Movement, Imagination and the Self Image

November 2024

“Our self-image is a body-image, which not only determines what we think of ourselves but also what we do and how we do it." - Moshe Feldenkrais

In this month's Senseability edition we delve deep into the individual psyche and how it relates to movement based learning.

We explore the subtle ways that thought and imagination affect and inform how we move through life, and conversely how movement based learning can affect and inform our individual psychology, serving as a practical method to making improvements in our sense of self.

We start with a great podcast interview with Hillel Braude, in which we discuss the idea that the Feldenkrais Method® is a form of practical physiological psychology/psychotherapy. Hillel presents a compelling case that Moshe Feldenkrais was targeting this fertile ground, the intersection between physiology and psychology, as he developed his ideas and formed his method.

We also have a chapter from 'Back to the Dance Itself' by Sondra Fraleigh. The chapter is a collaborative discussion between Hillel Braude and Ami Shulman in which Ami shares her experience that students often hold psychological limitations that restrict their growth and potential. When she introduces the idea of 'what if..' to her students, she notices a dramatic change in their freedom of expression. Hillel provides a phenomenological background for the idea of 'what if..' and how this idea transcends movement disciplines.

Lastly we have an article by Joe Webster, FGNA communications team member and Senseability editor. He explains how the movement lessons of the Feldenkrais Method are the perfect example of the scientific method, which comprises of hypothesis, experiment, analysis and conclusion. It's an interesting comparison that explores the roles of thought, imagination, movement and rest in relation to learning and improvement.

We hope this month's edition sparks your interest!

Feldenkrais® Communication Team

Jane, Michelle, Seth and Joe

A podcast interview with Hillel Braude

In this month's podcast interview we speak with Feldenkrais Practitioner Hillel Braude about the intersection between Feldenkrais and Psychology. He is a trained integrative medical doctor who has spend much of his professional career investigating the connections between somatic practices like the Feldenkrais Method and how they can affect and even transform our sense of self. Offering what he would term a form of practical physiological psychology. It's a very rich discussion that raises interesting questions about our understanding of psychology and the role that somatic practice has in helping us understand and work with our psyche. 

A book chapter excerpt by Ami Shuman and Hillel Braude

Hillel has also graciously shared an excerpt from 'Back to the Dance Itself' a book written and compiled by Sondra Fraleigh. The chapter, which is jointly authored by Hillel and fellow Feldenkrais Practitioner/dance teacher Ami Shulman, features a fascinating exploration into the realms of self perception within the context of performance dance. It explores how new approaches to physical and psychological training can encourage huge changes in what we see as our personal limits, and how this can be a catalyst towards a fulfilled potential. 

An article by Joe Webster

Within a Feldenkrais lesson we often use the imagination to help clarify and refine our self image. An example of this is the guided ‘body scan’ that often happens at the beginning of a lesson: a process in which you bring your attention to sensory feedback (proprioceptive, exteroceptive and interoceptive) to build a clearer idea (‘map’) of your physical self and how it relates to your external experience. 

For example, you may bring awareness to how the movement of the breath changes the shape of the chest, or which parts of you are in clear contact with the floor and which are lifted away, or how your limbs are lying in relation to each other.

Details like these make up the content of our physical self image that we rely on when thinking about ourselves in movement, and in the planning stage of movement. Any inconsistencies in how you perceive yourself (consciously or unconsciously) and how you actually are can lead to dysfunctional movement. This is one of the reasons why the Feldenkrais Method aims to help us clarify, update, and refine our self image... 

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