More About Moshe Feldenkrais

In 1949, Feldenkrais published his theories about the relationship between human movement and the nervous system in his first book Body and Mature Behavior. The following year, he became professor of physics at the famed Weismann Institute in Israel, while continuing to apply and refine his unique neuromuscular exercises. By 1954 there was such a great demand for his new knowledge and skill that he decided to leave physics and dedicate himself to helping others improve their physical well being. I am told that his mother never forgave him for giving up his formal status as a scientist and becoming a quack!

People soon came from many places in the world to attend the classes and clinic in Tel-Aviv. This was a diverse and eclectic group of people some of whom were suffering from physical problems but also by musicians, athletes, dancers and many others simply wishing to expand their capabilities. He did some remarkable work with brain-damaged children, significantly improving their functioning above and beyond the predicted medical assessments, and this area of his work rapidly enhanced his growing international reputation. There was a small group of dedicated people in Israel who apprenticed with him and became his first assistants and who had the opportunity to work intensely with him as he developed his ideas and practice.

“Make the impossible possible, the possible easy and the easy elegant”. — Moshe Feldenkrais

In 1972 Feldenkrais was invited to the United States to present his work at health institutions and universities. The response was overwhelming, and for the next decade he spent part of each year in the United States teaching and lecturing. He started his first formal training program in the method in San Francisco; this was conducted over a period of three years and this first group graduated in 1977. Subsequently, there have been many other training programs, which are now in a four-year format, and these are taught by Feldenkrais Guild® certified trainers and assistant trainers. These trainings occur all over the world, and since his death in 1984, the work continues to expand and develop. Today, the teachings of Moshe Feldenkrais are recognized as a sound, dynamic methodology that not only improves biomechanical efficiency it improves all forms of human functioning, allowing people to live more comfortable and rewarding lives.