Personal Insights into the Feldenkrais Healing Method

Awareness is the key to improvement

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Norman Doidge (2015, p. 170) notes that Feldenkrais argued the sensory system and the body's motor system are related, and that the purpose of the sensory system is to help control, coordinate, guide, orient, “and assess the success of a movement."

According to Doidge (2015, p. 170), this is about kinaesthetic awareness. Doidge notes that Feldenkrais declared that awareness of movement is the essential foundation of the Feldenkrais method of holistic healing. Feldenkrais referred to his classes as “Awareness Through Movement lessons (or ATMs)” (Doidge, 2015, p. 170).

This self-directed awareness "may appear magical."

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Conscious Awareness

Doidge (2015) points out that, according to Feldenkrais, it was this focus on conscious awareness- this all-encompassing mental concentration- that achieved success. Feldenkrais conceded that this focused self-directed awareness “may appear ‘magical’ to think that movement problems – especially in people with serious brain damage – can be radically changed simply by becoming more aware of the movement” (Doidge, 2015, p. 170).

The reason for this ‘magical’ thinking existed because, according to Feldenkrais, as noted by Doidge (2015), where science, unfortunately, viewed the body as a quantitative segmental machine with an inordinate number of parts and not as a functioning integrated unitary whole.

The Influence of the Eastern Martial Arts of Judo

According to Doidge (2015, p. 170), Feldenkrais’ ideas that helped establish his Awareness Through Movement lessons also arose from his “exposure to the meditative aspect of Eastern martial arts” (which in Feldenkrais's case was judo). Evidence, according to Doidge, now shows that this preceded the current interest and research into mindful meditation by approximately 50 years.

Doidge (2015, p. 170) also reported that neuroscientist Merzenich (2013) confirmed Feldenkrais's views, stating that “long-term neuroplastic change occurs most readily when a person or an animal pays close attention while learning.” This was further identified by Doidge (2015, p. 109) through the statement: “Everyday thought, especially when used systematically, is a potent way to stimulate neurons.”

Furthermore, Doidge (2015) and Purnell (2015) highlight the essential role of attention and systematic thinking in facilitating long-term neuroplastic changes in the brain. Merzenich, as cited in Doidge, emphasizes that focused attention enhances learning, while Doidge further explains that structured thought and movement help stimulate neural activity.

These insights affirm that teaching practices that encourage active engagement and cognitive focus, such as those employed in the complex brain-based multi-movement therapy with John Famechon, can significantly enhance learning outcomes by leveraging neuroplasticity (Doidge, 2015; Merzenich, 2013; Purnell, 2015).

Goju Karate Movement Awareness

When I began my new therapy with John, Glenys informed me (after I had informed John and Glenys of my Goju karate background) that John was not interested in tai chi, karate, the martial arts, or anything else of that nature.

During his convalescence, John had previously been introduced to tai chi, but he rejected it almost immediately. Consequently, I never introduced any karate movements to John; however, I applied my Goju karate training and teaching, which helped me develop what I will refer to here as having “enhanced movement awareness.”

This new nd novel therapy began with flexing the wrist of John Famechon

Source: Photograph: Graham Hartley

With this Goju karate-influenced “personal enhanced movement awareness,” I was able to create a variety of movement patterns, starting with a single action, such as bending and flexing John’s left wrist. This progressed to adding more movements until John had to remember and perform up to seven sequential actions that required intense personal commitment, mental and emotional strength, immense effortful focus, and attention awareness as he sought to successfully engage in and recall the sequence in its required order for sequential success to be achieved.

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Even if John could not remember the sequences, this did not alter my way of thinking because the progression toward this eventual cognitive and movement “event horizon” would increase until John could no longer successfully remember and accurately engage in the sequences as devised.

From the outset, my view was that this constant and unrelenting aim (not necessarily achieving but aiming) for cognitive and motor movement “event horizon” success would be the process that leads to, in my opinion, to increased neurological firing, rewiring, and the creation of more neurons, synapses, axons, and overall connections. All of which was never guaranteed. It was and has always been a theory.

I also believed that the entire brain and body were interconnected. To me, this meant that “the brain” would “call on” all cells and processes to assist with the complex brain-based multi-movements occurring. I considered and thought of this as holistic neural recruitment. This process seems to parallel that of Feldenkrais, who applied rehabilitation through his “Awareness Through Movement” lessons.

Professor Ken Purnell - Head of Neuroscience CQU University

Source: Courtesy of Ken Purnell

Regarding the recruitment of neurons from the whole brain, it was merely an opinion. Nevertheless, this concept of neuron brain recruitment has support in the literature (Claxton, 2015; Doidge, 2015; Purnell, 2015). In terms of how John’s life changed from incapacity to enablement, this indicates that my initial intuitive hypothesis and ongoing application of my complex brain-based multi-movement therapy had intellectual validity, which was later supported by the literature and research that was later undertaken as a doctoral study, at CQU University, under the supervision of Professor Ken Purnell.