l. Feldenkrais® and the Brain (2016)

When crafting his remarkable lessons, Moshe Feldenkrais seized upon the realization that our experience of movement is the foundation of our sense of ourselves. His understanding of how our brain coordinates our movement is embedded in every Feldenkrais lesson.

In this Advanced Training co-taught by Jeff Haller and Roger Russell, you will increase your understanding of the neurological foundations of the Feldenkrais Method, and learn how Feldenkrais refines the functioning of our nervous system at every level—from the prefrontal cortex to the spinal cord and the muscles—offering a means of learning nimble movement, keen body perception, and refined self-awareness.

Through ATMs, FI practice, and lectures, this workshop examines four central themes:

• The neurology of awareness: How our intentions, our imagination, our emotions play key roles in effective learning.
• Making and unmaking habits: Habitual ways of acting can be both useful and burdensome. How do our brains re-arrange our habits quickly and efficiently when guided by the process of awareness?
• The motor side of the Weber-Fechner principle: While this principle of sensory physiology is well known, there is another side of the medallion that nails down the argument. Easy movement is the key to refined self-perception. How is this built into how our brains work?
• How attention changes sensory acuity: Attention orchestrates how the brain’s sensory and motor centers are mobilized for fluent action. Feldenkrais teachers recognize that it pays to practice skillful attention. How do the brain’s attention networks help us mobilize an alert, open focus and agile curiosity for easy learning?

Each of these themes is part of an entire Coordination Cascade of neurological processes that unfold in each and every Feldenkrais lesson—it can only get easier for you to teach if you have a basic understanding of how this cascade functions.