Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984) was many things, most notably a physicist and martial artist. He held a great interest in psychology and the functioning of the brain as it relates to human capacity in movement, researching and developing a somatic methodology, grounded in principled of learning, which he trialed on himself and his own injuries, and later with his scientific colleagues before opening his work towards others. Some of his most remarkable documented work with clients are were those with mild to severe neurological impairment.

Each time we move we are guided by a lifetime of trial and error. Feldenkrais developed a method which provides the conditions for meaningful change in our everyday habits. Here we consider habit not just as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but more broadly as a learned patterning of how we live our day to day lives from birth onwards. Habit forms a neural foundation for how we move, act and react, and our broader sense of self. In a Feldenkrais class (Awareness Through Movement, or ATM) or private session (Functional Integration, or FI), habit is that tapestry through which we invite change. 

Feldenkrais Method

“Movement is life. Life is a process. Improve the quality of the process and you improve the quality of life itself.” -Moshe Feldenkrais