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tightness in parts of the body not even associated with the movement, and risks pain and injury. That non-functional effort becomes shearing force in joints and muscles. The resulting impact, friction, and heat damages our soft tissue in the short term, and our bones in the long term. In addition, the more force we use, the less sensitivity we have to how we are doing any movement — inhibiting our ability to sense ourselves more accurately in action.
Dr. Feldenkrais believed that learning does not occur when we try as hard as we can. He postulated that the smaller the stimulus, the easier it is to sense differences, and that the lighter the effort we make, the faster we learn a new skill. Students are asked to reduce effort where possible. Muscle tension can be reduced by using awareness to notice how we unintentionally contract muscles that are not necessary for a movement. Sensing these differences creates potent and lasting neuromuscular change. The Feldenkrais Method focuses on the quality of our movements (light, easy, soft, slow, smooth) over quantity (we don’t do many rote repetitions and rarely use big ranges of motion). It is only when you are able to sense a difference that you have a choice. By interrupting the cycle of repetitive damage, Veterans can heal and even improve.
Feldenkrais also suggested doing the movement short of reaching the pain threshold. Acting in spite of pain causes the tissues and joints to become irritated and inflamed. Gently repeating the movement short of pain will enable you to extend the range of your ability more than you would accomplish by overcoming pain.
Variation is the spice of movement. Our earliest experiences in learning how to move were when we were infants. Dr. Feldenkrais observed that the kind of random movements that babies do, driven by stimulation from the environment and by their own
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