I was happy to help the healthcare world find out more about the power of Feldenkrais classes to help those in various types of medical need.
The British Holistic Medical Association included me in their journal, Holistic Healthcare and has now published my piece on their website.
They asked me for a piece all about Feldenkrais on prescription. How it can bring about pain relief, inner peace and optimism.
Feldenkrais on Prescription… How Does That Work?
After the pandemic, I spent 6 months running courses for a social prescribing project in York, funded and managed by the local CVS (council for voluntary services). Staff at GP surgeries would signpost their patients to activities running locally that might help them with their chronic conditions.
Who Came? What Were Their Challenges?
We invited people with long term challenges - physical, social, emotional - to come along in-person at a friendly studio or to join online for a six-week course of classes. These were the challenges the students were working with.
Pleasant Surprises
Even though my Awareness Through Movement classes look a little like yoga, they tend to be slower, very gentle, more sensory and inward. They also have a lot in common with meditation or mindfulness. Students who had done these other types of class highlighted the main differences they found when joining my sessions.
It is a new angle on thinking about the body
I have done mindfulness, but I like how you do it...how your body is feeling at the end.
I thought it would be more strenuous, comparing it to yoga where it is difficult to get into the poses... I found this very relaxing. It has been really good.
As I have limited mobility it is a wonder to feel I am doing something physical and mindful but within my limits. The emphasis on finding ways to be comfortable is very valuable to my everyday life.
What Were Their Results?
Here they are, in the students’ own words.
For some of the online students, who were housebound or bedbound, this had been their first chance to join a movement activity and feel good about themselves for ages.
It was super satisfying to introduce people to this practical method. To see their confidence growing. Along with their appetite for learning more.
I have continued to work with people in need, via local organisations and charities, such as York Mind and a pain support peer group.