“If
you know what you are doing, you can do what you want.”
- Moshe Feldenkrais
Weekly Classes Mondays, 11am to 12noon Linnton Community Center 10614 NW St. Helens Rd. Click here for directions $8 to $12 drop-in $25 for a month On the #17 bus line
Use movement, breath and self-observation to discover new things about your own movement and the way you are in the world. These gentle movement explorations stimulate your brain to create and strengthen new connections in your nervous system, encouraging your system to find the most efficient and useful way of doing something in a particular situation. The self-image you have of yourself shifts and changes to incorporate more parts of yourself.
Some lessons are very simple; others create some kind of challenge or puzzle, or may bring you smack up against your limitations. However, the main challenge in an ATM is to take good care of yourself. Whatever the movements in the lesson, you go at your own pace and range of motion. This is more difficult than you may think! In our go-getter culture, working harder is better, even at the expense of our own well-being. ATMs are an opportunity to step out of that way of thinking, because you get more "results" from doing less. You simply become more aware of what you are actually doing, which then leads you to find ways of doing what you want.
What to expect: In most lessons, you will lie or sit on a mat on the floor. My classes have mats or blankets provided unless otherwise indicated. Movement instructions are verbal - the teacher does not generally demonstrate, instead you hear the words and look inward to find what the words mean to you. You will be asked to bring your attention to different sensations, such as your breath, or your contact with the floor, or comparing the feeling of your right and left sides. Sometimes the lessons are very quiet and you may even doze off a little; other lessons are more active.
What to wear: Wear comfortable clothing that is easy to move in; jeans or a skirt may inhibit your movement. Dress warmly, in layers, because the movements are usually very slow and you might get chilly.
Chronic Pain Group Would
your group be interested in one of these workshops? I can come to your location in the Portland Metro Area, or we can arrange to rent a space. Contact me to make an arrangement!
Comments from Awareness Through Movement students:
"After taking your ATM classes, I am really tuned in to subtle things about the way I sit, stand, and walk. I feel stronger, less tense and more comfortable. It's powerful stuff!"
"Now I can get up and down off the floor without even thinking about it!"
"I went home and stayed up all night working on a project that I had been putting off."
"I had the first good night's sleep in a long time."
"I thought this was a lesson about my legs, but now my shoulder feels so much better!"
"I never realized how differently I do things on the right side and left side."
"Wow, I feel really tall!"
"Wow, I feel really short!"
"How can I hold on to this feeling?"
Johanna Rayman, Guild-Certified Feldenkrais Practitionercm, Licensed Clinical Social Worker Movement Classes • Private Movement Sessions • Body-Centered Psychotherapy LGBTQ affirming • Se habla español 503 - 380 - 5437
