Body Equilibrium
New Classes starting September
Lessons in The Feldenkrais Method® for Movement Re-education
With Melinda Glenister & Bennie Bartels
The Feldenkrais Method® was developed by Russian born engineer and martial artist Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984). It is a Somatic Education that enables us to re-wire our movement patterns, thereby overcoming habitual injuries or difficulties- physical or emotional. Feldenkrais is taught through gentle manipulation, or through verbal instruction.
There is now a huge amount of cutting edge research on the emerging science of Neuroplasticity- the brains ability to change itself. To learn and re-learn, not just in childhood as was previously thought, but throughout life and even after major injuries or brain traumas. This has revolutionised what we now know about how people learn, and how people recover and rehabilitate. After an injury the body and the brain learn how to protect the injured area- which often causes a domino effect of further complications. This should be kept in the forefront when deciding on an appropriate rehabilitation programme.
In addition conditions previously thought to have only very limited chance for recovery are now known to have far more possibilities. Recovery from strokes, brain injuries etc proven to be possible and should be explored. The human brain has an incredible capacity to re-wire itself, to mold and adapt itself, and repair damaged areas.
Moshe Feldenkrais was far ahead of his time in his development of the method which uses these principles of the brains plasticity to learn, re-learn, grow and improve and mature, from the severely disabled to the elite performer, athlete or musician. Science is only now catching with him.
Lessons are taught either hands on- through gentle manipulations with the client either lying or sitting fully clothed on a table. This type of work is known as Functional Integration or FI.
Alternatively the person can work on the the floor, or on a mat, and the lesson is taught through verbal instruction, where you are taken through a series on unusual movements in unfamiliar configurations. The movements can be gentle enough for those with extreme difficulties or challenging enough for an elite performer. Lessons taught through verbal instruction are known as Awareness Through Movement or ATM.
Individual lessons may include either FI or ATM, or a combination of both. A programme can be worked out tailored to your specific requirements or needs. In group classes ATM is taught.
In either case the idea is not to exercise but to learn about our movement pathways through exploration, and to find new ways of moving that help us in our performance or in our day to day living. Overcoming our habits and obstacles can open up a new world of possibilities.
More
This baby is doing a typical movement from an ATM class.
The movements are developmental, and often include crawling, or rolling and other baby movements.
By having a chance to go through these developmental movements again adults can find new ways of moving and break out of old patterns.
Students are often shocked to discover they may have never crawled, or that they were encourage to stand too early as a toddler leading to problems later on.
The Method is not about excercise for exercises sake, but a way to learn how to imrpove our skills, and our movement repertoire.
Who do we work with, and what conditions do we treat?
There are a very wide range of conditions and situations that can be improved through the Feldenkrais Method, as well as improved sporting, athletic or dance performance, and improved skill and fine motor control. They include the following although this is by no means an exhaustive list.
Benefits
Through improving a person's ability to move, and sensory-motor coordination the well being of the whole system improves. For example clients report feeling more freedom, more space in their bodies, they feel younger, with more vitality, and have more choices.
The emotional and psychological effects are clear to see. Physically people often find that they are able to return to favourite hobbies, play with grandchildren, find they breathe more easily, and sleep better as they become more comfortable with themselves.
Self-esteem and confidence improves as a person's trust in their own bodies returns, often with an improved self-image.
So many people adapt their lives to a physical limitation, or limitations- which only increase with age. And this is accepted as the norm. Through the Feldenkrais Method people learn that often the limitation can be greatly reduced or even can be eradicated completely giving a new sense of freedom, and energy. With that comes a new optimism from understanding that change and learning are possible, whatever a person's age or ability.
Mosehe
Chorleywood
Central London
Tuesdays 6.30-7.30pm NEW TIME
New term beginning 7th September
Bonus classes 10th August & 24th August, at Chorleywood
31st August at Loudwater Farm, Rickmansworth
All at 7pm-8pm
and starting soon- call to register
Thursdays 1pm-2pm
Chorleywood Community Arts Centre
£10 per class or 6 classes for £50
Bring a non-sticky mat or blanket to this class
New Class info
coming soon
CLICK HERE FOR MAPS
All our classes are open to everyone, all ages and abilities. If you have a specific complaint or difficulty let us know and we can help you to be more comfortable.
Please call or email to let us know if you will be attending, or for any more info.
You should wear loose comfortable clothing. You need to take off your shoes, belts maybe watches etc, or anything constrictive, otherwise anything goes.
Freedom to Breathe
Saturday 11th September 10.30-13.30
PNEU School, Rickmansworth
In this workshop we will explore how the breath is intimately related to our functioning and well-being.
You will see how stiffness and lack of flexibility in the chest and ribs, habitual postural patterns, and responses to emotional triggers result in holding the breath. When the chest and ribs are free to move and adapt, the feeling that follows is that the breath is allowed more space.
Improving the breathing can have an immediate affect on the whole system. As more oxygen reaches our bloodstream, we feel, and look, well.
Through exploration in this workshop you will gently become aware of your breathing habits, and will begin to breathe more naturally and freely.
£30 please contact us to book or for more info
For testimonials of our last workshop see here
CLICK HERE FOR MAP
More Saturday Workshop Dates tbc
30th October, 11th December
For details about our individual lessons please contact us for info.
You can book lessons and Croxley Green or Central London. We can advise you roughly how many sessions you may require although we recommend most people start with 3-5 sessions to see if it works for them.
Lessons last between an hour and 1 1/4hrs
22-29 May 2010
Free trial class Tues 25th 7pm Chorleywood.
Half price taster individual lessons all week for new clients.
For more info on Awareness Week and for free Podcast lessons duing the week see
http://www.feldenkrais.co.uk/awareness/awareness.html
"I have been astounded how such great results have come from such minimal effort.
Melinda's simple yet effective work has enabled me to continue playing top level tennis."
Pat Cash, 1987 Wimbledon Champion
"I enjoyed the feldenkrais workshop- 'Redefining Posture'- very much and the focus in it on the pelvis has helped me begin to address a longstanding hip problem with more ease and simplicity than has been offered by sports physiotherapy or even the bowen technique. I'm up for more workshops and appreciate the unique combination Bennie and Melinda bring to the space."
David Burrows
"Melinda and Bennie's workshop on posture was great. Having spent years learning all kinds of methods for posture, most of them left me looking in alignment but still in pain with tight muscles and restricted movement. I made a conscious effort to let go of all the things I thought about good posture. The exercises were fun and engaging and odd too. My mind was engaged but there were no judgments going on about what was right or correct. I just relaxed into the feeling of movement. I don't know where the time went, but after three hours I stood up and just felt so good. Muscles I thought would never relax were soft, I could breathe freely and it felt easy to stand and walk around. Many things changed that were totally unlooked for. I left in a great mood feeling happy to be in my body."
Judy Hacking
"I really enjoyed the Saturday workshop and can thoroughly recommend it."
David Bamber
My background is in Professional Sport, as a former Tennis Player, and then working as a coach and technical specialist to tennis players of all levels and ages, but particularly professionals and performance juniors, including former Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash, and former British No 1 Greg Rusedski, as well as other top British players. I also was the technical consultant on the 2004 ‘Wimbledon’ movie- where I taught the actors including Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany how to play, and generally was there to make the tennis scenes look realistic.
My own injuries as a player led me to my training in biomechanics and I then went on to work for over 10 years with other players recovering from injury. Analysing their technique, finding out what part of their movement was causing the (usually repetitive) injuries, and working with the players to change these movement habits and learn new more efficient techniques which allowed them to rehabilitate much faster and stop the cycle of injuries that can plague athletes.
I have been working with Pat Cash since 1999, continually working on his technique and movement and now also combining that work with the Feldenkrais method. It has been a discovery with Pat to see just how far we can take the Feldenkrais work and implement it in elite sport and competition. Pioneering the Feldenkrais Method in professional sport, and combining it with my coaching and technical expertise is very exciting to me. I believe I have a unique background and experience with which to bring Feldenkrais into sport. It is something that can revolutionise training, preparation, recovery and injury prevention, as well as performance enhancement, skill acquisition and teaching.
During my time working with tennis players I came across the Feldenkrais Method and was instantly hooked. I was amazed at the effects on my own body and my performance, and realised there was no way back- I had to do the training myself! I began my training in Amsterdam in 2005, completed in 2008 and am now combining my new Feldenkrais practice with my work with athletes. As well as my work with Pat for the Seniors Tennis Circuit- who is moving and playing better than he has in years. I am also using the method to work with children with difficulties and a whole range of people in between.
Pat Cash
1987 Wimbledon Champion
I've been a Professional Contemporary Dancer and Performer, for almost 25 years, working with many different companies and choreographers, touring the world with Lalala Human Steps, and Amanda Millers Pretty Ugly Dance Company, amoung others. Exploring a vast range of styles form the most athletic to the poetic.
The Argentine Tango became a passion in the early 1990s, which I also started performing and teaching. Being a social dance it brought me into contact with a lot of people from all kinds of backgrounds, age and physical awareness.
Through teaching I became interested in the learning process. I realised that correcting and showing people the right way doesnt work. It only serves to alienate people from their bodies, making their movement more awkward. So I started to look for other ways to teach.
In 2003 I picked up a book by Moshe Feldenkrais, Awareness Through Movement, and started reading. The book said what I was already beginning to process by my own observations and explorations. I genuinely became excited by the book, and trying out the lessons I was also excited about the combination of the scientific theory with the experiential movement, and the philosophy behind it. The way of thinking is not only technical, similar to dance, but still it follows natures laws. Seeing the way we move as a mirror of who we are also resonated.
Through my injuries as a dancer, I felt that symptom treatment alone did not change anything about the pattern of movement and thinking that caused the injury in the first place. Seeing the cycle of injuries coming back again and again, both with my own body and those around me inevitably led me to question why. Feldenkrais not only addresses this problem, but gives answers and solutions. More than that it enables each person to find their own solutions, and gives back a persons trust to their own body.
I trained in Shiatsu for its holistic approach, and learning the balance between the body and its environment.
But it was Feldenkrais in which I trained in Amsterdam (2005-2008) which really made the connection between science and the eastern holistic approach which I was looking for.
This way of thinking has greatly influenced not only what I teach, but how I teach. I am now continuing to teach tango, dance and movement, but Feldenkrais is my focus. Its where I feel all my experiences can find a place.
Teaching and Feldenkrais
I studied both Shiatsu and The Feldenkrais Method, (Amsterdam 2005-2008). But it was Feldenkrais with its roots in both the East and West, ( Moshe was a martial artist and a scientist,) and its balance between holistic ideals and cutting edge neuroscience which really spoke to me and made me want to explore the Method and its possibilities.
Feldenkrais has influenced my dance and tango teaching style greatly. I am very interested in people's learning, development and idiosynchrasies of movement. I encourage my students to be more active in their own learning, so that the discovery is within themselves, as an experiential learning not an intellectual one. This way of learning has far greater meaning to the individual than show and tell, and therfore greater success, and feeling of accomplishment not possible otherwise.
I moved from Amsterdam to London in 2009, but still teach regularly in Europe.
I am currently also teaching Feldenkrais classes for groups and for individuals.
see location for more info.
For more info about Tango and dance classes see
www.benniebartels.com
About Melinda
I have been working with Pat Cash since 1999, continually working on his technique and movement and now also combining that work with the Feldenkrais method. It has been a discovery with Pat to see just how far we can take the work and implement it in elite sport and competition. Pioneering the Feldenkrais Method in professional sport, and combining it with my coaching and technical expertise is very exciting to me. I believe I have a unique background and experience with which to bring Feldenkrais into sport. It is something that can revolutionise training, preparation, recovery and injury prevention, as well as performance enhancement, skill acquisition and teaching.
Contact
For any more info, to book a class or an individual session, or to arrange a workshop please contact us.
Or send us your thoughts or comments.
melinda_body-equilibrium.co.uk
tel: 07974 392282
bennie_benniebartels.com
tel: 0754 5835405
see also bennie's dance and tango info at
Location
Lessons take place in Hertfordshire and London
Group Classes
Colleyland, Common Rd, Chorleywood WD3 5LL
TheTangoClub
Hop Gardens, off St Martin's Lane,
Covent Garden WC2N 4EH
Individual Lessons
Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 3HH
Also at
Hogarth Road, Earls Court, SW5
Workshops
PNEU School Rickmansworth
Information about Classes
Tuesdays 7pm-8pm
£8 per class
Saturdays, 12.30pm-1.45pm
Last class before Summer
22nd May
Hop Gardens, Covent Garden
£10 per class
Click here for maps
Contact us
Feldenkrais Awareness Week 22-29 May 2010
Free trial class Tues 25th 7pm Chorleywood. Half price taster individual lessons all week for new clients.
My Works
In either case the idea is not to exercise but to learn about our movement pathways through exploration, and to find new ways of moving that help us in our performance or in our day to day living. Overcoming our habits and obstacles can open up a new world of possibilities.ula.
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