Where your eyes go, You will follow
Where your eyes go, You will follow!
I want to share something that happened to me regarding the importance of a daily Feldenkrais® movement practice.
Movement is so important – whether you enjoy yoga, pilates, running, dance or fitness regimes, with the Feldenkrais Method of somatic learning, we are improving our skills. Our nervous system re-sets and activates to move towards optimal patterns. Especially when something happens unexpectedly, when you don’t have time to think about what to do. This daily practice wires in more efficient ways of moving that happen without thinking. You develop more ways to respond and react quickly, and often this can save you from a sudden and unexpected fall that could leave you in dire straits.
Another of my passions is to hike my three dogs in the woods, morning and afternoons everyday. We have a little 6 month puppy, full of energy and we are learning how to tame this youthful, energetic passion. As we were returning late from our hike, silly me, I bent down to remove her leash, but was not on steady ground. I was precariously balancing myself near some rocks and hadn’t firmly set my feet. All of a sudden the puppy pulled and set me in motion.
I saw I was going to fall and was pitched forward toward the culvert of sharp, jagged rocks. My intelligent nervous system immediately recognized DANGER and in an instant, I averted my eyes forward to see some safer ground to land. In that split second my back foot pushed me forward, I did a sudden rotation of my spine, “lengthening on the diagonal” and rolled past all the rocks to land rolling from my left side onto my back on the asphalt road.
Whew, what a surprise. Instead of needing to call for an ambulance with broken bones, I paused, crossed my left ankle to rest on my right knee, and slowly begin to tilt my knees and roll my pelvis and spine, softening the blow, regaining my breath, and ended up with not even a bruise. Now that’s the magic of a daily Feldenkrais practice that when you least expect it, something happens where you are at high risk, my brain tapped into fast thinking from all the years playing with Awareness Through Movement (ATM)® lessons. There was no time to think, it was instantaneous! The best lesson popped into my nervous system, my entire body responded in the most efficient way possible.
I have had clients share their own magnificent experiences of how they averted an incident and came away unscathed. It’s rewarding when you explore daily the benefits of ATM lessons. Just do it. When you invest in something, you earn the results. Start now to enjoy the benefits of ATM lessons. The learning process is playful and gentle. The rewards start to build right away to improve the quality of your life.
“…Hours of repetitive practice is hard work; hours of practicing awareness in movement or action remain the most absorbing and interesting time in our lives. The feeling of being alive relates to the awareness of growing to be oneself.” – Moshe Feldenkrais
It would be a pleasure to send you my weekly links for class as well as work with you privately whether live with hands on Functional Integration (FI)® as well as virtual sessions. Get curious and reach out and begin to realize what is really possible.
I hope I have increased your curiosity and have earned the privilege of your time and interest.
Warmest,
Peggi
