Back in the days of answering machines (yikes!), I had a message, ”thought for the day . . . the definition of responsibility is the ability to respond.”

In the subsequent years I have come to the understanding of how truly ”potent” one’s ability to respond accordingly is. Dr. Feldenkrais wrote one of his books, ”The Potent Self “ on the subject.

In today’s world the meaning of responsibility has taken on a burdensome connotation. People often feel overwhelmed when faced with the notion of responsibility. What if we could change our ability to respond? How can we do that?

We must begin with our own actions and reactions. Rediscovering how to sense and observe ourselves in action gives us the opportunity to explore other options. We use movement as a way to discover different possibilities of acting and reacting which increases neuroplasticity. Our brain then develops new or renewed options for responding.

An infamous quote by Dr Feldenkrais says “if you don’t know what you are doing, you will never be able to do what you want.” Improving your capacity to act and react, you can become a more “potent” self, giving you the ability to respond in an efficient and effective way!

The moment I mention “learning”, I see anxiety, insecurity, boredom, certainty, disinterest…..WOW!  What did learning ever do to you? Or for you?

From the moment of birth, learning begins. Learning is essential to life, to evolution. We are born a blank slate. As we make random discoveries such as finding a thumb to suck, the ability to feed ourselves begins to evolve.

Each discovery requires repetition and variation that create the neural connections. Infants may first be startled by their discovery, followed by happy enthusiasm and finally pride in their accomplishment. They instantly adapt the new skill to their life and “ move” on to the next discovery. Dr Feldenkrais said often, ” Movement is life”. This is how our brain develops.

I have been privileged to witness the process with many children in my practice. As adults, we can tap back into this process to “recreate“ the quality of our life. This “ learning “ technique uses the same principles of repetition and variation to activate and integrate broader neuroplasticity. Whew!

When did learning go from FUN to NONE??

In the olden days, the days of answering machines, I used to greet callers with quirky little quips like "reality is the leading cause of stress” or, “ideas become reality at the point of action”. You get the picture. Little did I know that thirty years later, I would be “rebooting reality”!

Moshe Feldenkrais was one of the first neuroplasticians according to Dr. Norman Doidge, psychiatrist and author of The Brain’s Way of Healing. As early as 1949, in his first book The Body and Mature Behavior, Dr. Feldenkrais says that the brain can form new neural pathways. He continued to develop this idea throughout the rest of his life and created Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration Lessons as a way to “rewire” the nervous system.

He says, "My way of looking at the mind and body involves a subtle method of “rewiring” the structure of the entire human being to be functionally well integrated, which means being able to do what the individual wants”. He discovered that through experience the neuronal connections of the brain organizes itself.

Whew!

I have been asked many times to explain how this method works. The sensory system is linked to the movement system. Creating variety of sensory experience gives the movement system more options (neuroplasticity). The integration happens spontaneously. IE… “reboot your reality” - reducing stress, increasing efficiency, improving functionality, and overall well-being, ALL by moving with awareness.

I recently read a very interesting article in the Detroit Free Press by Dr. James Proodian DC CCSP CSCS. His research equates good posture with good health. He makes some very good points. In the last paragraph, he says “Good posture is a choice.” I don’t think it is a conscious choice.

How many times were you told or reminded yourself to “stand up straight", only to find yourself back where you started in a few seconds?

The notion of posture is a static idea compared to a more dynamic sense of being “upright”.

As humans, we develop the capacity to be upright in the field of gravity; sitting, walking, running, etc. This process takes place during early child development and is unique to each person based on their environment.

The outcome is mostly due to our ability to imitate the people in our lives, layered with self discovery and interaction with the environment. Because this happens before conscious memory, it is hard to change by choice.

The Feldenkrais Method aims at redeveloping that process by tapping back into the kinesthetic/sensory motor aspect of the nervous system to “reboot” the outcome.

Students/clients can experience being “upright" with ease and effortlessness and can sustain this new way of being without “conscious" effort.

To quote Dr. Feldenkrais “We try to make the impossible Possible, to make the possible Easy, and the easy Elegant.”

This article appeared in the Detroit Free Press on Sunday, May 26, 2018. Please visit THIS LINK to read the article in full as it appears on the Times Herald website. 

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Dr. James Proodian, DC, CCSP, CSCS is the founder of Proodian Healthcare and Natural Healthcare Center in Long Branch and Middletown. Email: JProodian@NaturalHC.com Website: www.naturatlhealthcarecenter.com

We live in one of the most divisive times in history. What the H-E-double hockey sticks!!! (probably guessed my generation!)

I am not interested in voicing my opinion. Nor trying to influence you in any way. My only hope is to open a door to possibilitly. A world without potential, a world without hope, is not about life. Human potential is infinite... we only need to discover the key to unlock it. I truly believe this body of work is a step in that direction.

Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world.”

We acquire knowledge through experience. The Feldenkrais Method is based in sensorial experiences that stimulate neural connections. By increasing nueroplasticity, your nervous system has the capacity to “reboot” itself creating unlimited potential. How cool is that?

By enhancing our awareness, our capacity to experience ourselves in action, we can refine the quality of our movement. Developing a broader "image” of ourselves allows our brain more choices/potential.

So, how does that affect me?

I have seen people with multiple replaced joints return to living the life they choose; gardening, traveling and literally rowing their own boat. I have seen people with eight spinal fusions and steel rods bend down and easily touch their toes without pain, something their physician said was impossible. Human potential is not finite. We are only limited by our inability to imagine our potential.

Albert Einstein and Dr. Feldenkrais agreed on this.

What IS the Feldenkrais Method? Every time I try to answer the question in a simple concise way, I come up short! The answer is, it is neither simple or concise to explain “neuroplasticity”,  the principle idea of the Feldenkrais Method, in few words. I have probably lost most of you by now...

See what I mean!?!

Psychiatrist, Norman Doidge, describes it well in the title of his latest book, The Brain’s Way of Healing. Nueroplasticity is a very new term describing the phenomena “that the brain can change it’s own structure and function in response to mental experience.” In his book, he devotes two chapters (5 and 6) to our work.

Still with me?

This is how “mental experience“ occurs.
• Students (that's you!) are led through movements that help improve the  capacity to sense themselves
• By finding an easier more comfortable, efficient way to move, you can create new options for your brain.
• Improving the capacity to sense yourself, ultimately allows your brain to “ reboot” itself.

Too Much?

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