Listening and Learning
Listening and Learning
Listen to the audio file here: http://tiny.cc/rgl9101
I learned the term “neuromuscular facilitation” while working in a PT office, a hospital, and a gym. This term describes how your neurology and biology work together to help you organize yourself more efficiently, but, in fact, “neuromuscular facilitation” is a PT/OT medical code for insurance, so a patient can receive financial reimbursement for rehabilitation. The Feldenkrais Method® is aware of this term, but because our approach is learning rather than corrective, insurance doesn’t apply. A Feldenkrais practitioner invites you to learn by making comparisons to find what feels more comfortable with less effort.
Sometimes we learn something, or we are told to do something a specific way. If we never challenge this, we can deprive ourselves of pertinent information that might help us compare what’s different and notice whether we’re actually doing what we think we’re doing. Did you know that the visual cues you get from watching yourself as you explore movements and exercises can improve the connection between your intention and muscular activation? As we age, our power and potency begin to fade, so anything that awakens and improves how you move, especially when you are thinking of maintaining and improving your well-being, is worth using to help support this process.
I find that after I’ve first explored the movement, then as I watch myself explore, I become more present in sensorial listening. Students who come into trainings begin to notice where they are stuck in habitual or compensatory patterns and may not notice how they’re interfering with a more efficient action. For example, I intentionally ask my students to open their eyes and look as they lie on their backs, arms out to the side at 90 degrees, to see whether their arms are actually at a 90-degree angle that creates a clean joint surface.
This way, by seeing what you’re doing, you can self-adjust the angle of your arms, noticing if one is higher or lower than you intend. Then notice any difference in your sensations. What does a clean joint surface feel like? Here again: if you can’t find this alignment easily, how do you modify it? How would you know this if you didn’t actually look and see what you were doing, or at least use another sensory apparatus to help clarify?
“Life is not a stable process. Our ability to recover is our greatest quality… In the course of the lessons the reader will find that the exercises suggested are in themselves simple, involving only easy movements. But they are intended to be carried out in such a way that those who do them will discover changes in themselves even after the first lesson.” – Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
The medical field offers a lot through monitoring, seeing numbers, and other important information when something is amiss and needs to be addressed. While these approaches help maintain a balanced internal environment for optimal survival, called homeostasis, there isn’t one way or template that works for everyone.
This is why, even with the same diagnosis, the suggested protocol often needs to be fine-tuned to the individual. Even when we share similar symptoms, we often need different approaches to heal and improve. That’s when this process of awakening to subtleties is significant because it indicates something at a smaller level is trying to get our attention. Listening without judgment to how you activate yourself can help you become more adaptable as you shift from your habitual way of doing things to find another solution with less conflict and more ease. The work is about communication and teamwork, listening and learning, where recognizing subtleties is significant.
“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein
I will be taking a small hiatus from September 3rd to the 8th. I will return to my weekly newsletter on September 14th.
I hope I’ve earned the privilege of your time and attention this week and wish you all a safe and enjoyable Labor Day vacation next week.
Warmest,
Peggi
