The path to tranquility
'a sense of calm in mind and body'
'connected with myself'
'grounded, present, mindful'
These are things every Feldenkrais teacher hears all the time from people after a lesson. What is it about Awareness Though Movement (ATM) lessons that generates these sensations?
Stress often causes physical tension which lingers sometimes even after the stressor has gone. Such tensions can become habitual, and we may not even be aware of them, even though they affect how we feel. The Feldenkrais Method releases tensions by specifically addressing our system's natural capacity to heal, adapt, and grow. Accessing this capacity requires awareness of how we are using ourself, and it is this awareness we work on in the lessons. While these are movement lessons, the changes that we experience have nothing to do with how many movements we make, or how big. They are a result of the way we pay attention to ourself in the lesson. In fact, the smaller and gentler the movements, the better - letting our system focus on sensing and feeling rather than working and straining. As a teacher, my task is to help people direct their attention in the most useful way.
In ATM lessons:
We work gently, avoiding discomfort, pain and strain. Rather than trying to achieve specific movement we observe ourself sensing, feeling, moving - without any expectation or pressure to 'perform'
The teacher guides our attention to ourself in ways that our central nervous system finds useful to reset itself - helping us access our natural capacity to self-heal and recover from stress
The act of paying attention to ourself reminds our subconscious that we are a physical being, that we have feelings and possibilities in the moment which constitute our reality. It also gives us opportunities for curiosity and pleasure, and these are the key to deep relaxation
In the lessons I teach, certain elements are especially prone to have stress-relieving effects:
bring attention to your breathing: observe your breathing, without changing anything, letting your breath come and go of its own accord
bring attention to the physical connection with your support: which parts of you are in contact with whatever you're standing, sitting, or lying on?
create physical connection with yourself: for example, lay your hand on your belly - our hands are sensitive and can help us connect to our self by finding clues to what we sense from the inside
synchronise movement with breathing: the length of your breath determines the rhythm with which you move
micro-movements: make a movement so small it is invisible and only you know that something is moving
slow, exploratory movements involving the face, mouth, jaw, tongue: for example, use the tip of your tongue to explore the inside of your mouth, the inside of your cheeks
I will explore these elements in more detail in future posts.
What techniques have you found that relieve stress and tension? Please leave a comment.