The Feldenkrais Method: becoming aware of our own body

We explain what this new method based on body health consists of.

Modern life tends to lead us to very sedentary habits. If you are like most people in the West, even if you feel that you are responding to the demands of everyday life in many areas (work, family, community, etc.) the truth is that, in practice, your body is tending to become accustomed to the same movements and the same postures.. Let us ask ourselves, for example, how many hours a day we spend sitting, and what posture our trunk adopts when we do so. Monotony and passivity are constants in the life of most of our Muscle groups, and this is something that takes its toll on our quality of life.

Fortunately, there are ways to reactivate our body, there are ways to reactivate our body to make it the versatile and reliable machine it is today. that for millennia has been shaped by evolution. In the world of fitness as well as in the world of health and medicine, it is becoming increasingly important to expand the possibilities of movement that sedentary lifestyles have been shortening since our childhood.

The Feldenkrais method is one of these calls to action.

What is the Feldenkrais method?

The Feldenkrais method proposes a way to learn (or re-learn) the functioning of one's own body through movement patterns and the generation of specific mental states.. In its sessions, an expert indicates how to perform certain movements while the practitioner performs them and concentrates his or her attention on them. The aim of this is that the brain registers well the associations between the movements, the muscles that are activated and the sensations that this produces, so that these movements become part of the habitual repertoire and are performed automatically, without the need to concentrate on it.

The main objectives of the Feldenkrais method are improving posture, range of motion, coordination and flexibility, as well as optimizing efficiency in the use of muscle groups..

In short, the Feldenkrais method is a system of somatic education that proposes the need to make the most of the possibilities of movement and strength of the body itself, in order to be able to function in any situation without unnecessary effort and tension.

How is it done?

There are two basic modalities in which the Feldenkrais method can be followed: group e individually. However, both have the same objectives and both also propose exercises focused on movement and directed attention.

The sessions consist of the repetition of series of movements that are easy to execute. The practitioner usually performs this while stretched out on a mat, although some series are done standing up. During the sessions it is necessary to follow some instructions that refer both to the observable movements and to the mental states of the practitioner, with the basic objective that the attention is totally focused on the movements so that in the future they can be performed automatically in all kinds of situations that require it. in all kinds of situations that require it. The movements used in the Feldenkrais method do not involve any effort or pain, since neither the joints nor the tendons are forced abruptly.

The fact that both the physical (movement) and psychological (attention) aspects are emphasized is a sign of the philosophy of mind The Feldenkrais method assumes a bodily and a mental component that must work harmoniously for the whole system (the person) to function as it should. It is a dualistic approach mind-body approach in which the particularities of each of the two components must be recognized so that both can be well integrated.

Criticism from science

The Feldenkrais method sets interesting goals from a fitness and health point of view, taking into consideration that We often think of fitness as having a lot of strength and little fat, and ignore issues such as flexibility or the energy efficiency of our movements and postures.a of our movements and postures.

However, despite the fact that Feldenkrais began his studies on the subject decades ago, it is considered that there is insufficient empirical evidence to support its principles with scientific backing to support its principles with the endorsement of science and that, in any case, more studies are needed to prove its efficacy. Add to this the fact that the Feldenkrais method does not propose the need to achieve externally measurable objectives, but places progress in the subjectivity of the patient (since it is a personal process), and it often tends to be associated with pseudoscience and New Age culture.

On the other hand, many of the benefits that the Feldenkrais method is said to have have have nothing to do with the functional aspects of strength and movement, since they are rather cognitive aspects, such as the ability to seek new solutions, and even subjective, such as improved self-esteem. These are assumptions that for the time being are based more on theory than on empirical evidence, and that The exercises are also not derived from a consolidated theoretical framework..

This does not mean, however, that the practice of the exercises proposed in the Feldenkrais method does not entail any kind of benefit. On the one hand, it can be understood that beyond improving or not the range of motion and postural habits, following this system may lead to an increase in satisfaction or bring other positive aspects associated with the placebo effect. On the other hand, it is also it is also possible that it may also improve some functional and measurable aspects of the human body.and that the lack of independent and well-designed studies on the subject is obscuring these advantages. We will only know this as more research is done on the Feldenkrais method.