkrais studies, and I’ve heard others describe it too. We are capable of resting in all sorts of unusual positions outside of cultural sleep norms. (As you may have caught in some lessons I often ask students to picture the crazy positions house cats can sleep in when we’re looking for rests within a lesson.)
Your sense that your bed is too soft and your old go-to sleeping positions aren’t quite appropriate right now also resonates. Both may simply be true, and maybe you haven’t found reliable alternatives yet. I regularly recommend to students, friends, and family to move in the direction of firmer beds over time. I believe it’s easier and healthier to move naturally in our sleep when we’re not being swallowed up by softness.
All of this is to say I don’t have a lot of direct help to offer, but I do think your process fits in neuroplastic norms. The best, most direct Feldenkrais resource I know (I’ve used it myself) is Michael Krugman’s Sounder Sleep. Maybe give that a try.
I also expect this will continue to shift and change and that a kind of equilibrium will come eventually, and I hope you can rest well soon! Please feel free to be back in touch and let me know how it’s going.
Thanks for listening, and for your Patron support of the Feldenkrais Project.
Nick
Thank you for this wonderful resource! The first lesson was very helpful but I’m wondering if I should repeat it for some days before moving on? Without practice, I’m not sure how to integrate it in practical life.
Great question! Your brain does the most important learning from these lessons automatically, through the process of neuroplasticity. All you have to do to make the most of that process is support your own kinesthetic curiosity by remaining comfortable, relaxed, and genuinely curious about what you’re feeling as you explore lessons. If that remains the case you can repeat lessons as many times as you like! But if they become rote or performative at all, or you find yourself distracted, you should move on to another lesson.
Many people work through an entire collection, then begin it again for a second or even third time or more. You’ll find you experience the lessons differently, and that’s a sign that you’re integrating the generalized neuromusculoskeletal learning that Feldenkrais study points at.
It’s also possible to do brief, improvised “reminders” of lessons. Lie down, get quiet and attentive, and explore a few of whichever movements you remember from a lesson. Can you improve their quality (not quantity) in just a few movements?
Sounds good, thanks!
Hello,
I would first like to thank you for all of the information and lessons that you offer! They are a great and valuable resource and I applaud you for creating this amazing project!
As for my question, since getting into the Feldenkrais method for the purpose of creating more ease, awareness and comfort in my body, I have come to feel great changes in the way I relate to my body in everyday situations. As a long time anxiety sufferer who usually is pretty hard on herself, it is really helpful that this method encourages more ease and less effort – this is really valuable when translated into mental activity, work-life balance and other aspects of life.
Now I have this confusion within me that arises. I also practice things like running, yoga, qigong, sometimes calisthenics or different fitness exercises. Each of these is completely different in the way that it works the body and I try to apply some of the Feldenkrais knowledge in these practices, but I find them rather having conflicting goals and patterns, so it’s hard for me.
I always try to ask myself how can I bring more awareness into the movements that I do, how can I bring more ease and pleasure into what I do, how can I involve the body in a way that doesn’t strain it or push it.
However, for example in yoga there are poses where there is discomfort while trying to balance a pose, in fitness there is pressure that needs to be applied in order to stimulate blood flow to the muscle, afterwards there is soreness and pain. And I do enjoy the stretches in yoga and I do enjoy doing ab exercises, for example, because they make me feel strong and powerful. But they also cause some pain and strain, so should I continue doing them?
I hope I made my question clear enough, I just want to understand how to apply the method to other types of exercise where there inevitably is some pain, some soreness and some stretching involved.
This is a really good question, and very well-articulated. First I want to share that I personally enjoy all sorts of vigorous exercise, and some of the most devoted Felden-fans I know are high-performance athletes. There’s no inherent conflict between Feldenkrais and yoga, fitness, etc. Quite the opposite! In fact more and more professional athletes are discovering that Feldenkrais is perfect for taking their skills even higher. And I’m close friends with a yoga instructor who is always bringing Feldenkrais sensitivity into his yoga practice. There is always some way to adapt and avoid pain in any yoga pose you’re learning – ask your instructor. If you’re holding still in a painful pose I would contend you are not benefitting, you’re just training your willpower (not a good thing).
It’s always a question of how you do what you do, and I think you’re onto it already since you write that you’re bringing Feldenkrais thinking into other modalities and athletics. When I’m doing interval sprints I’m definitely pushing my body hard…as hard as I can, in fact! But I’ve prepared myself, and I’m listening constantly throughout myself, for how I feel as I exert. I know what delivering force efficiently through my bones feels like. I know what a well-organized, whole body effort with integrated breathing feels like. I know the safe ranges of my joints. I know when I need to rest. All these things I’ve learned to sense in great details in Feldenkrais lessons.
I also know what a healthy muscular soreness feels like after a workout or dynamic stretch, and what an injured soreness feels like. If I feel the latter, I’m definitely going to work out very differently next time! If you feel pain and strain after your abs exercises, sensations that don’t just feel like fatigue or muscle building sensations, I would definitely back off of speed, repetitions, and resistance and work on the how you’re doing that exercise, how you’re integrating your whole self into it, distributing the effort, and minimizing unnecessary efforts. If you’re doing any static stretching, it’s worth googling dynamic vs static stretching. Sports sciences has a solid consensus now away from static stretches.
One more thought that might help: the point of Feldenkrais isn’t gentleness and ease. Rather those are required for the kind of learning we do in lessons. The point is to be able to do what you wish to do with your life as effectively, satisfyingly, and sustainably as you can. Amazingly we’re wired to feel good when we’re behaving like that, and of course there can be great pleasure in exerting yourself skillfully!
Hope that helps. Big topic – this is just some overview thoughts.
Thank you lots, Nick!
You answered my question in incredible depth, I definitely have to reread it a couple of times to grasp all of the content and knowledge contained within. It is a very big topic indeed and I’m fascinated by the way very little movements can have such a impact on the way we relate to our body.
I understand that it’s a matter of exploration, I’m just getting started with this concept of body awareness and getting un-used to feeling pain, strain and pushing my way through different exercises, trying to do them perfectly or doing too much. Unsurprisingly enough, this tells me a lot about how I do most things in life and how these tendencies exist in me in general.
Thank you for your help, I’ll keep finding what feels good and listening to my body’s wisdom.
You are not alone in seeing these kinds of “suffer through it” tendencies throughout life, not just in movement. Our culture doesn’t emphasize or reward handling yourself with internal skillfulness. Over the years hundreds of students have commented to me that the analogy of asking questions, considering what you’re experiencing, and finding your own healthier way to do things escapes the bounds of Feldenkrais lessons and sneaks into the rest of life. It sure has for me, and I consider it a gift every day!
Hi Nick!
Love your site and its content!!
You touched on this above, but want to ask directly if doing Feldenkrais eliminates the need for dynamic stretching.
Also, does weightlifting conflict with Feldonkrais objectives?
Glad to hear it! I’m a fan of dynamic stretching (and I never static stretch), but at this point it could probably be said that my dynamic stretching looks like Feldenkrais: slow, attentive movement, not diving for the ends of my ranges, but sensing and lengthening and breathing constantly throughout the movements. Being able to reverse them or change course at any point. The other thing I call a dynamic stretch is just doing gentle, slow motion versions of whatever I’m about to do or starting to do: so I’ll go really easy for a few minutes with the first kayak or paddle board strokes, or if I’m preparing to do my interval sprint workout I’ll take large, slow exaggerated steps. If I’m weightlifting I’ll sense myself moving, using conscious good technique (breath and length!) with low weight for a while to warm up, before moving up to heavier weights.
Regarding your weightlifting question, check out this comment I made for another weightlifting question, then let me know here if you’re looking for other details.
Thank you for these resources. I am interested in the eye movement and their relationship with movement in the rest of the body. Would you be able to shed any light on this please?
Lots of Feldenkrais lessons work directly with integrating the use of the eyes with movements of the body. Please visit our lesson Search & Sort page, type in “eyes,” and explore!
Hello Nick, I just started free lessons last week. I am on lesson three.. first time I did it. It took me sometime to figure out. Second time I did it in the morning and I cried. This morning I did it again and I cried again. it seems like the subtility of the movement, the gentleness of it that brings up some emotions. Is this something that happens to people from time to time? Is it part of the journey? Thank you for your offerings.
Yes! It happens to many people, especially at first, because we really are a bodymind – one complete self. The same single nervous system that regulates your musculature regulates your emotions, and links the two together. It connects your thoughts and history and everything else about you too! Modern neuroscience shows that there are no thoughts or emotions without slight corresponding muscular activities. It works in reverse too: when you refine and change your muscle tone and control (like in a lesson) it literally changes your emotional landscape. Sometimes there’s been some long held emotions that surface as the body changes. Over time you will probably find this effect happening less often, but sometimes a newly encountered lesson can bring it up again. I encourage you to be curious and open to it if you can!
Hey Nick!
Just wanted to say I think the feldenkrais project is a wonderful thing and has impacted my life very positively. Keep making the world a better place.
Thanks!
James
Thank you! I’m so glad it’s been helpful for you!
Hi I have had sciatica for about a year and nothing has helped resolve it for long – I even took ibuprofen, Tylenol , : had acupuncture, went to a chiropractor, I even. did a back pain course I found on utube
So I wonder if and how this can help and how long it might take to get rid of my 24/7 pain ?
I can’t answer in specifics for you because people’s movement patterns relate to their sciatica in different ways. But it is very likely to improve with general improvements about how you organize your pelvis, legs, and torso. Toward that end I recommend our free Getting Oriented series (skipping any movements or entire lessons you can’t find comfort in), which touches on these organizations in every lesson. Another possibility that some listeners have valued for sciatica is the free lesson called The Hip Joints: Moving Proximal Around Distal.
As far as how long it will take, it’s likely that after just 1-3 lessons you’ll find some relief or at least obvious change in symptoms. Initially familiar pains often come back pretty quickly, but as you study and learn you will find improvements and changes “last” longer and become more accessible when you have a flare up of pain and review favorite lessons for it. It can be very helpful to keep a journal.
Hi, I’m so glad I found your site. In the past I have taken Feldenkrais lessons, and found them tremendously helpful. My busy life took over, and I lost connection. Now I find myself 8 weeks into a healing journey after breaking my right foot and my left ankle. The cast is off and I am relearning how to walk. Any movement is painful. I found this site and was hoping there are ways using Feldenkrais for rehab. Would you recommend that and what lessons would you recommend to help heal my feet. Thanks so much,
Ellen
Welcome! Hard to say from afar, but if you feel ready for a direct exploration of how you use your feet you might explore our Deep Dive called Supple Feet, Powerful Legs.
If you want something less direct, just work through our first two collections. You could also use our lesson search & filter to look for lessons in back-lying, and exclude lessons in any positions you don’t like.
Read lesson descriptions to look for ones that are predominantly back-lying, knees bent. No matter what these lessons are about, your soles are on the floor and your feet are gaining experience in a none weight-bearing situation.
One more thought: Connecting Arms and Legs, Hinges at Feet and Knees might be a useful lesson.
In all of this, go lightly and skip sections of lessons or entire lessons that you can’t find a comfortable way to explore currently. By not pushing through pain you will improve function faster.
Thank you so much!! This is very helpful and especially your last comment ‘ by not pushing through pain you will improve function faster. ‘ I need to hear that because I am so used to pushing. Thanks, I’ll let you know how the lessons go. Super grateful for this opportunity!
Hi! I am wondering how to proceed after finishing the “new here” section. I think I would like to do deep dives, but the one I chose first was a harder one “Walking with the spine”. I would like to build skill and increase difficulty slowly. Any tipps on how to make a lessons plan?
Great question! Continuing through our Collections in order is usually best for newcomers before diving into the Deep Dives. Collections 2-4 in particular a great followups to Getting Oriented.
Thank you 🙂
My question is, How to integrate Feldenkrais work into my fitness routine, specifically in relation to strength training and aerobic exercise or walking? Theoretically, should I do Feldenkrais before or after these? Should I do them consecutively or separate them by minutes/hours? I can imagine arguments either way (i.e., before or after; close or distant). I’m sure it can vary for individuals, and I won’t take your opinion as a “prescription”, but I’m wondering how to think about this and what you yourself have found most effective. Thanks!
Great questions!
Doing Feldenkrais before exercise: Put time between Feldenkrais study and exercise based on how vigorous the exercise is. Taking at least a few quiet minutes after an ATM is always advised, but you might go for a walk 10 minutes later. If you’re going to do strength training, I recommend waiting at least an hour, since the intensity of that stimulus may blast through the subtlety of your brand new Feldenkrais learning.
Doing it after exercise: The reverse is also true. I can go from an easy walk to an ATM lesson with little break and still feel plenty sensitive for the Feldenkrais learning. But I wouldn’t go right from strength training to ATM; I find it hard to feel the details of fine movements right after bearing heavy loads.
You might also value these two discussions about exercise and Feldenkrais.