The Feldenkrais Method & MS: Discovering Movement Pathways
By Ernie Adams/Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner

Many of us, as children, played the game Rock, Paper, Scissors.  Rock wins against scissors, Paper wins against Rock, and Scissors wins against Paper.  The rules are simple; yet winning depends on wits, speed, dexterity and strategy.  With MS the rules can change unpredictably, and the strategies to cope with the effects on the brain and nervous system have to be constantly renegotiated.  The Feldenkrais Method provides a way to enhance your own nervous systems ability to become a more flexible negotiator.

Learning to move is different from the kind of learning you get from books or concepts.  When you were an infant your parents did not teach you how to walk with words.  You learned through "feeling" how your muscles, bones and senses moved you towards the things you desired and away from the things that hurt you.  You touched, smelled, listened, explored and played in the world in order to understand it and survive.  The Feldenkrais Method is about this kind of learning.

 What assumptions or expectations do you have about the way you move, or what you are capable of? Your everyday activities are movement ability is constrained in varying ways by MS, yet how much of your behavior is based on what is familiar or habitual?  We all internalize certain rules and beliefs about what is possible, and tend not to "see" or select for alternative pathways of experiencing or doing things. Our identity gets wrapped around and entwined with these unconscious "choices".  The Feldenkrais Method provides ways of refraining and re-experiencing what is possible.

I often begin a new Feldenkrais class with an experiment to demonstrate how even very simple activities are dictated by habit.  I ask the students to lace their fingers together, look down at their hands, and notice which thumb is on top, I then ask them to please lace their fingers the other way?  Several people will give me a perplexed look and say, "what other ways” Others will try it and giggle.  Take a moment to do this yourself.

What you have probably realized is that you lace your fingers in the way that is familiar and habitual.  It is an unconscious and involuntary behavior.  It is not necessarily the only way to do it.  Since MS affects the brain and nervous system in ways that can erode a person's movement abilities, finding to walk, balance, roll over, sit, stand, breath, swallow, or relax, can make life a little easier.

I see my job as a Feldenkrais Practitioner as a kind of guide.  I help you navigate and chart territory you may not be familiar I help you discover ways of experiencing and relating to your body that may give you more ease, pleasure and choice in how you live your life.  With The Feldenkrais Method you become stronger and more to move smarter, conserving energy, relaxing more deeply and developing an inner adviser that lets you know when you need to rest or change how you are doing something.

There are two ways to explore The Feldenkrais Method:

Functional Integration involves individual hands-on sessions. You are gently supported and moved in ways that can reduce the "noise" or static in your nervous system so the more important neurological information becomes clearer and more usable.  The session is designed to wake up responses and reveal resources, you may not be aware of.  It is about training your ability to be recognize how different parts of your body work together to create the patterns of action underlying everyday movement activities.  It is about discovering alternative ways of moving that are more efficient and require less effort.  The student wears comfortable clothing and may be worked with while lying or sitting or in other positions.

Awareness Through Movement involves verbally led movement lessons for individuals and groups.  Movement sequences are explored in ways that bring into focus your body how you are using your body.  The chain of support for movement, how your pelvis, hips, legs, and feet relate to the spine and upper body is made clearer.  Each lesson works with a fundamental action pattern, such as the movement involved m breathing, or the ability to reach, bend, twist,
balance or walk.  Different variations on performing the action are experimented with in order to present your nervous system with many pathways to choose from. Often, as if by “magic”, you can find yourself adopting a new way of moving that feels better and works better.

Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc. (1904-1984), was the originator of The Feldenkrais Method.  He was a well-known physicist, inventor, Judo expert and author who developed his approach to movement education in order to recover from a crippling knee injury.  Through years of self-research and investigating many aspects of movement science, learning acquisition, psychology, and neuroanatomy, he developed Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration. His work has been successfully used worldwide for over 50 years to improve recovery from physical and neurological injuries, increase teaming ability, prevent injuries, and enhance athletic performance.

Ernie Adams is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner who has, during the past nine years, specialized in working with persons who have neurological conditions and traumatic injuries that affect their ability to move, wait and balance.  He also works with dancers and athletes to improve their performance ability.  He has twenty years experience as a movement artist and teacher, including many years as a professional dancer in the U.S. and Europe.  He is sponsored by the National MS Society to teach Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement classes, and offers both Feldenkrais and dance workshops at colleges, businesses and community centers.  He has a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Information:	Telephone: 510/433-9591
Email:       enadams@movcmentpathways.com
Website:   www.movementpathways.com