@ Avenues Yoga 68 K Street
    with Carl and Erin

   

The Feldenkrais Method has a vast repertoire of enlightening movement lessons which can aid in the cultivation of a healthier, more comfortable, and more optimally functional spine. Through 4 Awareness Through Movement lessons, each participant will have the opportunity to discover and release habitual tensions which can cause back discomfort, learn new and more efficient ways of organizing posture and movement, and leave with several simple movement tools for self-care use at home. Join us!  While this class is perfect for those who experience back tension or pain, or those who wish to avoid pain or simply move more skillfully and efficiently,  it is not recommended if you are in the acute phase of an injury. If you have any questions about the appropriateness of this class for you, don't hesitate to email or call us to check in. 

 Cost is $45 prepaid, $50 drop in. ($1 online registration fee)

Improvement of specific movements in the process of learning becomes merely a bonus, the real gain being that your life takes on a new, positive direction. This means that with the passing of each day and each year you are able to perform every act in an increasingly better way - more efficiently, more wisely, more precisely and economically - provided that you have not relinquished your determination to seek these qualities.
 - Ruthy Alon, excerpted from Mindful Spontaneity

 Why Feldenkrais? (as excerpted from website of The Feldenkrais Institute of New York)

Because your brain improves too.

Research is showing how your brain changes as it learns.  Scientists call it “neuroplasticity” — the brain’s extraordinary ability to acquire more efficient patterns of movement and function if given the right environment. Nothing creates that environment like The Feldenkrais Method. Feldenkrais generates the precise conditions that access the intelligence of your nervous system, so you can learn and function at your best.

1. Eliminate aches, pains and discomfort: Discover the safe and easy way to feel better.  Renew and restore your body any time you want without stretching or boring workouts.
2. Move Smarter: Recover from injuries faster and keep old injuries from recurring.  Understand how the whole body participates in the process of recovery and prevention.
3. Gain Effortless Posture:Learn to move easily in gravity and be upright with minimum effort and maximum skeletal support.
4. Sleep Sounder, Deeper:  Better relaxation means better repair.  Teach your body to rest well, and it will serve you your whole life.
5. Improve the Basics: Sit, stand and walk with dynamic balance and poise that moves with you.
6. Achieve Higher Performance:  Incorporate the neurological advantages and sensory skills used by top musicians, dancers, actors and athletes.
7. Feldenkrais is easy: The lessons use simple, everyday words, the touch is gentle and communicative, and you’re encouraged to attend to your comfort and reduce unnecessary effort.  The old saying “no pain, no gain” creates noise for the nervous system and strain for your body.  It should be retired from your vocabulary, and we can show you how.
8. Feldenkrais is effective: Feldenkrais has developed a reputation for helping people where nothing else could.  But you don’t need to be injured or frustrated to benefit.  We also work with musicians, dancers and athletes who want to improve their performance. The method’s effectiveness comes from its sound application of principles of physics and physiology, learning theory, psychology and brain science. To hear what people are saying, read our acclaim page.
9. Feldenkrais is safe: People with pain or other physical conditions and elder citizens often shy away from many forms of treatment or exercise, where they don’t know what to expect or what will be expected of them.  With Feldenkrais, movements are performed slowly with plenty of time for rests in between, and you’re encouraged to avoid mechanical, mindless repetition—the precursor to many an injury. One of the fundamental skills the method teaches you is how to monitor and control your movements to keep things within a safe, easy range—the range where the curiosity, learning and improvement can emerge. 
10. Feldenkrais works fast: While everyone learns at a different rate, with Feldenkrais you won’t have to wait weeks or months to feel changes.  Many people notice significant improvements during their first class or individual lesson.
11. Feldenkrais makes you smarter:  Many of the habitual movement choices we make (how we sit, stand, walk, turn, bend) seem automatic—just part of “who we are”.  In fact, many of these habits grew in our early years, under less-than optimal conditions, and without the benefit of choice or further examination.  Studies on learning show that people learn better and faster when they’re guided towards the specific sensations to look for, rather than merely given instructions on “how to move”.  The Feldenkrais Method will teach you how to investigate, recognize and discriminate the sensations of unnecessary effort. You’ll make better choices and improve your physical intelligence.  You’ll move smarter!
12. Feldenkrais is flexible: There are hundreds of different Feldenkrais lessons and strategies, and every one of them can be modified and adapted to best suit your comfort and ability.  Whether in FI or ATM, your brain learns best when you work within the range of movement that is easy for you. Here your brain is more available to make the sensory distinctions that lead to improvement and health.  In fact, your comfort and your ability to attend to it is one of the most important ingredients in learning and improvement.
13. Feldenkrais helps you understand your movement:  People appreciate that pain can limit movement.  But many fail to understand that how you move can actually create pain where there was none.  Because our culture often discourages our learning and skill development past a certain point, many people develop a distorted image of their own health and function until injury and aggravation are the norm.  With Feldenkrais you can relearn and clarify many of the fundamental patterns of action we rely on every day. And you’ll learn what it means to embody concepts like balance, flexibility, strength and poise. 
14. Feldenkrais is fun: One of the top complaints from people who hate to exercise is: “it’s boring”.  The Feldenkrais Method exploits the fact that your nervous system is attracted to novel sensations.  Dr. Feldenkrais designed Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration to use non-habitual movement patterns containing subtlety, variation and mindfulness to restore vitality and function. Feldenkrais connects your movement and attention with health and improvement.