Page 212 - Total War on PTSD Final

existing learned patterns. Fast action at the beginning of learning is synonymous with strain and confusion.
Movement should be done consciously and with attention. Conscious attention is key to the learning process; we can’t learn something new if we aren’t aware of what we’re doing. In a keynote address before the American Society for Cybernetics, Feldenkrais trainer Lawrence Goldfarb said, “The problem encountered in learning a new way of moving is that an old and often habitual pattern interferes. It is not possible to simply do something new. Learning a new movement means learning about what is already happening, so as to understand what to change. It also means figuring out which aspects of dynamics to attend to, that is, learning a new movement means learning what to notice.”
This concept of learning what to notice can be very important for Veterans with Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who often have difficulties being present in the moment and with enjoying their experiences. With their hyper-alertness, they can notice too much in their environment. Feldenkrais lessons can channel that alertness into a beneficial attention to the details of movement and to the kinesthetic sensations experienced during a lesson. The act of noticing, in and of itself, can create new patterns of movement and new patterns of thinking. As Dr. Feldenkrais said, “When you know what you're doing, you can do what you want.”
Less is more. For many people, trying to change something about themselves means trying harder and then finding that this strategy does not work. Dr. Feldenkrais proposed that compulsive effort leads to movement that is carried out on automatic pilot and uses more effort and physical energy than necessary. Compulsive effort increases muscular
212 of 837