From Sheri Cohen:

Listen, let’s make an important distinction

Many kinds of movement training distinguish themselves by the kinds of exercises that constitute their programs. One might focus on strength, another on flexibility; yet another might claim to improve both. Teachers of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement have a different view altogether. We teach students how to learn about themselves, rather than to repeat exercises.

Here is an instruction for a movement you might encounter in any movement class. Go ahead and give it a try. . . .

From Rachel Hamstra: We all have habits in everything we do. They’re an essential part of being human. They allow our brains to not think through every single thing we do all day long. They’re a survival mechanism. However, it’s important to question them now and then to make sure they’re serving us well, and get curious about how we might change them if they aren’t.

From Sarah Huntting: I bit off more than I could chew…almost. A few years back I joined a bike club to satisfy a long held desire to go on longer rides. My first ride with the group started at 30 miles and worked up from there. A bit of a jump for me (that’s an understatement), but I stuck with it. There are advantages to biking in a pack. I felt safe biking on busy roads that felt more like highways and there was always a sense of camaraderie and good cheer for going the distance.

From Sheri Cohen: “Move toward pleasure,” a dance teacher once offered us young dancers. It was a novel instruction and the results were stunning. I felt a patience and kindness toward myself I had never felt before, and movement just poured out of me. The whole group seemed to wake up and slow down at the same time. We were cultivating a new kind of relationship with ourselves and our movement, one in which we trusted our ability to sense, perceive and respond as a source of movement, rather than straining against an idea of good performance.