Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, a Ukrainian-born engineer, is familiar to Israelis for having taught David Ben Gurion, the country's first prime minister, to stand on his head. Like German trainer Jozef Pilates, his name is recognized among fitness aficionados worldwide for the exercise system he developed.
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As a long-time practitioner of the Feldenkrais method, I would like to share a brief physiological explanation which focuses on the equal distribution of weight on all joints, leading to efficient use of every limb, which results in correct posture and an erect stance. Any other interpretation, say viewing this as a suggestion on how a society or a country ought to function, is entirely in the reader's imagination.
Feldenkrais believed that at its outset, human movement is efficient. Look at a crawling baby and see how the entire body participates in each motion – there is no organ that is not actively involved in reaching the target.
But with the passage of time, sometimes due to a constraint like a small injury, we adopt harmful movements. Be honest, is your walk not set and rigid? Do you barely move your pelvis and your shoulders, and as a result your spine is almost immobile, or you are bent, and your breathing is constrained?
Bad posture places an added burden on specific joints. And then, in order to protect sensitive joints, one focuses - in fact limps - on the other side. This damages cartilage and causes pain, limits movement and may require surgery. You probably know someone who suffers thus, and believes their days of health and flexibility are gone. Who knows, they may be right.
However, this may be avoided if correct movements, which see the body as one integral unit, are adopted. Healthy motion divides the weight and its burden equitably. Feldenkrais is a gentle exercise but nevertheless as part of the system, there are many short rests in each session – the mind must integrate what the body has learned, and understand that healthy new patterns are replacing old harmful ones.
Can entrenched habits be changed? Certainly. The first step is recognizing the harm caused by the bad habit. Second comes resolve to eliminate it. This must be followed by new habits, which will replace the old. And finally, persistence is vital, despite the temptation to stick to the familiar – we become accustomed to the discomfort and the pain.
True, these are not simple processes, but the alternative is to place a huge burden on one joint, and cause it irreparable harm. Ultimately, this will damage other joints and the entire body with them, even unto paralysis.
Whoever practices the Feldenkrais method knows that time and determination enable the body to adopt the correct motion. This leads to an upright posture, where all limbs will participate fully and easily in every step. Subsequently, it never happens that one joint if forced to carry disproportionate weight, which will wear it away, or that only one shoulder moves, and the entire body distorts and suffers.
The Feldenkrais method coordinates and eases motion. It straightens the spine, opens the chest, and facilitates breaths that are deep, long, and healthy.
This has been a brief explanation about the damage that is caused by burdening particular body organs and not others, and described the principles that the Feldenkrais method provides in order to deal with the problem, before it is too late.
- Tova Herzl is a former Israeli ambassador to South Africa and the Baltic countries, and served as liaison between the U.S. Congress at the Israeli Embassy in Washington