New Perspectives

On a recent airplane trip, I had the opportunity to see what was intended to be successful strategic planning in action.

Sitting in a window seat above the cargo compartment, I had a bird’s eye view of airline staff attempting to load a large wooden crate on to the plane. With a push of a button, the crate, which was on a wooden platform on a flat bed truck, was meant to quickly and efficiently slide onto the ramp for loading. 

That presumably was the airline’s strategic plan to transport this crate. Instead the wheels got caught and the whole rig went sideways. Staff tried to back up the rig and then to move it forward again but with no luck. They continued trying, back and forth several times, but it would not budge or straighten out. Several of us sat in the plane watching and shaking our heads.

First, there were two staff, and then another came along, and then there were phone calls, and then more staff came to help. Despite 5 or 6 people standing there trying to decide what to do, the crate would not shift.

Finally, a new strategy was employed; two men pushed the crate off the wooden platform and eventually equipment was moved into place to allow them to manually push the crate down the ramp and into the cargo bin. The whole episode (translate fiasco) resulted in a 90-minute delay to our departure.

Many years of practising Feldenkrais has helped me to change my perspective on situations such as this. The airline crew’s strategy was to just keep trying harder to get the box in. I have learned, and try to pass this on to all of my students, that just trying harder is not the answer. In fact, when we try harder we often stop thinking about what we are doing – certainly we don’t feel or sense how we might use our bodies to make the action easier and less cumbersome.

It is likely we have always been taught that using more effort is what makes things work. In fact, the opposite is usually true. In Feldenkrais classes we start by making small movements and doing them slowly so as to learn how to do them and how to use each part of the body to assist the movement. Students are continually amazed at the effectiveness of these subtle movements and with how little effort they really need to use.  In Feldenkrais practice, we try to think outside the box. Our focus is on learning how to make actions, and life in general, easier and more pleasurable.

Feldenkrais is about learning and discovering new ways of doing things we already know about. It allows for a different perspective – a willingness to try new strategies instead of repeating old ones over and over again. This might be a challenging, yet more rewarding way to begin the new school year.

We hope you will join us this Fall to discover new potentials.

FALL 2010 Classes & Workshops

Awareness Through Movement®

Class Schedule

Sept 14-Dec 18 (14 weeks)
One 1-hour class per week - $210
Drop ins welcome, space permitting, $18.

More information and registration available on line. We accept cheques and credit card payment via PayPal.  You may also call us to register: 604.729.0060
 

Special Workshops 

NOTE: Minimum numbers must be registered 4 days before a workshop to avoid cancellation. Please register early to avoid disappointment for yourself and others.

Workshop descriptions and registration information is available on line or by calling us 604.729.0060.

Individual Functional Integration® Sessions

A great opportunity to work on specific issues with a skilled practitioner. These sessions are available by appointment.

Email or call 604.729.0060 

Media Interest

Read recent media stories of interest by clicking on the links below.

A Randomized Trial of Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia

New England Journal of Medicine, August 19, 2010. Tai Chi may be helpful for people with fibromyalgia. Read more.

Slow Movement with Awareness: Better than Exercise?

How you move is as important as how much you move.  Psychology Today, July 6, 2010. Presents  several movement modalities to reduce pain that focus on slow awareness based movements. Read more.

A high-tech invention every mom would love: Posture-correcting chair gently nags user to sit up straight with vibrating feedback.

Vancouver Sun, August 14, 2010. Describes sensors that detect when a person is slouching in a chair and provide vibrating feedback to the shoulders, back or legs.  Described like an “ergonomics coach. Read more.

Feldenkrais classes: A tuneup for the mind and body.

Globe and Mail, June 10, 2010. Read more.

Feldenkrais Everything You ‘Know’ About Healing May Be Dead Wrong

Michael Sigman, Huffington Post, June 24, 2010. The class blew my mind. Virtually all we did was open and close our left hands as slowly as humanly possible. Okay, there was one other thing: imagining we were doing the same with our right hands. Read more.