New hopefor aching,

creaky yuppie bodies

by Dr. Norman Doidge for the National Post, October 6, 1999

Anyone who is subject to thegrim tug of gravity might

count themselves lucky that oneday, about 50 years ago, MosheFeldenkrais, in his late thirties,while standing on a wet subma-rine deck, slipped and aggravat-ed an old knee injury. Theyshould also be grateful to thedoctors who told him he wouldnever walk again withoutsurgery (surgery that offeredonly a 50% cure rate), becauseFeldenkrais decided to fix him-self, and invented a new treat-ment in the process.

Feldenkrais was a remarkableman and a genius. Born in 1904in Russia, he fled pogroms topre-state Israel when he was 14.At the time, the British Mandateprohibited Jews, but not Arabs,from carrying arms, soFeldenkrais trained himself inunarmed combat, then tutoredothers.

With the money he madetutoring he went to Paris wherehe trained as a mechanical andelectrical engineer. He thenbecame a physicist, working andco-authoring papers withFrederic Joliot-Curie (who withhis wife received the NobelPrize in 1938). Feldenkrais, inthe meantime, became one ofEurope's first black belts in judo,and set up the Jiu-Jitso Club deFrance with the founder of mod-ern judo, Jigoro Kano.

Feldenkrais and Joliot-Curiewere working on the Frenchatomic-research program whenthe Nazis invaded Paris. Joliot-Curie knew Feldenkrais wouldbe arrested as a Jew, so hearranged for him to escape toLondon – with two suitcases fullof the French atomic secrets,thereby keeping them out ofNazi hands. Through the inter-vention of the British scientistJ.D. Bernal, he worked for theBritish anti-submarine program.

Feldenkrais also led the train-ing of British paratroopers inhand-to-hand combat. After thewar, he completed his doctoratein physics at the Sorbonne.When the State of Israel was cre-ated he became director of theelectronics department for theIsraeli Ministry of Defense, andwrote the book on hand-to-handcombat for the Israeli army. Henow spoke Russian, Hebrew,French, German and English.

But back to the bum knee.Feldenkrais used his incrediblescientific mind, extraordinaryobservational skills, and hisexpertise in judo to determinewhat made his knee better orworse. His new treatment wasbased not just on the under-standing of individual joints,muscles, and ligaments, but onthe role of awareness in move-ment and body mechanics.

Animals have an enviablegrace, and so do babies andyoung children, but that grace isoften lost as we age, thoughtFeldenkrais, not because weage, but because we learn badhabits. These include postureswhich have emerged to protectinjuries, but which now addchronic bodily insult to injury.Feldenkrais taught limping peo-ple to walk by first teachingthem to crawl like babies.

The method can be used for avariety of conditions – back,neck, head and jaw pain, prob-lems due to artificial hips andknees, fused spines, and arthriticconditions. It is useful to anyonewho has to sit at a computer allday, or for those who have to beparticularly physically active oraware, including athletes, sol-diers, surgeons and actors.

Many musicians in New Yorkhave a Feldenkrais practitioner.Yehudi Menuin swore byFeldenkrais, and so does Yo-YoMa. The director of the Royal

Shakespeare Theatre, PeterBrook, was a major fan as wereanthropologist Margaret Meadand neurophysiologist Dr. KarlPribram, who thoughtFeldenkrais in tune with themost advanced knowledge wehave of the brain. Israel's firstprime minister, David BenGurion, sought out Feldenkraiswhen he was 75 years old andcould barely stand in Parliamentbecause of his serious back prob-lem. After treatment, "the oldman" could leap onto tanks andstand on his head.

Feldenkrais eventually usedhis approach in extreme cases,helping people with strokeslearn how to read, speak, andwalk again, or for treating peoplewith cerebral palsy or multiplesclerosis.

Many well-known treatmentsfor musculoskeletal pain treatthe problem locally, by strength-ening the affected area (physio-therapy), using surgery, or twist-ing the spine with force (chiro-practics). Feldenkrais' methodfocuses on general functioning.Regardless of the cause – anaching back, artificial joint,arthritis, or tension –Feldenkrais assigns exercises tomake his pupils aware of move-ment. "Errors" of movement arenot "corrected." Rather, lack offlow is noticed. Then, in the lowstimulus environment, barelydetectable movements are pre-scribed. These minute changesinduce the nervous system tolower the general tone of muscu-lar contraction, so the sufferercan become consciously aware ofthe unconscious movement pat-terns that exacerbate or causethe problem.

Watching and listening tolithesome Marion Harris, whotrained with Feldenkrais, con-ducting classes at TheFeldenkrais Centre in Toronto, Iwas amazed to see how many ofthe concepts are similar to thoseused in psychotherapy doneproperly – which is patiently.Feldenkrais knew, as didSherrington, the great neurolo-gist, that most of the brain'sactivity is inhibitory: it stops,retards or modifies the actions ofour more flowing primitive ani-mal brain. Most bad habitsinclude jerky inhibitory com-pensations or vestigial "defens-es" that once protected an injury,

but now are locked in. Instead ofattacking bad postural habitsdirectly (which often only makesthem get worse), the masterpractitioner finds ingenious waysto release the bad habits.

For instance, new non-habit-ual ways of moving are intro-duced, to confuse the currentpattern. People with bad posturesecondary to knee problemsmight be asked to walk back-wards for a bit, both to scramblethe bad habit, and because badcompensations haven't yetattached themselves to back-ward walking. Then, havingexperienced what it is like towalk without bad posture, theyrelearn walking forward, sponta-neously, in a re-organized, nim-ble way, so they don't hurt theirtender knees. The aim is alwaysto move without wasted energyor willpower. Often, at the endof a class, muscles have soft-ened, eyes are more open,breathing is deeper and pain hasdecreased. People may stand aninch taller.

Feldenkrais also conductedone-on-one sessions, calledFunctional Integration, wherehe used his hands to diagnosemovement problems, and thengently moved people's limbs,necks, and heads, teaching asuppleness that could be gener-alized to all movements.

Feldenkrais died in 1984, buthis work is spreading, especiallyin Europe. There are too fewGuild Certified FeldenkraisPractitioners in Canada, but theyare spread from VancouverIsland to Newfoundland, andthere is a Feldenkrais clinic inthe Ottawa General Hospital.Qualified practitioners who aremembers of the FeldenkraisGuild can be contacted by call-ing 1-800-775-2118.

Dr. Doidge is a research psychiatrist andpsychoanalyst in Toronto. His column“On Human Nature” appears everyother Wednesday in the National Post.Copyright ©Norman Doidge, 1999, reprinted with permission.

In Toronto, please call Marion Harrisat 416-928-3505, or visit our website atwww.FeldenkraisCentre.com, for moreinformation on classes, workshops andprivate lessons.

The Feldenkrais® Centre

Toronto ON M5R 1V9390 Dupont St., Suite 201,