Feldenkrais Method

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The Feldenkrais SystemThe Feldenkrais System resists easy categorization, even by longtime students. Formulated by a man who was a soccer star, one of the first French black belts in judo, a physicist, and later Israel’s highest-ranking radar expert, it is neither exercise nor bodywork as we usually know them. Students are urged to do less, rather than more; many classes are conducted with the class either in chairs or lying on the floor; and falling asleep is generally regarded as a helpful, integrating processing byproduct of the work. Individualized one-on-one sessions are called Functional Integration; classes are called Awareness Through Movement.The few studies regarding Feldenkrais and MS have produced somewhat mixed results, although self-reported feelings of relaxation and wellness occurred. Given the many stroke, cerebral palsy, and quadriplegic patients who swear by the system – and the low cost and small class size that characterize Awareness Through Movement – it’s something those in the MS community may both benefit from, and enjoy. (Interestingly, Feldenkrais and Dr. Milton H. kson, whose treatises on hypnosis define its use in medical and psychological settings, and who was unable to walk, were longtime friends.) For information about the Feldenkrais System, click here.For an Aetna InteliHealth report on Feldenkrais via the Harvard Medical School faculty, click here.For a study comparing mood alterations of MS patients using Feldenkrais