Customized Learning

The Effortless Gardening Program, based on the Feldenkrais Method® of Movement Education, uses awareness as the primary tool to weed out ineffective movements that lead to common forms of pain and strain among gardeners. The program includes audio, visual and printed components to appeal to individual learning styles.

For those who learn best by watching and listening:
Begin with the video to learn the Pain Equation and see demonstrations of moving in the garden. Next, read the program guide and then use the audio movement lessons.

For hands-on learners:
Listen to the audiotape movement lessons and coaching sessions first, then read the program guide and watch the video to gain additional movement tips.

10 Steps to Maximize and Personalize The Effortless Gardening Program

1. Suspend ambition while doing the lessons.
   Complete the Awareness Through Movement® lessons to learn, not to accomplish a specific goal. This is the secret of the Feldenkrais Method. Just as gardening takes time and patience, so does learning to move better.
2. Slow and small is best.
   The biggest challenge of Feldenkrais is keeping movements small. Gardening has a large range of movements, from precise pruning to broad raking. When completing the lessons it is important to make movements so small they feel imagined. Feldenkrais lessons do not stretch or strengthen muscles, they exercise the brain. Paying attention in this way sends new messages from the brain to muscles, which changes muscular contraction. Range-of-motion can then expand and pain will diminish as the body spontaneously reorganizes.
3. Reduce effort.
   People with pain contract many extra muscles and work against themselves in every single movement. Do not try hard to do movements "right." With each movement, release more.
4. Widen attention.
   Do not over-focus. As with gardening, look at the landscape of the body, not the individual flower. Expand attention to include the whole body and mind. Search for extra tension, especially in the hands, face and breathing. Let go of all "parasitic" movements -- unnecessary muscular contractions -- anywhere in the body, not just the moving part.
5. Rest before feeling tired.
   Just as plants must go dormant for brief periods, so must the body and mind. Feldenkrais lessons give the brain a workout, which affects already fatigued muscles. So rest! Frequently! Feeling tired is the brain's way of saying it's full.
6. Never move through pain.
   Athletes often "visualize" activities to improve performance. Gardeners should do the same with their movements. The brain sends the same signals whether a movement is actually completed or imagined. When doing Effortless Gardening lessons, if a movement hurts, make it smaller and smaller until the pain subsides, even if it means only imagining the effort. Then, slowly enlarge the movement image until it can be completed without pain.
7. Find at least three ways to do each movement.
   Having options is central to the Feldenkrais Method. Find three different ways to do each step. For example, lift the arm with the palm up, palm down, or palm to the side. "Lift the arm" is the same instruction, but each orientation of the hand uses different muscles and a different part of the brain. One may be more useful in a given situation than the others, so it's best to have an abundance of options.
8. There is no "right" way.
   Although Awareness Through Movement lessons are based on the "typical" human brain and anatomy, each person is unique. Injuries, family history, and emotional upsets leave their mark on movement. There is no "right" way because even the same chore can require different muscles on different days. Any job will become effortless if variety becomes a habit.
9. Notice small differences.
   Reducing tension and effort makes people feel better. It also improves the ability to perceive differences, which is how people learn. Knowing the difference between sensations, such as tightening or relaxation in your lower back, or whether your wrist is bent or straight, is how people learn to move more easily.
10. Breathing is the guide.
    Easy, effortless, full breathing is the sign of well-organized movement. Halted, forced breath shows effort. Monitor breathing, and keep breathing easy. Peace in the breath yields room to move.