When the stress of the day gets to be too much, bring back the calm with this simple breathing lesson courtesy of Russell Delman's Embodied Life Program.
BEGIN:
Sit or lie comfortably.
TO DO:
Notice how you contact the surface that is supporting you. Feel that contact. Are you allowing yourself to really be supported by the surface you are on?
Continuing to feel your contact, expand your awareness to include any sounds you might hear - the furnace or air conditioner, people's voices, traffic, background music - whatever it is.
Holding both the physical sense and the auditory in your awareness, take 4 full breaths.
Release.
NOTICE
Do you feel more calm?
Special thanks to Russell Delman for a wonderful workshop. For those who don't know him, Russell is a Feldenkrais Trainer who has combined Feldenkrais, Meditation and Eugene Gendlin's Focusing into a program of mindfulness that he calls "Embodied Life". He offers public workshops for those looking to live more mindfully.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Whole Body Movement
Puppy fans will love the adorable pooch in this video. Cuteness aside, this precious pup offers a fine example of how movement in one part of the body ripples throughout. Notice how the the body and head move in relation to one another. Which is leading and which following? When do you do the same?
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/08/16/puppy-at-1000-frames-per-second.aspx?e_cid=20110816_DNL_art_2
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/08/16/puppy-at-1000-frames-per-second.aspx?e_cid=20110816_DNL_art_2
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Becoming an "Expert"
Want to learn to do something really well? Maybe even become and expert?
If you're not familiar with Dr. Anders Ericsson of FSU and his work on what it takes to become an "expert" you might enjoy this link...
http://www.psy.fsu.edu/faculty/ericsson/ericsson.exp.perf.html
For years, Ericsson and his team have been investigating what it takes to become highly skilled, i.e., an expert. They studied everything from memory to chess to music to sports. What they found is that years of "practice" have very little correlation to skill level. Instead, what matters is HOW you practice. Although his work is often cited with the note that it takes at least 10,000 - hours of practice to become highly skilled at something, the research concludes that DELIBERATE PRACTICE is the essential ingredient.
DELIBERATE PRACTICE requires remaining in conscious control while practicing. Ericsson notes that experts do three things while practicing to increase their skills:
1. Focus on their technique - what they are doing and how they are doing it
2. Orient toward a goal - what it is they are trying to do/achieve
3. Get constant and immediate feedback - what they actually did and what effect it had
Perhaps most powerful of all is his observation that learning requires us to consciously challenge ourselves, allow ourselves to fail, review what we did and learn from our mistakes. He suggests as Feldenkrais did that we actually practice failing.
An interesting point is that at no time can intuition (unconscious action developed through repeated practice) substitute for continued deliberate practice. Even those who are highly skilled can lose their abilities if they do not continue to challenge themselves. He uses the example of radiologists whose skills diminish over time due to lack of feedback - they think they know what they are doing but because they don't get immediate feedback they can only assume that what they are doing is what they want to do.
If you're not familiar with Dr. Anders Ericsson of FSU and his work on what it takes to become an "expert" you might enjoy this link...
http://www.psy.fsu.edu/faculty/ericsson/ericsson.exp.perf.html
For years, Ericsson and his team have been investigating what it takes to become highly skilled, i.e., an expert. They studied everything from memory to chess to music to sports. What they found is that years of "practice" have very little correlation to skill level. Instead, what matters is HOW you practice. Although his work is often cited with the note that it takes at least 10,000 - hours of practice to become highly skilled at something, the research concludes that DELIBERATE PRACTICE is the essential ingredient.
DELIBERATE PRACTICE requires remaining in conscious control while practicing. Ericsson notes that experts do three things while practicing to increase their skills:
1. Focus on their technique - what they are doing and how they are doing it
2. Orient toward a goal - what it is they are trying to do/achieve
3. Get constant and immediate feedback - what they actually did and what effect it had
Perhaps most powerful of all is his observation that learning requires us to consciously challenge ourselves, allow ourselves to fail, review what we did and learn from our mistakes. He suggests as Feldenkrais did that we actually practice failing.
An interesting point is that at no time can intuition (unconscious action developed through repeated practice) substitute for continued deliberate practice. Even those who are highly skilled can lose their abilities if they do not continue to challenge themselves. He uses the example of radiologists whose skills diminish over time due to lack of feedback - they think they know what they are doing but because they don't get immediate feedback they can only assume that what they are doing is what they want to do.
Monday, May 30, 2011
FELDEN-CAMP 2011
Last year, I offered the first official "Felden-Camp" -- a "day-camp" experience in which participants did an ATM-a-day, every day - 5 days in a row.
Response was very positive and last year's participants have begun asking if and when they can sign up for "camp".
I am happy to announce that this year there will be two camp sessions:
August 1 – 5 from 10:30 – 11:30 am
August 8 – 12 from Noon – 1:00 pm
Cost per session: $65 (pre-registration only -no drop-in participants)
Space is very limited
Response was very positive and last year's participants have begun asking if and when they can sign up for "camp".
I am happy to announce that this year there will be two camp sessions:
August 1 – 5 from 10:30 – 11:30 am
August 8 – 12 from Noon – 1:00 pm
Cost per session: $65 (pre-registration only -no drop-in participants)
Space is very limited
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Schedule Change - Week of May 30
There will be no 1:00 pm class on Wednesday, June 1. The evening class will be held as usual.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Spring Training (and schedule changes)
May and June bring the FELDENKRAIS Professional Teacher Training back to Chicago. As always, I'm excited about supporting Paul Rubin and Julie Casson-Rubin in training future practitioners and colleagues. I'll be at the training part-time giving individual lessons to the students as well as Assisting with class teaching. These extra duties mean a slight change in schedule at my Glen Ellyn office.
I will be available for private lessons by appointment throughout both months and will do my best to accommodate your lesson needs. Group classes will be offered as usual with the following exceptions:
Wednesday, May 17th - NO 7:15 pm class
Week of June 20 - 25 - NO classes or private sessions
It seems no matter how many times I attend a Training, I come away learning something new. Looking forward to having more to share with all of you.
Cheers,
Julie
I will be available for private lessons by appointment throughout both months and will do my best to accommodate your lesson needs. Group classes will be offered as usual with the following exceptions:
Wednesday, May 17th - NO 7:15 pm class
Week of June 20 - 25 - NO classes or private sessions
It seems no matter how many times I attend a Training, I come away learning something new. Looking forward to having more to share with all of you.
Cheers,
Julie
FELDENKRAIS WEEK
It's FELDENKRAIS Week!
Festivities are off to a great start. Last Saturday evening, Ellen Soloway, Mary Susan Chen and I hosted an ATM birthday bash for Moshe (some say Moy-shah, we say Moe-shay). Our fearless founder would have been 107. Ellen taught an exquisite eye lesson that I plan to add to my repertoire in the near future. I followed with a tonal lesson that resulted in clear sinuses and resonating voices. We ended with a deep voiced rendition of "Happy Birthday" and, of course, cake. (Many thanks to Mary Susan for baking gluten-free brownies and for handling the party preps.)
The week of fun continues in my office. It's "Bring a friend to Feldenkrais " with FREE ATM classes for friends and family. (There are still a few classes available this week - today, Wednesday the 11th at 1:00 and 7:15, and tomorrow, Thursday the 12th at 10:30.) I'm also offering 1/2 price private Functional Integration lessons for students new to FELDENKRAIS who book an appointment this week. Come and join the fun!
Festivities are off to a great start. Last Saturday evening, Ellen Soloway, Mary Susan Chen and I hosted an ATM birthday bash for Moshe (some say Moy-shah, we say Moe-shay). Our fearless founder would have been 107. Ellen taught an exquisite eye lesson that I plan to add to my repertoire in the near future. I followed with a tonal lesson that resulted in clear sinuses and resonating voices. We ended with a deep voiced rendition of "Happy Birthday" and, of course, cake. (Many thanks to Mary Susan for baking gluten-free brownies and for handling the party preps.)
The week of fun continues in my office. It's "Bring a friend to Feldenkrais " with FREE ATM classes for friends and family. (There are still a few classes available this week - today, Wednesday the 11th at 1:00 and 7:15, and tomorrow, Thursday the 12th at 10:30.) I'm also offering 1/2 price private Functional Integration lessons for students new to FELDENKRAIS who book an appointment this week. Come and join the fun!
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