Easy Does It

I recently was working with a lovely colleague and friend, giving a Functional Integration® lesson (that’s the one-to-one, hands-on portion of the Feldenkrais Method®). I was having difficulty moving my student’s leg, so I asked her to “let go,” to let me take the weight of her leg. After a few moments, she responded, “I can’t.” I then asked, “Could you at least not fight me?” And she responded, “I don’t know how. I always hold my leg that way.” Mind you, this client is an experienced, bright Pilates teacher.

Here’s the question presented to us in that lesson: Is there something in life other than movement or stabilization? (We could also say “holding” instead of stabilization.) What else could there be? This was an investigation that my friend had never explored in her life. Wow! What could that “other” be?

Two options immediately come to my mind: one being to simply relax; and the other being to relax while moving.

For my student, I have realized that “relax” means “sleep.” To “relax” while she was awake, either being still or moving, simply didn’t compute for her in her life.

Is this what you learned somewhere along the way? Did you learn that, in order to relax, you have to sleep? What would it mean for you to move in a gentle, easy way – to “relax” – and carry on with what you are doing?

Moshe Feldenkrais said,
“Easily, simply, comfortably. It is exactly the opposite of what they say on the television, ‘higher, faster, stronger.’
Here we say, ‘slower, more comfortably, more pleasantly.’”

This is a concept that I also did not know before I studied the Feldenkrais Method.®: that there is a different way to live the life that we want, one that doesn’t involve working harder.

What about you? Would you like to find a different way? To learn to be gentle with yourself, to be easy on yourself and yet to still grow and develop? In my classes and individual sessions we explore just that – how to move, lift, run, type, sing without effort.

I would love to be your guide and teach you how to move smarter, easier, gentler. I teach two Awareness Through Movement® classes.

One class is on Tuesdays at 10:30 AM. This class is taught in a six week series, although “drop in” is available. This class is online or in person.

Plus, on May 4th I am reopening my Wednesday class at 12:00 PM. This class is for people who are interested in learning more about the Feldenkrais Method,® who have pain, issues balancing, sitting, walking. This is an online class.
I have designed this Wednesday class is a “drop in” class, although a discounted six week series is available.

If you would like more hands-on, individual work, I am also teaching Functional Integration® sessions. If you have never experienced this hands-on work, sign up for a consultation first and then we’ll take it from there.

In the meantime, be kind to yourself. Take it easy.
I would love to know how you are faring. Is life good? Let’s chat!
Or, see you here.

Happy Spring!

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