Developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984), an Israeli physicist and engineer, the Feldenkrais Method is a sensory-motor teaching approach that uses the mind-body connection to facilitate easier movement and increase awareness.

Today, the Feldenkrais Method is taught in more than 30 countries by almost 5,000 certified practitioners, such as Miriam Levenson. A growing population -- from professional athletes and musicians, to persons with disabilities -- have incorporated the Feldenkrais Method into their workout and practice regimes. Dr. Feldenkrais' premise is that a shift in a person's movement patterns will also shift the way that person thinks, senses, feels, and interacts with others.

What the Feldenkrais Method is:

• An educational system that develops a functional awareness of the self in the environment. It utilizes the fact that the body is the primary vehicle for learning.

What the Feldenkrais Method is not:

• The Feldenkrais Method is not a medical, massage, bodywork, or therapeutic technique. It is a learning process.
• The Feldenkrais Method does not use chemical or mechanical aids in its practice.

Two Learning Approaches
The Feldenkrais Method involves two approaches to movement re-education and self-improvement.

Awareness Through Movement®
These are active lessons with individuals or small groups in which the instructor verbally directs participants, incorporating active movements, imagery and focused attention. A lesson generally last 30 to 60 minutes and is organized around a particular movement function.

The Awareness Through Movement lessons consist of comfortable, easy movements that gradually evolve into movements of greater range and complexity. There are hundreds of Awareness Through Movement lessons in the Feldenkrais Method that vary from all levels of movement ability, from simple in structure and physical demand to very challenging lessons.

Designed to make the participant more aware of their unique and habitual neuromuscular patterns, Awareness Through Movement lessons explore new movement options while increasing sensitivity and improving efficiency.

Functional Integration®
This is a hands-on form of learning that involves gentle touching and movement without the use of any invasive or forceful actions. Functional Integration lessons relate to a desire, intention or need of the student. The lessons are based on principles of physics, biomechanics, and an empirical understanding of human learning and development.

In Functional Integration the teacher develops a custom lesson for the student based on the unique configuration of that person. Lessons typically are performed with the student lying on a specially designed table.

About Moshe Feldenkrais
Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais developed the Feldenkrais Method of Movement Education through more than 40 years of research into human functioning.

Born in Russia, Dr. Feldenkrais earned degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering. He later earned a doctorate of science in physics at the Sorbonne, Paris, and worked for several years with Joliot-Curie in early nuclear research. He became quite well-known for both his distinguished scientific career and his skill in Judo.

His interest in movement had deep roots in the martial arts. He studied with Professor Kano, the originator of Judo, and was one of the first Europeans to earn a Black Belt in Judo in 1936.

Dr. Feldenkrais' physical problems, specifically a crippling knee injury, led him to a lifelong exploration of ways to improve movement and functioning. His investigation resulted in a method that is a unique synthesis of science and aesthetics. It addresses universal human needs as well as a broad spectrum of individual problems, making it useful to a wide and varied population.

After giving up his career in physics to focus on his movement method, Dr. Feldenkrais trained his first group of students to be practitioners in the 1960s. Throughout his lifetime (1904-1984) he wrote four books on his method, as well as several on Judo and self-defense and his teachings are preserved in thousands of hours of audiotapes and videotapes.