FELDENKRAIS

What is it? Feldenkrais is often referred to as a form of "somatic education" or education of the body. It is a technique where the patient is made more aware of the way they move their body, and taught new ways to improve movement and function. As body function improves, then of course this has a major impct on the individual's psyche.

History: It was originally the work of Moshe Feldenkrais, a Russian born physicist, engineer and black belt judo master, who developed the technique during the 1940s. He suffered from disabling knee pain in his early 40s, and, being a very active man, was determined to find a way of using his body more efficiently so that he could continue an active life: his own body was his first success story.

Treatment: The therapy is performed in distinct ways:

-group classes (Awareness Through Movement or ATM) in which the teacher takes pupils through a gentle series of gradually more and more complex movements during which pupils are made to develop an awareness of of the relationship between all body parts throughout all the moves.

-private, individual lessons known as Functional Integration(FI) during which the therapist oberves the way the patient moves in different situations: walking, sitting, lying down etc. and, with gentle touch, helps to modify the way the body is used so that tasks are performed more efficiently.

Conditions: Feldenkrais is of particular benefit to those suffering from chronic pain, sports injuries, diseases of the central nervous system such as MS, cerebral palsy and stroke, and sufferers of various forms of arthritis.