Optimizing Your Learning State: Enhancing Sensory Engagement and Awareness

• Follow Verbal Instructions

  The lessons are easy to follow on your mobile phone or computer. You receive verbal instructions, occasionally supplemented with video lessons. Feldenkrais® lessons vary in duration, typically ranging from 10 to 40 minutes.

• Move Slowly

  The ability to notice differences is heightened when we move slowly. Why is this important? A slower tempo helps us distinguish movements made with ease from those involving unnecessary muscle work or pain. For example, you might find it easier to move in one direction compared to another or notice that positioning your foot closer to your pelvis requires less effort than when it's farther away. Recognizing these differences also indicates that change is occurring within you.

  We encourage everyone to complement these routines with other physical activities involving higher intensity. Such exercises have unique intentions and effects essential for our overall optimized function. They reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, cancer, obesity, and depression. Additionally, they enhance cognitive functions, immune system performance, gut health, sleep quality, hormone balance, and stress regulation. This is why the MADE FOR MOVEMENT programs integrate Feldenkrais® lessons with other physical activities.

  Regular Feldenkrais® routines bring awareness and clarity to how we perceive ourselves in movement and in life overall, including activities like running, dancing, yoga, climbing, strength training, and fitness. However, remember, in the context of learning, moving slowly is key!

• Move Within the Range of Comfort and Ease

  The practice of noticing differences in the effort required for movement helps maintain a range of motion that is both comfortable and easy. As you approach the boundary of your comfortable range, you may notice an increase in effort—this is when you should reverse the movement. Why? To enhance learning, we strive to avoid triggering the brain's "warning system," which signals muscles to protect joints from potential damage. While this may seem exaggerated, unnecessary muscle tensions can hinder the learning process. Instead, we focus only on engaging the muscles essential for the specific task, optimizing coordination and function. If you sense any strain, reduce your movement or, if strain persists, make it even smaller or simply visualize the movement in your mind.

  By learning sustainable muscle work, you'll improve your ability to run faster, endure longer periods without fatigue, and even have energy remaining for social activities after a long day. This skill is especially crucial for individuals recovering from stress, burnout, or chronic pain. Rather than waiting for challenges to arise, why not learn this skill now and prevent issues before they occur?

• Move Within the Pain-Free Range of Motion

  Moving with pain can trigger the brain's "warning system" to protect against possible damage, whether physical or psychological. When pain arises, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS)—a part of the autonomic nervous system—is activated. This leads to the release of several neurotransmitters and hormones, as well as unnecessary muscle activity that does not support our learning intentions in the lesson.

  If you've experienced pain for a long time, sensory adaptation can dull your ability to sense ease, comfort, or even positive bodily sensations. Re-learning to move without pain is a skill we can develop. Please be aware that outcomes can't be guaranteed for any individual, as the causes of pain are varied. For a thorough assessment, contact your medical provider for a physical examination. Additionally, please review the Client Responsibility section in the Menu.

• Attitude

  A mindset of curiosity will facilitate learning and growth.

• Attention

  Attention is a vital tool for focus, learning, and development. In a Feldenkrais® lesson, we enhance our nervous system's ability to gather information from our sensory system, which is essential for movement learning. This process involves shifting your attention to different body parts as they move and alternating between focused and broad attention. By employing attention in this manner, we deepen our understanding of how different parts of our body relate to one another, clarifying our body-self image.

  Paying attention to bodily sensations during movement is a way to practice the skill of focus, which is increasingly necessary in today's fast-paced world filled with information overload, emotional fluctuations, and impulsive reactions.

• Sensory Information

  In the Feldenkrais® lesson we draw our attention to sensory information. The sensory system is the part of the nervous system that allows us to perceive and respond to our environment. It consists of sensory organs, neural pathways, and the brain, which work together to detect and process different types of stimuli.

  Sensory receptors located in the skin, muscles, joints, and inner ear send signals through afferent nerves to the brain and spinal cord. The nervous system processes this information, enabling us to adjust posture, coordination, and motor control. While sensory responses from the skin are easily noticeable, interoception involves sensing internal bodily states—such as hunger, thirst, or heart rate—and includes perceiving warmth, cold, and muscle tone. For beginners, these internal sensations may be more challenging to detect.

  Most Feldenkrais® lessons involve lying down on the floor, which enhances the sensory information received from the skin. This increased sensory input facilitates the ability to notice differences during the body scanning parts at the beginning and end of the lesson, as well as throughout the session. In the context of learning, the sensory system plays a central role in the Feldenkrais® Method. Developing the skill to sense ourselves in movement is not only interesting but also aids in our awareness development!

• Sound of Music

  Feldenkrais® lessons are presented with audio or video and do not include background music, as it might distract your focus from the sensory information crucial for effective learning in this context. Instead, we encourage you to "listen" to the sensations from within.

  Additionally, background music isn't included in Feldenkrais® lessons because we each have unique preferences, associations, and memories connected to music, which might interfere with the sensory information we receive from our bodies in motion.

  However, in the strength exercise sections, we incorporate music due to its empowering effect in those situations.

• Visualization

  Sometimes we use visualization in the lessons as this also organizes our muscle function and action.

• Basic Body Needs

  To enhance your learning potential further, meet your body's needs for "intake" and "output" before the lesson. Your nervous system will appreciate your effort to focus on sensory signals both from the skin and internally, which are crucial for the learning process!