After years of exploring Awareness Through
Movement and Functional Integration Chris explained what
he got out of the Feldenkrais approach and this was the basis
for the following little article written in January 2000.
Ever since I was a youngster I’ve been keenly interested
in sports and health. I can say that both would have been easier
with more awareness. Many twisted ankles and knees, mainly
in connection with football might have been prevented. There
was also this desire of playing through the pain. Now, with
a little more maturity I would avoid that because it certainly
didn’t help. In my thirties I lost interest in football
and switched to the hard martial arts, Karate in particular,
because I still had the competitive urge to do something challenging.
Eventually I also ceased to do those more external martial
arts which call for the same kind of fitness and competitive
spirit as most sports activities.
If you can’t move efficiently
it doesn’t
matter how good your lungs are
Virtually all sports training is geared toward cardio-vascular
fitness and sports people tend tp see health as meaning being
able to run and improve lung capacity and things like that.
But if you can’t move efficiently it doesn’t matter
how good your lungs are.
When I understood that, my interest shifted to the more internal
martial arts which are much more concerned with how the body
moves and tend to link this a bit more with the mind. In the
external arts people are pushing themselves all the time. It
was amazing to see people doing soft movements in Tai Chi Chuan,
generating the same amount of controlled power from something
apparently simple. If the body is aligned correctly there is
no necessity to keep adding muscle exertion and speed. They
just happen as a by-product of good alignment.
Till I began to experience the Feldenkrais Method this alignment
seemed elusive to me.
During all my earlier activities in sports training there
had been occasional vague references to Moshe Feldenkrais’s
book AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT, mainly in the context of
being able to increase flexibility – not by stretching
but by utilising the mind and subtle movement. As a result
of reading Moshe'’ book I got in touch with a Feldenkrais
teacher in order to explore the Method more deeply.
My experience of Feldenkrais has brought profound benefits
to my remaining main interests, health and Tai Chi Chuan.
In particular, the increased awareness of the spine-pelvis
connection just gets better and better. This, of course,
brings improvements to other limb-movements as well as in
clarity of thought.
These improvements are of great benefit in my work too.
As a travelling salesman I was always in the car. Being behind
the wheel all the time certainly has a knock-on effect!
Towards the end I could even accept traffic jams because
I got a lot calmer. There was also the fact that when I
got home I could do something to alleviate the strain.
After forty years in the rather stressful retail business,
Chris got fed up with the hassle of constantly having to
compete and achieve in his job:
Often at the expense of your health and the calm side of
yourself. But there comes a stage when you suddenly think
This isn’t worth while, there needs to be something
that is a bit more fulfilling.
After experiencing the trauma of being made redundant twice,
Chris decided to become a postman. He stuck to his decision
even when his company wanted him back and offered a pay-rise.
A feeling of ease in everyday life
I just took the job that allowed me to do what I want to
do instead of constantly striving again.
So now I enjoy the current situation and practise both Feldenkrais
and Tai Chi Chuan as I am walking with the post sack. Many
of my colleagues are caught up in trying to beat the clock.
They miss so much in terms of observation, enjoyment, and
health. The greatest joy for me is there’s absolutely
no hassle! I also tend to move more as a co-ordinated unit
these days, which gives a feeling of ease in everyday life.
AS I reduce my efforts, change takes place. The knowledge
that this improvement will continue is good news for me!
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