The Feldenkrais Method® is an approach to learning and action, through the medium of movement.

Developed by Dr Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984), who was an engineer, scientist and judo master, the method synthesizes biology, physics, neuroscience, motor development, psychology, and an empirical understanding of learning and human development. Dr Feldenkrais anticipated the current research on neuroplasticity by demonstrating that we can change, learn and develop across our entire life span.

The Feldenkrais Method® addresses fundamental properties of human being and is broadly beneficial and appropriate for people of all ages, interests and abilities. In a continuous process of learning, each person will experience it in a unique way, depending on their own unique personal structure, inherent inclinations and history. Safe, non-strenuous and effective, the Feldenkrais Method® improves comfort and function by engaging the power of the brain.

Feldenkrais lessons create conditions for a person to learn to use themselves more effectively, with more ease, elegance, skill and power. The Feldenkrais approach considers moving inseparable from sensing, thinking and feeling aspects of an action. As work progresses and movement organisation improves, people report shifts in overall well-being, sense of self, focus, creativity, mood and outlook.

The Feldenkrais Method® is available in two different ways: as do-it-yourself classes called Awareness Through Movement®, and as individual hands-on sessions called Functional Integration®. Both are commonly referred to as “lessons” because a process of learning, through your own experience, takes place in your brain and the rest of yourself when you do them.

Awareness Through Movement® lessons consist of a series of gentle, ingenious movements, verbally directed and exploratory in nature. There are hundreds of lessons which focus on different themes and interconnections between the nervous system, the muscles, the skeletal system and our responses to the world around us. Students learn at their own pace, in a non-competitive environment. 

Lessons take place lying on the floor, sitting, or sometimes standing, as you explore sequences of movements that may develop into more complex, coordinated actions. Each new movement is repeated and refined in an attentive, mindful way, as you discover new possibilities for yourself. We learn to move more freely, with greater ease, flexibility and grace, permanently improving our posture, balance and coordination, awakening our innate capacity for life-long vitality and continuing self-development.

Functional Integration® is a private one on one interaction with a Feldenkrais practitioner involving non-invasive touch and movement to assist people improve aspects of their lives. Each lesson involves an in-depth exploration of your individual habits of moving and being, with the goal of expanding your capabilities. In a typical lesson you and your teacher discuss your current situation, then you lie fully-clothed on a low table as the teacher’s hands gently support you – suggesting, encouraging, and guiding you towards new ways of moving and organising yourself.

Feldenkrais practitioner uses touch and movement in order to create a sophisticated sensory-motor learning experience tailored to address your specific needs. These comfortable movements are non-stressful, and designed to communicate valuable neurological information to your brain to improve aspects of your posture, ease of movement, and flexibility.

Each lesson is unique and designed by your teacher to address your particular habits of moving and holding yourself that might not serve you well. Your increasing self-awareness enables you to let go of unhelpful habits, to find and choose new patterns of movement; you may find similar development in the flexibility of your thinking and the intensity of your feeling. The lesson will often lead to suggestions by the teacher for ways of working on your own, in order to help the new choices become a lasting part of your life.