The Feldenkrais Method®  - Resources for Regis DPT Students

The Feldenkrais Method® is a powerful and revolutionary mind/body approach to improving life that uses gentle, mindful movement to bring new awareness and possibility into every aspect of your life. Developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, the Feldenkrais Method® has helped millions of people worldwide.

The Method can be experienced in two ways:

·      Private sessions called Functional Integration Lessons®, where a teacher guides an individual student in movement lessons using gentle, hands-on, non-invasive touch as the primary means of communication.

·      Group sessions called Awareness Through Movement Lessons®, where a teacher verbally guides students to sense themselves through slow, mindful movements that explore functional movements of daily life.

Mind/Body Connection

In Feldenkrais® we focus on moving from our skeleton rather than pushing from our muscles. Our skeleton is what supports us and our bones and joints are what propel us through space. Our brain/nervous system is the command center that puts it all together for us.

We used to believe that the brain and nervous system were “hard-wired” and not able to change. Now advances in brain research and neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning, experience or following injury) show the brain and its synapses can change at any age. Best-selling author Dr. Norman Doidge describes how this happens and relays stories of how alternative therapies, including the Feldenkrais Method®, have had a profound effect on improving the lives of his subjects. (Listen to 30 min. interview of his book “The Brain’s Way of Healing.”)

Specific reference to how neuroplasticity is stimulated through The Feldenkrais Method®: Interview of Dr. Norman Doidge with Ginger Campbell, MD, Brain Science Podcast (10 min. excerpt)

Feldenkrais Applications for Patient Populations and Diagnoses

  • Neurological Deficits: Brain Injuries, Strokes, MS, Parkinson’s
  • Research paper: Effects of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement on Balance in Adults with Chronic Neurological Deficits Following Stroke: A Preliminary Study, by Glenna Batson, PT, MA and Judith E. Deutsch, PHD, PT
  • Pain: Current Research shows chronic pain is a central nervous system phenomenon
  • Interview with Prof. Milton Cohen, Pain Medicine Physician [5:30 min.]
  • Posture & Balance
  • Illness or Injury
  • Movement Difficulties
  • Healthy Aging
  • Babies & Children
  • Athletes & Performers

Joan Jordan, GCFP, CMT • 720.988.7473
mindfulmovement@joanpacos.com