Feldenkrais

During a Feldenkrais Method group class, you won't see much resembling "exercise." There is no repetition of movements, no competition or emphasis on "fitness" at all.

Rarely will anyone break a sweat. "Do it in a lazy way," instructed Eve Strauss during an Awareness Through Movement class last week at the Manoa Dance Studio, "Let it be easy."

While "lazy" and "easy" are rarely heard in other movement classes, they are near and dear to the Feldenkrais Method. "We are investigating options for moving, like a baby does. We are watching the effects of each movement on the whole organism. How do you breathe when you're in this position? Is it the same on the right and left side of your body?"

A concern with symmetry is integral to Feldenkrais. Special attention is paid to the diagonals of the body. Many lessons involve movements that clarify a connection between the right shoulder and left hip, and vice versa. Likewise with the right side of the ribcage and the left ankle.

Improvements are said to come from clarifying these subtle but important correspondences, what Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais called "the elusive obvious."