Our Social, Global and Universal Responsibility Starts Within Ourselves
In the Feldenkrais Method®, the relationship between practitioners and clients are seen and treated as student-teacher relationships. This is a fundamentally important difference from institutional medicine’s approach to health and well-being. In the Feldenkrais Method®, the student is seen as a whole, embodied person with the greatest ability to effect change, growth and healing within their own lives. The student-client is treated as the “expert” because they are the ONLY person hard-wired into their nervous system. Meaning, each one of us are in the best position to effectively access, observe and make changes to the entirety of our systems, including our behavioral and physical habits. This is where our embodiment meets responsibility. The responsibility of our embodiment and well-being pertains to our diets and intake on all levels; be it food and drink, exercise, self-talk, those we spend time with, or our exposure to the natural world. Once you admit the access you have to your own sensations and then accept the control you have over your wellness, you will realize the responsibiltiy that comes with it. Our choices are where we exercise our free will. Our free will is what makes us uniquely human and therefore unique amongst the rest of the natural world (as far as we know). Afterall, we humans are still a part of nature; animals of the earth whom have a responsibility to and for our own choices which include their repercussions. When we visit a Dr./healer/psychic, feeling and acting broken, asking to be fixed, we are not owning our self-authority nor claiming our sovereignty. In other words we are not accepting the responsibility that come with being an embodied person.
Let’s further define the concept of embodiment and the responsibility it comes with. The concept of embodiment is another crucial piece in the puzzle that is the human condition. Embodiment means someone or something that represents a quality or an idea exactly. In other words authenticity. It stands to reason that a person’s self-image is malleable, meaning it can change or be changed. Embodying your self-image essentially means to represent who and what you are, fully. But how can you be who and what you are if you aren’t sure about what is already naturally there, inside you? Somatic work (which the Feldenkrais Method® is) is using your body to learn about your body and therefore, yourself. When addressing your self-image it can get tricky. As someone who has been in cognitive behavioral therapy for years, I can attest that using your “story” to make sense of your “story” can often feel like a recipe for madness. That is why, 15+ years ago I turned to The Feldenkrais Method®. Somatic learning is using your body to literally sense yourself and then over time learning to leverage your sensations to help you navigate your life. Sensations and intuition are the type of communication that our bodies attempt to communicate to us with. Ever heard someone say, “follow your heart”, or “listen to your gut”. I like forming questions for my students with things like, ‘what does your heart tell you?’ and ‘where did that experience land in your body?’. Some of our bodies havre a hell of a time getting their messages across, hence chronic pain, illnesses, depression etc. —So here is the message; start learning how to pay attention to what you feel sensorially. How and where do you begin? Start wherever you are. Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Notice how you are breathing. What moves when you exhale? Just be with what you find… And you could go deeper with an Awareness Through Movement® lesson (verbally guided self-learning) or a Functional Integration® session (hands-on work) if you want to expedite your learning.
Disclaimer: learning to use your body to learn about your body and yourself takes time. It’s a long study. You will realize right away that this type of observation and sensing means; for the rest of our physical lives. These are growing pains. This is a sure-fire way to grow up, in such a way, that you just might remember the kid you once were.
The Flednekrais Method® has brought me back to a genuine curiosity in myself and those around me during times of depression and anxiety. It has given me handles on an otherwise slippery hold on adulting during certain eras of my life. I wish the same for all people. This innate ability of self-referencing and the exercise of free-will. There is a universe within each of us and assuming we know what is going on in there is ignorant at best. The truth is, we are all changing, everyday, every year and so how can we claim to have “written the book” on who we are, how we view the world, or how anyone else should live their lives if we haven’t read our own book yet?!
