World Fellowship intensive Feldenkrais retreates
themes from years gone by
"Spiral Power — the mechanical advantage" (2007)
Long ago, humanity discovered the effectiveness of the inclined plane for making a difficult task easier. Some time after that, we developed the screw, which is essentially a spiraling inclined plane. As is so often the case, nature was there first—all around us and in our own bodies. Not a single bone in our body is straight; even those that seem straight (such as the bones of the arms and legs) are actually twisted in an elegant spiral (or, more accurately, a helix).
Over the course of this retreat you will learn to tap into this spiralic structure of your body, as you become more and more attuned to your bones and joints. You will discover how to follow these spirals from your feet through the top of your head and out the tips of your fingers. You'll figure out how to rise effortlessly from the floor to standing and learn to move in any direction with increased ease, power, and grace.
"Power and Grace from the Core" (2003 & 2006)
One of the principles of the Feldenkrais Method (aside from the principle that there is no principle) is that optimal organization of movement involves even distribution of effort throughout the system. For this to happen, we want the larger muscles in the core of our body to take up more of the work of our larger movements, leaving the small muscles in our extremities free to carry out the refined subtlety of smaller movements.
(For example: if the muscles in our arms are working to hold our arms up as well as moving our fingers as we type, those muscles will become chronically tight and tired. If, however, the work of holding the arms up originates in the torso, the muscles in the arm become free to do the smaller movements for which they are better suited.)
This retreat will focus on developing an awareness of the functioning of the pelvis, spine and shoulder-girdle in relation to the limbs, so that our movement can become more and more focused in the center and therefore more and more efficient throughout the body. The development of this kind of awareness is particularly well suited to the intensive environment of a several-day retreat.