Developing Human Ability

Developing Human Ability

How do we approach the return of habits that move us away from feeling the wonderful sensations that arrive from a Feldenkrais session, whether an Awareness Through Movement (ATM)®, a virtual private, or Functional Integration (FI)® sessions? Just like the Olympians many are witnessing in Cortina, Milan, Italy, at the winter 2026 events, it’s practice, practice, practice. More importantly, it is how we practice and explore through comparisons.

Feeling transformed from any of these sessions awakens what’s possible. To continue to reap the transformative experience of how you think, feel, and move, you have a responsibility to learn how to continually wire in these more optimal sensations through play, returning to the themes and, more importantly, removing any striving to make something happen. How to be in that place of experimentation to find more ways to experience the improved sensations that certainly are possible. Can you imagine the sensations that you want back? That’s the beginning. After an experience, how do you continue to wire yourself into ease and comfort? Notice how your outlook and attitude have improved. When the experience you can’t hold onto shifts back into your habitual way of doing things, pause and realize there are strategies to find your way into ease. What changed in your mental mindset? Usually, we know what the problem is. How do we retrain ourselves and our nervous system to find other ways rather than returning, often looping unconsciously, to deeply rooted habits that overtake our focus and bring us back to less-than-optimal sensations? It’s not a perfect world, and we need to keep moving forward, exploring, and playing to reap the benefits.

“A talent grows by being used, and withers if it is not used.” – May Sarton (Belgian-American novelist)

The challenge of learning lasting strategies is your first step toward transforming your outcomes and overcoming what is less than you want. Instead of thinking about how you have to get through a lesson, start with one of the basic themes you explored. Dr. Feldenkrais also explored many other approaches that, if you are passionate about a sport, yoga, or other activities, you can use the same strategies to make things easier, freeing you from working too hard to achieve an outcome. The outcome will arrive with less effort and greater ease as a surprise to many since the older habit is to push harder into resistance that only begets more resistance.

“The aim is a body that is organized to move with minimum effort & maximum efficiency, not through muscular strength but through increased consciousness of how it works.”– Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais

Recognizing how learning happens is crucial, and when done in a respectful and playful way, it becomes a pleasure. Bring your attention to your perceptions, habits, and the conditions that support meaningful change. This is how we develop our human ability to improve any aspect of our lives. It all starts with being aware of the moment and choosing differently rather than falling back into hard-wired habits. Learning to refine your listening, the timing of activating yourself to act, and what you say to yourself is important for improvement. I invite you to explore a slower, more attentive approach that supports you and keeps you curious. Exploring strategies daily will help you identify the sensations that support you most as your learning emerges from your experiences.

I hope I’ve earned the privilege of your time and attention this week.

Warmest as our Eastern Arctic chill starts to thaw.

Peggi