The Empowering Effect of Embodied Awareness Practice on Body Structural Map and Sensorimotor Activity: The Case of Feldenkrais Method

While outcomes of embodied awareness practices in terms of improved posture and flexibility, movement efficiency, and well-being are often reported, systematic investigations of such training effects and of the actual nature, extent, and neurofunctional correlates of learning mechanisms thought to lie at the core of such practices are very limited. The present study focused on the Feldenkrais method (FM), one of the most established embodied awareness practices, and aimed at investigating the neurofunctional outcomes of the somatic learning process at the core of the method by testing the modulations induced by a standardized FM protocol on the complexity of practicers’ body structural map and on the activity of their sensorimotor network during different movement-related tasks (i.e., gestures observation, execution, and imagery). Twenty-five participants were randomly divided into an experimental group—which completed a 28-session FM protocol based on guided group practice—and a control group, and underwent pre-/post-training psychometric and electrophysiological assessment. Data analysis highlighted, at the end of the FM protocol, a significant increase of EEG markers of cortical activation (task-related mu desynchronization) in precentral regions during action observation and in central regions during action execution and imagery. Also, posterior regions of the sensorimotor network showed systematic activation during all the action-related tasks.

Singing with awareness: A phenomenology of singers’ experience with the Feldenkrais Method

Though methods of somatic education such as the Feldenkrais Method are becoming more widely recognized as complementary approaches in vocal and choral pedagogy, there is little research that examines the experiences of singers who participate in such mind–body approaches. With the intent of exploring pedagogical implications of somatic education in music education, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of undergraduate vocal music education majors enrolled in an elective, 7-week Feldenkrais course. Specifically, how do singers describe in their participation in Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons, and how do these experiences inform their understanding of how they sing? Data were gathered from questionnaires, weekly journals, and semi-structured interviews. Phenomenological data analysis following Moustakas’s approach revealed three themes reported as textural and structural descriptions: (a) improved quality of movement, (b) heightened awareness of singing, and (c) enhanced practice. The overall essence of participants’ experience may be summarized as a process of self-discovery that provided individualized benefits for singing. Discussion includes pedagogical implications of somatic teaching and learning in PreK through university contexts as well as suggestions for future research.

Human Ability to Learn According to the Feldenkrais Method: From Writings to Practice

The Feldenkrais method seeks to improve individual ability, and human functioning in general, through movement. According to Moshé Feldenkrais, refining movement by enhancing the nervous system’s functioning also improves our ability to learn. The method has already been shown to improve mood, quality of life, and various physical aspects. The present study seeks to examined students’ theoretical learning capabilities during a Feldenkrais lesson, during a period of a few hours after the lesson, and the correlation between these two time periods.The main research question was: Does doing Feldenkrais exercises improve the ability to learn in 120 students at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The findings show that the students assimilated the theoretical content conveyed during the lessons. The study also found that most of the students experienced improved ability for theoretical learning after the lessons. A strong, positive correlation was found between the students’ high ability for theoretical learning during the lesson, and improvement in the learning ability of the same students, experienced after the lesson. The study’s conclusion is that a variety of internal, physiological and mental/emotional processes occur when doing Feldenkrais exercises, which alleviate pain, create new neural pathways between the brain and the body, and also “unblock” stressful neural pathways, and which significantly improved the participants’ concentration, attention, and theoretical learning abilities, both during and after the lessons.

Improved respiratory characteristics in non-specific low back pain: Comparison of Feldenkrais method versus routine physiotherapy

PURPOSE: Abnormal breathing patterns, decrease in respiratory muscle strength and endurance are some of the alterations, which are observed in non-specific low back pain (NS-LBP). The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of the Feldenkrais method (FM) on respiratory muscle strength, Maximum Voluntary Ventilation (MVV), Total Faulty Breathing Scale (TFBS), Cloth Tape Measure (CTM) and core stability among NS-LBP participants. METHODS: Participants were recruited from a rehabilitation clinic and randomized either to experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG). For the EG (FM and routine physiotherapy), and for the CG routine physiotherapy alone were carried out three days per week over a period of 8 weeks. Outcome measures including Respiratory Muscle Strength, MVV, TFBS, Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), CTM, and Pressure biofeedback device (PBU) were evaluated at baseline and 8 weeks. RESULTS: Forty participants were assigned to an EG (n = 20) and CG (n = 20) based on the study criteria. There was a significant increase in inspiratory muscle strength (MIP) (p = 0.004) for the EG, but no significant change in the CG (p = 0.455). There was also a significant increase in the expiratory muscle strength (MEP) for the EG (p = 0.001), but no changes in the CG (p = 0.574). In addition, decrease in pain, increase in xiphoid process chest expansion and improvement in core stability were observed in EG and improvement in MVV was observed in CG. CONCLUSIONS: FM is a potential training program that can improve respiratory variables among NS-LBP.

SOMATIC MOVEMENTS AS A CONCEPT IN THE MODERN PARADIGM OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The object of the study of "Theory and methods of physical education," as a scientific and educational discipline, are the physical capabilities and abilities of man, which change through the purposeful influence of physical education. Exercise is a significant component of the physical improvement process. According to the theory of adaptation, "trace" effects accumulate as a result of repeated movements. In his "law of exercise," Lamarck said that frequent and prolonged use of the organ gradually strengthens it, and vice versa. However, the development of physical and mental abilities is not limited to the influence of movement on the human body. There is another side of the "law of exercise," first formulated by Diderot, and scientifically substantiated by Bernstein (1947) in his "theory of coordination" - the organism itself builds its own movements through exercise. Preliminary analysis of scientific sources showed the fragmentary research of this "other side," which determined this study's relevance. Exercise purposefully affects the development of physical and mental abilities. Most scientists in their research turn to the development of physical qualities. By contrast, we pay attention to physical perfection's mental component, using somatic movements as a means. The concept of "somatic movements" requires perception, understanding, comprehension. The "phenomenology of the spirit," which we have taken as a basis for studying the problem of consciousness, belongs to the works without which it is impossible to imagine either the history of philosophy or philosophy as such. Hegel's goal is to "track and demonstrate the path that consciousness takes, starting from direct sensory perception and ending with scientific (philosophical) knowledge, which opens the rationality of reality." An essential element of the study is the study of the classification of somatic movements in the West. Understanding of this concept depends on the awareness of the "operational concept" of the object of somatic education, defined by The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA). The cornerstone is the "illumination" of the concept of "awareness" (awareness) as the basis for the education of somatic movements. "Somatic movements" is a fundamental concept in the Feldenkrais method, on which we rely. One of Moshe's best students, Yochanan Rywerant, in his work "Acquiring the Feldenkrais profession," paid considerable attention to the mental component of the process of improving movement. Describing the method's goals and means, he noted that "the mere idea of acting differently depends on our needs and on our curiosity. But it also depends decisively on sensory feedback." That is, "the ability to change an intentional pattern of action and to perform it, not always in a stereotypical manner, seems important." The purpose of the article is to find out the role of awareness in educating somatic movements.