September 11, 2007

First Class in Feldenkrais Method at Movement Research

I received a lot of great suggestions in response to my post "Planning My Future Dance Education" for when I go to New York City.

What I took from the recommendations is that I should get exposed to as many different types and forms of movement as possible and then focus on what I find most worthwhile for myself.

So, I'm beginning to do that. Last night I took my first class at Movement Research in SoHo. (Map location - I created new Google map for dance studios and movement training centers. The other map is for performance venues.)

I took a class in the Feldenkrais Method taught by Jimena Paz that meets every Monday at 5:30-7:00 PM. In a handout she distributed, the Feldenkrais Method is defined as a

...form of somatic education that uses gentle movement and directed attention to improve movement and enhance human functioning. With this Method, you can increase your range of motion, improve your flexibility and coordination, rediscover your innate capacity for graceful, efficient movement.

You can also learn more about Feldenkrais on this website or just do a Google search.

I've just taken one class, but I think this might prove worthwhile. I liked the emphasis on enhancing our awareness of the small movements that we make as a way to better understand and control our bodies. Plus, I like the idea that we always have choices when we set out to execute any type of movement.

The class consists of focusing for extended periods of time on specific parts of our bodies. So we'd be lying on our backs and work just with our right leg for example. With our left leg straight, we'd bend our right leg with our knee cap pointing toward the ceiling. Then we'd experiment with moving and sliding our right foot in different directions to figure out what felt the most comfortable. We'd lift our toes and ball of our foot and rock on our heel. Then, we'd reverse the process and lift our heel while maintaining contact with the floor with the ball of our foot. These were are all gentle, small movements that were intended to help us develop a better awareness of how our bodies move.

Then, the next step would be to rock our right foot back and fourth while at the same time tilting our pelvis. So I might tilt my pelvis so that my lower back was further against the floor while at the same time lifting the heel of my right foot. And then we'd reverse the process in the other direction.

At every point in the program, Jimena would ask us whether we felt any different as a result of the exercises we'd just done. For the most part, I didn't notice anything significant--except once. After doing the above exercises for both the right and left legs, Jimena asked us to bend both of our legs towards our chest and roll our pelvis back and fourth. I've moved my pelvis like this hundreds of times in dance classes. But this time it was different. I felt a strong connection between my pelvis and my lower back. It seemed that my pelvis was acting like the small mettle rod that opens up a can of sardines and that I could instantly stretch my back in new ways - nice sensation.

Movement Research really needs to enhance their website. They don't have to get fancy about it - they just have to present all of their classes and programs in a way that people can follow. At class last night I picked-up a brochure for the Fall 2007 Calendar and now I finally figured out what they're offering.

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