The Emerging Feldenkrais Networks…

I do not know how many of you are aware of it…consciously…but practitioners and students of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais are accelerating their development of the work and their development of themselves, their students and their practices.

True to feldenkrais, evolutionary and dynamic systems models, new forms are arising – new forms of teaching, doing, and explaining. Forms that were not predictable from the earlier manifestations. Some have arrived already. Many, many, more are on the way.

The evolution is not happening by following in lock-step with the old cultural institutions designed to control and disseminate the work.

No.

They are evolving through self-organization. The self-organization of emergent, worldwide networks of individuals who connect with each other based on mutual desire, curiosity, interest and benefit. And they are doing so outside the formal hierarchy set-up near the time of Moshe’s death.

The Feldenkrais Explosion

Ever hear of the Cambrian explosion? It was the dramatic and rapid appearance of many major groups of complex animals approximately 530 million years ago. Prior to this time, animal life primarily consisted of single-celled organisms and simple organizations of such cells. What accounted for this explosive radiation of new life forms and the complexity and success of those life forms? That is a matter of great debate.

However, in our own time, I can point to several factors that are helping to create the great Feldenkrais explosion.

1) Ease of transmission. Moshe Feldenkrais’ work and that of his students is no longer limited to physical books, cd’s and transcripts. They can now be spread to the four corners of the world instantly, digitally and viraly – as electrons that can materialize on your own personal computer and those of your friends. They can be edited, viewed, heard and SHARED at little cost.

2) Ease of organization. New links in the feldenkrais networks develop and grow at the speed of the individual and at the pleasure of the individual, who reaches out across both time and space to create new links. Creating in the way that is most satisfying to him or her. To paraphrase what Moshe Feldenkrais would often say, “What is the correct thing for you to do at this moment?” Realizing that the next moment could bring a new “correct action,” and your ideas will likely change. The ease of trying on new actions, accelerates the ease of developing new forms based on those actions.

3) Constraints. There are many constraints with Moshe’s work. Consider any number of the Alexander Yanai sessions. For example, there are quite a few “preparation for a head stand” lessons. If the top of your head is on the floor and the palms of your hands are also on the floor, you have some constraints on what you can do, and how you can act. But those constraints are a wonderful way to learn new actions and new configurations that you have never experienced before.

At a macro level, we have cultural constraints – constraints related to the service marks, the training hierarchy, the way we describe the work, how people understand what we describe. We will find ways around all these constraints as we find new actions, new behaviors and new form of adapting. Some of the constraints will largely drop out of our repertoire. Yes, you can crawl on all fours if you need or want to. And you might choose to. But there are more efficient ways of moving yourself forward, more efficient ways of moving your practice forward, more efficient and more pleasurable ways of connecting, touching and being and growing.

What is the correct thing for you to do – at this moment – to get YOUR work into the world?

Tags: Dynamic Systems, Evolution, moshe feldenkrais