NorthEastern Illinois Doula Association
Promoting Unity in the Doula Community

Summary of Jan 2006 Evening Lecture Topic - The Feldenkais Method of Somatic Education

     The Feldenkrais Method® (pronounced “fel-den-k-rice”) is a form of somatic education that uses gentle movement and directed attention to improve movement and enhance human functioning. Using movement to explore our possibilities for action in the world, the Method is a unique and innovative approach to learning and change.
     Developed by Moshe Feldenkrais, DSc, the Feldenkrais Method synthesizes ideas from diverse fields, including physics, biomechanics, the martial arts, and human development. Using movement to bring attention to all parts of the self, Feldenkrais students become more aware of their habitual neuromuscular patterns and learn to expand their options to develop new ways of moving and acting.
     Developed by Moshe Feldenkrais, DSc, the Feldenkrais Method synthesizes ideas from diverse fields, including physics, biomechanics, the martial arts, and human development. Using movement to bring attention to all parts of the self, Feldenkrais students become more aware of their habitual neuromuscular patterns and learn to expand their options to develop new ways of moving and acting.
     The Method is utilized in clinics and hospitals, primary schools and universities, athletic clubs, dance, music, and theater programs. It consists of two compelling and versatile applications: Awareness Through Movement® and Functional Integration®. Both modalities harness the nervous system's ability to self-organize towards more effective and intelligent action. The Feldenkrais Method is useful for people of all ages and abilities. It can be used to restore function lost through aging, injury, or disease. It can also be used by anyone to move and act more gracefully, with increased fluency and effectiveness and less pain and discomfort.

Some benefits of the Feldenkrais Method include:
• Flexibility – a flexible mind and a flexible body
• Pleasure in improved ease of moving and breathing
• Freedom from stress and muscular aches
• Relief from pains
• Improved self-image in movement
• Grace and skill – for performers, dancers, athletes, musicians and everybody

How the Feldenkrais Method may be applicable to pregnancy and the birth process
     During pregnancy the body is changing daily - the belly is expanding, the bones of the pelvis and ribs are widening, the organs are moving and, of course, there is weight gain. The Feldenkrais Method can help mom's to be first of all become aware in a sensorial way of the changes that are taking place in their bodies and then provide options to adapt and compensate for those changes thereby resulting in better balance, the alleviation of pain and discomfort that can accompany pregnancy, and a sense of well-being and awareness throughout the process.
     Feldenkrais during pregnancy can also help in having a more comfortable labor, delivery, and post-partum experience. There are Awareness Through Movement® lessons that focus specifically on the muscles of the pelvic floor, or perineum, to help them become strong, supple, and useful. Understanding how to use these muscles can result in a quicker, more comfortable delivery, more possibilities in avoiding an episiotomy, more rapid recovery, better bladder control, and a quicker return to sexual activity.
About Moshe Feldenkrais
     Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984) was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris as a mechanical engineer. As a semi-professional soccer player and the first European black belt in judo, he was an active person who was intensely engaged with his environment. Sport-related injuries to his knees led him to a comprehensive self-study to see if improvement was possible. The Feldenkrais Method, which he subsequently developed, is a method of LEARNING, which uses simple, gentle body movements as the means of developing self-awareness. Widely used by musicians, singers, actors, dancers, and athletes, the Feldenkrais Method also has applications in the field of physical therapy, and in the improvement of neurological disorders.

~ Kristine Karavelas, Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner