Move better, feel better — learn through gentle attention

Moshe Feldenkrais: Pioneer of Somatic Education

Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984) was a distinguished physicist, engineer, and martial artist who revolutionized understanding of human movement and learning through the development of his groundbreaking somatic education method. His unique synthesis of science, neurology, and body awareness created a framework for improving human function that continues to influence multiple disciplines worldwide.

Early Life and Scientific Career

Born in 1904 in what is now Ukraine, Feldenkrais emigrated to Palestine at age thirteen, where he worked in construction while studying at night school and eventually worked as a cartographer. His intellectual ambitions led him to Paris, where he earned both a BSc in engineering and a doctorate in physics from the Sorbonne. During the 1930s, he worked at the prestigious Joliot-Curie laboratory, conducting nuclear research alongside Nobel Prize Laureate Frederic Joliot-Curie.

Martial Arts Mastery

Parallel to his scientific pursuits, Feldenkrais became deeply involved in martial arts after meeting Jigoro Kano, the Japanese founder of Judo, in Paris. In 1936, he became one of the first Europeans to earn a black belt in Judo and founded the Ju Jitsu Club of Paris. He authored multiple books on Judo that remain sought after today, demonstrating his expertise in both the physical and theoretical aspects of martial arts.

Genesis of the Feldenkrais Method

The turning point in Feldenkrais's career came during World War II after he fled to England in 1940 to escape the German invasion of France. While working on anti-submarine sonar research for the British Admiralty, a chronic knee injury that had troubled him for years became debilitating. Faced with poor surgical prospects and little hope from the medical profession of walking normally again, Feldenkrais refused surgery and instead embarked on a revolutionary self-directed exploration.

Drawing upon his extensive knowledge of physics, biomechanics, neurology, psychology, and martial arts, Feldenkrais began investigating the relationship between bodily movement, healing, thinking, and learning. He explored non-habitual movement patterns in a playful, effortless, and curious manner, which prompted his nervous system to update restrictive habits causing his problems. Through this intensive research, he not only restored his ability to walk but made revolutionary discoveries about human function and learning.

The Method: Principles and Practice

Feldenkrais developed his method on the fundamental principle that focusing on the mind-body connection through movement creates new neural pathways, restoring the body to more efficient and natural movement patterns. He believed that physical difficulties or limitations result from incomplete learning or trauma that creates dysfunctional habit patterns, and that these learned patterns could be re-educated.

The method operates through a learning framework of intention, action, feedback, decision-making, and adaptation within a somatic context. Participants explore movement- and sensation-based tasks, sensing differences between options to discover which movements feel easier and require less effort. These perceptual discernments are based on positive feedback signals (pleasure, ease, reduced effort) versus negative ones (pain, strain, discomfort).

Two Modes of Delivery

Functional Integration involves one-on-one sessions where a trained practitioner provides hands-on instruction in developmental movement. The teacher touches and guides the fully clothed student through body awareness exercises, focusing on whatever agility problems the student experiences while eliminating excess effort and promoting easier movement.

Awareness Through Movement consists of group sessions where an instructor verbally guides students through developmental movement sequences. While instructions are directed at a group, individuals are encouraged to discover and become aware of their own personal body movement and development.

Philosophy and Approach

Feldenkrais understood that lasting, radical change requires working with the whole body and the whole self, not just isolated symptoms. His philosophy emphasized "learning how to learn," operationalizing an experiential process whereby individuals could be guided through movement explorations that enhance their capacity for self-organization and intelligent action. He famously aimed to make "the impossible possible, the difficult easy, and the easy elegant".

After World War II, Feldenkrais gradually abandoned physics and electronics to devote himself entirely to developing his method. In 1950, he moved to Tel Aviv, where he continued refining his work and teaching his discoveries. His students included Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, whom he worked with regularly to relieve back pain, eventually enabling Ben-Gurion to perform a headstand on the beach—a photograph that traveled around the world.

Training and Legacy

During his lifetime, Feldenkrais personally conducted three professional training programs: in Tel Aviv, Israel (1969-1971), San Francisco, California (1975-1978), and Amherst, Massachusetts (1980-1983). These trainings produced approximately 300 certified Feldenkrais practitioners. Before his death in 1984 in Tel Aviv, he trained a select group to continue his work.

Today, the Feldenkrais Method has achieved international recognition with a thriving community of over 10,000 practitioners worldwide. His insights contributed to the development of the field of somatic education and continue to influence diverse disciplines including the arts, education, psychology, child development, physical and occupational therapy, sports enhancement, and gerontology.

Applications and Benefits

The Feldenkrais Method has demonstrated ability to improve posture, flexibility, coordination, and self-image while alleviating muscular tension and pain. Feldenkrais believed that through awareness of the body-mind connection and practice of mindful movement, individuals could improve balance, coordination, and flexibility, relieve pain, tension, and stress, and overcome many neurological and physical problems by creating new neural pathways that affect movement.

Moshe Feldenkrais's unique melding of biomechanics, motor development, psychology, and martial arts created a sophisticated system that harnesses the nervous system's ability to self-organize toward more effective functioning. His life's work stands as a testament to the human capacity for self-healing, learning, and transformation through conscious movement and awareness.