Reset your brain
Our greatest human ability is to redefine neural pathways that have been formed by our earlier experiences. These brain pathways are what causes our habits of movement and behavior. They were created by experiences in our past, especially in childhood. The brain has the ability to reset them and adopt new patterns. Which is good news if we want to change some aspect of our movement or behavior. We do not need to remain stuck in old-established ways, simply because we have grown accustomed to them.
That resetting process doesn’t, however, happen by itself. It takes attention and application. When we feel stuck in a certain pattern – how we behave in a certain situation, or the way we hold our self when we walk - we need to spend time understanding that pattern before we can discover an alternative. Knowing in an abstract way that an alternative exists (because we read about it in a book, or a teacher told us) is not enough. We need to experience that alternative through our senses, get to know how it feels from inside.
The Feldenkrais method is uniquely constructed to enable this process of resetting. While the method is taught through movement, it’s not about teaching specific movements. Rather, what we teach is an approach to discovering how we do the things we do and exploring other ways on doing. Attention is on the process of doing, not on the result.
With practice, this approach results in easier movement. We notice the change in our self – we breathe easier, have better balance, can perform better at any physical activity (sports, but also dance, playing music, or sitting comfortably at a desk for hours on end).
And experience shows the method has effects beyond our physical ability to move with ease. Through practicing resetting movement patterns, our brain becomes accustomed to the process of resetting. We start to know
the process of self-discovery and exploration that leads to change, and
the fact that we can and do change our self, and continue to change our self, in ways that we choose.
This embodied knowledge makes us feel capable and hopeful.
What have you done to change your self? What techniques have worked for you? Please leave a comment.