Writer Dana Meltzer Zepeda reports about how the Feldenkrais Method “helps to alleviate stress and chronic pain” in her August 24, 2023 article in The DailyOM.
Zepeda notes that “recent research has shown that the Feldenkrais Method has been especially helpful for older adults and people with neurodegenerative diseases” and that “that the alternative movement patterns used in the Feldenkrais Method significantly improved pain, posture, functional balance and mobility, and perceived exertion in people suffering from pain, Parkinson’s disease, or multiple sclerosis.” While Feldenkrais benefits people of these demographics, it also helps people of all ages with many different issues and goals.
The article aptly suggests that to reap the benefits most fully, the sessions bear repetition - the way we repeat anything new that we’re learning, like learning to play a musical instrument.
Zapeda writes: “Feldenkrais instructors educate their clients to reconnect with — and become more aware of — their bodies so that they can move with greater efficiency and engage their muscles to prevent injury. And because Feldenkrais movements are typically slow, gentle, and easy to modify, the practice is accessible to people with a range of abilities.”
As a Feldenkrais Practitioner, I meet my clients wherever they’re at in that moment. If they’re physically and mentally exhausted from pain, the gentle movements we do together support, relax, and often help reduce pain. If their range of motion is limited, we come up with some non-habitual ways to move that may create neuroplastic changes and improve their movement.
Many clients ask me to tell them what is wrong with them. Diagnosing is not part of our work. We focus more on novel ways we can achieve movements and what we can improve rather than telling people what is “wrong” with them.
Over 20 years ago, I was injured in a car accident that eventually led me to try individual Feldenkrais sessions for the first time. First I sought relief in a variety of other approaches. I saw a recommended chiropractor and left his office feeling deflated and broken. He had diagnosed me with a multitude of problems in addition to the whiplash and lumbar strain I was seeing him for. I am not saying all chiropractors do this nor am I slamming chiropractic in general as a profession. I am saying that this particular chiropractor was not a match for me and my injuries at that time and the experience I had with him was discouraging and unhelpful to me. And that getting saddled with new diagnoses that I was not sure were relevant or pertinent to my situation was particularly unsettling.
What turned things around for me after those particular injuries was seeing a Feldenkrais Practitioner who didn’t diagnose me but met me where I was with curiosity and gentleness. Her questions and non-invasive touch allowed my nervous system to calm down and recover from the injuries and the other suboptimal patterns I’d developed over my decades on earth. All of this was achieved without burdening me with new diagnoses and new problems to worry about. I became more curious than concerned, and that was just what my system needed to initiate the neuroplastic rewire and changes that led to my feeling better. And while I felt some improvement right away, I needed to continue getting sessions to improve, the way the article compares Feldenkrais learning to learning a new instrument, something that takes time and doesn’t happen in one hour.
Recently I’ve seen some clients who were able to reduce certain medications that affected their cognition and function. Their cognitive improvement enabled them to express themselves more clearly and with less brain fog and more clarity. The functional change resulted in improvement in balance, walking, standing, and other day-to-day movements. While this work is more about awareness and learning, there are some therapeutic benefits that people experience, including improvement of function, relaxation, pain relief, and more.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Feldenkrais Method, click here.
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