How Our Feldenkrais Training Improves Balance and Posture

Millions of Americans live with chronic pain and other disorders that affect their physical functionality, including their balance and posture.  Whether you have balance problems due to deconditioning, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, or pain from a prior injury, you need personalized care to restore and maintain your physical functionality and overall wellness.  At Tula, in the Union Square Neighborhood of New York City, the experienced team uses the Feldenkrais Method® to address various physical issues and improve your overall body function and health. The training can help you move more easily and with less pain. It can increase your range of motion, flexibility, and balance. As the connection between your mind and body improves, the way you move through life, from physical to cognitive function, also improves.

What is the Feldenkrais Method?

The Feldenkrais Method applies somatic learning, combining movement and awareness to stimulate neuroplasticity, strengthening the connection between your mind and body. It combines elements of physics, biomechanics, learning, and human development.

Wait a minute! What does this actually mean? 

Have you ever practiced yoga, tai chi, or mindfulness meditation and found the connection between movement and breath, so you feel fully present in the moment?  While the Feldenkrais Method isn’t simply meditation, it might help to think about the training in terms of strengthening your awareness of your mind-body connection.  Let’s explore a couple of key terms to clarify how this works. 

What is somatic learning?

By definition, somatic refers to the body. Somatic learning combines movement and a heightened, real-time awareness of your body to guide you into the movements and practices needed for optimal functionality and health. 

What is neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity is your brain’s ability to create new neural pathways. Your brain continually creates these pathways to compensate for injuries or conditions so you can function as normally as possible.  The Feldenkrais Method uses principles of learning and development, biomechanics, and mindfulness to practice your desired movements and activities so you essentially train your brain into making these new activities habitual. 

How does the Feldenkrais Method improve balance and posture?

Suppose you have a condition that causes muscle weakness, which affects your balance and posture. You might have a hard time moving from a sitting to a standing position.  While you might have medical treatment to address the root cause of the problem, your brain and body have been trained to feel off-balance or weak when you try to stand up. When your provider incorporates Feldenkrais training into your treatment plan, the sessions train your body and mind to move in more efficient, balanced, and stable ways.  As you become aware of the tiny muscle movements needed to maintain correct posture and balance, and practice these moves, your brain creates the neural pathways that allow those movements to become second nature, so you don’t have to think about each and every action as you get up from your dining room table. The Feldenkrais Method isn’t a substitute for medical treatments. It can supplement and enhance medical care and other physical therapies to improve your overall outcomes and well-being. If you’re curious about the Feldenkrais Method and how it can improve your mobility, balance, and posture, call our office or schedule a consultation online today.