During the pandemic, like so many practitioners, I stopped giving face-to-face lessons. After three years, I am happy to announce that I will be giving a series of classes and workshops this summer in Vienna.

Why SOMAMOVES

Why would a seasoned Feldenkrais professional think of renaming her Feldenkrais practice. It is a legitimate question.

Today Feldenkrais is called “The Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education.”  Only those working in the field are familiar with this. I am a fan of the somatic idea, and I rename my practice to make it accessible to everyone. I am a practitioner; I am pragmatic. I have seen a lot and learned a lot.  I attune myself to the needs of those who come to see me.

During the first year of our training in 1984, my perceptive Brazilian friend remarked, “Feldenkrais was only himself.” It was clear to her from the outset that we who come after him are interpreters of his work, each of us in her/his own way.  My bias aligns with my temperament.  I can modulate my bias according to what circumstances call for; yet it remains the very life of my interactions, even if unwittingly. Bias is unavoidable, so why not welcome it and use it.  We, of course, are also only “ourselves.”

SOMA

Over the last 100 years, the term SOMA has come to mean the living body; the body of our lived experience. It is everything we call “I, me, myself.” It is not a thing, but individual, unique mind-body processes constantly adapting, rebalancing, and renewing. Its most obvious characteristic is constant movement of the body.

In a baby, a toddler, a small child, you can see most clearly the power of this animation. They learn how to move their bodies and follow their interests. They do just what they want and resist what they don’t. They grow and develop as one somatic process.  SOMA is the only reality at the beginning of life in the gravitational field.  As all things in nature, it is non-linear. Thus, SOMA, as I understand it, works not only as a concept of the “living body,” but also as a representation of the pre-verbal, multi-dimensional self.

Fortunately, we can regain access to this most basic level of our being throughout our entire lives. In this regard, the work of Moshé Feldenkrais is extremely important. He undertook a precise study of body movement with the scientific understanding of an accomplished mechanical and electrical engineer. These are important underpinnings of the practical method of movement training he created. His method was ground-breaking, and it has proven to be very effective. He uses language rather than demonstration to direct the attention of the participants in his courses; he guides them to translate his directives into physical action in their own ways. Thus, each person can discover independently what feels right, comfortable, easy to do, pleasant and possibly elegant. Quite naturally you learn to follow your own judgement. Your movement and your frame of mind change together as one.