How I spent my summer in 2024! Publishing four lifestyle educational books and programs.
For Educators and Parents
Two books with a focus on integrating values into the dialogue consciously through intention
Get your copies of the agenda and companion program of guided patterns or learn more through a group workshop or through mentoring. Connect If you are interested in creating an educational environment and would like to learn how to start. We are beginning a train the trainer program.
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
In a post called, “Lost connection with our feet,” I introduced the concept of people often referring to their body parts as a third party in our conversation. Our cultural conditioning leaves the majority of us disconnected from having a focused felt sense of the body parts that keep us upright to stand, walk, run, sit and get up from standing or out of bed. Pain will be felt immediately and that will be the focus of the conversation. People will point to an area where they feel pain usually without the ability to identify the body part, or they will give an incorrect label of the body part they want checked out.
The education that has been a part of our cultural conditioning has lacked focus on the integration of the connected experience through the body. I have found that the focus is on memorizing the names of the muscles, bones and organs rather than focusing attention on the experience of those part’s from a felt sense ability through the transitions of movement. Even suggesting the focus of attention on ones felt senses will be received with varying degrees of experiential understanding and thoughtfulness. The response is usually related to yoga, tai chi, kinesiology, physical therapy or some other exercise patterns versus the actual ability to either visualize the movement or feel the functional aspects of it. There is a blank in understanding and clarity. The mind goes to association with other outside possibilities. As an empathic responder to the environment inside and out this was the hardest gap to bring clarity to for myself and others.
As a Feldenkrais Practitioner this tells me that the person responding back with these comparisons is unable to quiet the mind of memories and analysis long enough to go into feeling the actual functional connected movement patterns inside their body. The mind is actively seeking answers and concepts versus sensing. This is an important concept to distinguish as the two abilities are used for different outcomes. In my experience the analytical comparisons will not support a new pattern of movement that integrates into the brain and body connection via neural pathways. Rather, it will became an artificial strategy creating rigidity and blocking an increase in a range of motion. The expectation created by the thinking and need to know will increase the level of pain, anxiety and pain which will increase the contraction in the muscles and soft tissue intensifying the pain. It will create a contrived pattern of movement that is memorized with the concept of being the right way to do it versus organic spontaneous movement. The rigidity will significantly increase the levels of pain even more and reduce all function due to the levels of fear associated with the pain.
People seek answers and will even ask, is this the right way to….. walk, balance breath, etc., forgetting that as a baby they couldn’t ask anyone. Their movement was free range and more efficient than any current day concept.
This lack of mindful clarity and understanding to the interconnectedness of the physical body creates a disconnect to the skeleton and it’s available core micro movements. In the post mentioned in the first sentence called, “Lost connection with our feet,” the focus was on the functional physical balance. In Chinese medicine the 6 meridians that are focused upon in acupuncture begin in the mouth and end in the feet. This training suggests that the energy is released from the body through the feet into the earth’s gravity. The feet connect the bodies energy to the earth’s gravity. In Feldenkrais the functional perspective of the skeleton is viewed as architectural engineering and the view is how the feet connect with the earth’s gravity by pushing off it. When pushing off the earth the force of the earth’s gravity translates from the feet through the core of the skeleton all the way to the skull. However to experience this efficiently the focus of core movement is through the skeleton, not concepts, muscles, or flow of energy in patterns. These add value to movement, however they cannot create the experience of pushing off from the earth’s gravity.
The dominant force of movement pushing off the earth using the skeleton with the micro movements through the bones and joints tones the muscles. (Not the same as yoga stretches or massage) Muscle development is of value, however not the central core of whole and spontaneous healthy movement. Dominant muscle focus lifts the feet away from the earth that translates into walking separately from, or against, the earth instead of with it. The bones create connection with the earth while the muscles create disconnection.
When someone is walking through the force of the earth’s gravity through the skeleton there is less effort, more flexibility and an increase in resilience. If there is pain in one’s feet there are higher levels of anxiety, irritability, anger and panic. As one limbers up through miro movements, the pain subsides along with irritability, anger and panic.
This Feldenkrais Practitioners perspective of balance begins in the micro movement availability of the skeleton as it responds to the environment. This includes pushing off the earth’s gravity through the bones. As an ex Shoe Store Manager there is some understanding of the cultural conditioning that has evolved through the generations of shoe development.
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
As a Feldenkrais Practitioner the lost connection of mankind with their feet is observable in every student’s posture that attends my Awareness through Movement Lessons. One series is called, “Balance and a Fear of Falling.” In one-on-one Functional Integration sessions, it is felt through the movement patterns themselves. After the first lesson in the focused movement class series there will usually be such a huge shift in the individual participants abilities to balance that some students will report this back in the second class. They also seem happy in sharing that there is a drop in their fear levels. I will witness class participants leave their canes behind at the end of the second and third classes which I have to remind them to take with them. By the fourth class they are coming without them.
So, what is the secret? The simplest answer is that Feldenkrais doesn’t focus on the strategy to fix a perceived problem. Most Practitioners don’t get caught up in the ego of philosophies where it becomes about the label, appearance, or fame by being in competition with other modalities. It can be corrupted by those Practitioners that do though who are trying to capture it’s elusive nature and fit it into the preexisting knowledge base of human concepts. Organic learning is not containable in the precepts of the human mind. Moshe was a scientist with a mind that loved to explore learning like an adventure. This is a key element that has been passed down in a good practitioner.
In the Balance class mentioned above our first focus in on feet. The cultural conditioning in our society has caused a lost connection with one and their feet. Time and time again I hear this disconnection in the stories I am told and that I visually see in one’s response to their own feet. Usually, the speaker addresses their feet as a separate part of themselves. They have no whole connection to them as being a whole part of themselves. This is typical of an analytical process thinker in my experience. Their body parts and functions will be expressed with an outside view in the manner of it being a third party and no attachment. Imagine standing on one’s feet with no attachment to their felt sense.
These cultural conditioning habits of our society are points brought to the surface of attention in our movement lessons, however the emphasis as a Practitioner is on aligning one’s felt senses to the micromovements in the bones associated with the feet. The emphasis is on cultivating awareness, not memorizing one pattern, as one needs many patterns when it comes to balancing.
Currently live group classes happen at #yyj’s Monterey Recreation Centre in Oak Bay. I also work with people privately in person, online, over the phone and yes even by text and email depending upon the needs and travel of students.
Past career segways into understanding the social and cultural conditioning of feet
After a challenging year and a half that ended with the loss of my father, my mother, my lover and letting go of the strong hold of my career, I entered into a year of grace. I landed in #yyj’s Greater Victoria Communities and began living on a sailboat at Fisherman’s Wharf after finally taking a career break never explored previously. This began a journey to reintegrate into my empathic nature and to understand it, Re-emerging into society from a year of retreats and learning with a focus on a new career direction as a store manager ended up being with a shoe chain. Working for Naturalizer as store manager for stores at both Hillside and Mayfair Malls became quite an opportunity to explore the human conditioning with one’s feet. In a deep empathetic state while viewing the shape of people’s feet had a giant impact. This experience is a key foundational understanding I tap into when working on balance and cultural conditioning with my students. I am not a salesperson by nature and couldn’t consciously sell to people something through manipulation, so it was a short career. Even the carrot of taking on Regional Manager for B.C. wasn’t far enough removed from that behavioural conditioning.
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
I do not often use the word addictions. Only recently have I used it in my posts. I don’t let it influence my personal or group lessons. It is such a distracting word with so many changing definitions and a word that is normally very personal to the person speaking it into life, or listening to someone else speaking it to life. What I focus on is the instinct that turns one towards an addictive quality. For me the instinct is triggered by survival. An easy example is sex. Sex is a basic need in the base level of needs along with water, food, shelter, air. If someone is operating under anxiety, stress, fear, or anger emotions it will trigger an instinctual reaction. In this example it would be self soothing through basic intercourse without much meaning, other than relief. However, the urge in the gut is often still there during and after. If one increases sleep patterns, eats healthy, and starts to experience self fulfilling needs being met, including meaningful relationships, the instinctual need to self sooth shifts as the survival instinct diminishes. This doesn’t mean one loses their sex drive, it just shifts it into more meaningful interactions. This self soothing example can be replaced with the actions of gambling, drinking, drugs, smoking, food, etc. Often the focus is on the label – addiction, which can shift the mind focus to the past behaviour, memories, or blaming and shaming self and others. If one can capture the moment, there is a felt sense of the instinct that is felt prior to going into the habit of reacting to it. This is a moment to observe what just happened. (Something is happening in the moment of the trigger.) This can be the point of change. Notice the trigger and instead of going into the strategy for self soothing, one can process the trigger and create inner balance. This is an important skill development. Leaving it unchecked creates a type of random chaos either by oneself, or others who have clued in on how to keep one in the agitated state. (Yes, common strategy for others is to redirect someone’s focus of attention to get their own needs met). The person who introduced this to me, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., used an example of eating. Often when people become uncomfortable, they will reach for food. He would suggest the person reaching for food to stop and ask themselves if they are hungry, or if something else was instead gnawing at them. Usually, they are not hungry, and this pause to check in is enough to shift the experience to talking about whatever it is that instigated the action of reaching for food. It could be as simple as being asked an uncomfortable question. The trigger is inner conflict. If you disagree with someone, it can cause inner conflict. If you hear a hard to hear message, it can create inner conflict. If someone tries to control you it can cause inner conflict. etc., etc.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:
Learning opportunities:
Integrating personal and group values to create a point of connection in relationships and environment
Introduction to transforming reactions into value focused connections
Integrating values through intention
Integrating values through the environment
Somatic Movement to increase physical, mental, and emotional function, health and wellbeing
Clarity of Environmental Stimulus to reduce blocks to health and wellbeing
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
In relationships it is the quality in the experience that creates the space for someone to present as their best selves. Any type of relationship. This means that there are the attributes of respect, acknowledgement, appreciation, cooperation, participation, equality, fairness, trust, stability, to be seen to be heard, to be valued, responsibility, integrity, balanced give and take, empathy, compassion, kindness, equal giving and receiving, clarity, understanding, patience, acceptance, etc., etc. These above attributes are not a part of the interactions, or in the relationship overall if one dominants to get their needs met on the backs of others. The above attributes create inner connection and connection with others and in their absence, an environment of conflict is stimulated inside and outside. A lack of these attributes creates ill health and shifts the focus of attention into survival, fight or flight. If one is not heard, seen or valued chronically it can increase the ill health mentally, emotionally, physically, in the space and out into groups, and the community. Only someone who lacks these qualities in themselves, ie. lack of self respect, self appreciation, and self accountability, etc., would treat others with this base note behaviour. Why, if you respect yourself, you can respect others. If you hold yourself accountable, you will hold others accountable etc. It creates a value in the space surrounding you that people enter into. Time is better spent and more productive and efficient. People are speaking creativity and with innovation. Which direction is your motivation taking you and those around you? Are you elevating people into being their best self or are you dragging them down into your possible jealousy, hatred and greed?
Learning opportunities:
Learning opportunities:
Integrating personal and group values to create a point of connection in relationships and environment
Introduction to transforming reactions into value focused connections
Integrating values through intention
Integrating values through the environment
Somatic Movement to increase physical, mental, and emotional function, health and well being
Clarity of Environmental Stimulus to reduce blocks to health and wellbeing
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
Crystals can be worn or placed in one’s home, garden or workplace. They have been used for generations for their healing and protective properties. Some ways they are integrated into one’s lifestyle are:
Crystal Dispensers
Crystal Elixir Water Bottles
Crystal Rollers
Crystal Trays
Crystal Lamps
In the 90’s a square of Chinese homes was torn down for a rebuild, they found crystals and gems such as sapphires, rubies and diamonds of amazing qualities placed under the buildings for the health, well-being and prosperity of the ancestors living there. These homes were passed down to future generations.
Here are some crystal suggestions for mental, emotional and physical health:
The individual pictures below link to Amazon for a quick purchase. An alternative is the Energy Muse On Line Crystal Merchant has put together a dedicated site showcasing the meanings and uses of crystals along with interesting ways to display, cleanse and be creative with them.
Amber
Amethyst
Boji Balls
Pink Optical Quartz
Carnlian
Copper
Fluorite
Hemitite
Jasper
Labradorite
Integration of nature that align values qualities with intention and manifestation to cultivate awareness and connection..
Relationship qualities can be enhanced with the the qualities from Crystals. Shown here are Rose Quartz and Rhodochrosite. Rose Quartz is considered when the intention of love, romance and intimacy, and Rhodochrosite for those mature people seeking love. They also have the qualities of compassion, integrity, acceptance and confidence and more. Other crystals suitable for this area would be those with the qualities to improve communication, such as Blue Apatite, increase emotional tolerance and stability, and for an increase in deeper connections>
HERE ARE SOME CRYSTAL CHOICES TO CONSIDER FOR IMPROVING RELATIONSHIP INTERACTIONS AND EXPERIENCES:
Here are some crystal suggestions for mental, emotional and physical health:
The individual pictures below link to Amazon for a quick purchase. An alternative is the Energy Muse On Line Crystal Merchant that has put together a dedicated site showcasing the meanings and uses of crystals along with interesting ways to display, cleanse and be creative with them.
Amethyst
Angelite
Blue Apatite
Rose Quartz
Titanium Rainbow Quartz
Smoky Quartz
Rhodochrosite
Shungite
Sodalite
Tigers Eye
Topaz
Integration of nature that align values qualities with intention and manifestation to cultivate awareness and connection..
Inside Awareness Center for Integrative Somatic Learning 