Feldenkrais^® Ann Arbor

    Joanna Myers, M.M., GCFP^cm

^{"Make the impossible possible, the possible easy, the easy elegant." --Moshe Feldenkrais, Ph.D.}

^{Joanna Myers}  

^{brings 10 years of teaching experience to her private practice. She began studying Feldenkrais as a way to alleviate chronic pain and difficulty playing the viola. The work brought a level of enjoyment in playing she never expected. After completing her Feldenkrais Teacher training in 2004 with Paul and Julie Rubin, she opened Feldenkrais Ann Arbor in order to assist people towards their “avowed and unavowed dreams.” Joanna has taught classes and workshops at numerous venues, including Ann Arbor's Rec & Ed department, the Ann Arbor YMCA, Crazy Wisdom, the People's Food Coop, the Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts, and the University of Michigan dance department. With a masters degree in viola performance, she teaches and plays professionally throughout the region.}

^{email: feldannarbor@gmail.com
phone: 734-395-8486}

Personal Statement

My understanding of the method:

Feldenkrais is great for reducing stress, relieving pain, and improving posture and coordination. But mainly I’d describe it as an intense learning experience.. Its a sort of learning we don’t often engage in beyond childhood.. For babies especially, its a full-time job to move and sense distinctions in order to be able to do something they’re interested in doing. Whether it’s rolling from back to front, anywhere to developing fine motor skills for writing, playing sports or a musical instrument.

Our nervous systems are wired for this learning. What Dr. Feldenkrais assumed all along, brain science is now confirming: we are capable of quite advanced learning and change over our entire lifetime. Much more than we assume. The mind’s plasticity enables us to hone skills, or recover lost function, by constantly changing in chemistry and structure.

The FM is unique in that it engages the nervous system, not just muscles and bones. Improvement in flexibility or release of tension are almost bi-products. And even though the movements involved are often very minimal, change in muscle tone, posture, coordination is often profound. And it sticks!  People are literally rewiring themselves.

The group lessons, called Awareness Through Movement®,  are composed of series of movements that are completely out of our habit patterns, yet relate to everyday functions. They’re often done lying on the floor and evolve from small movements to fuller, more elaborate ones. One people really get a kick out of involves holding onto a foot with one hand and rolling up to sitting this way. You could probably do it to begin with, but to make it fun and light and coordinated really takes a good 45 minutes in this very structured experimentation. Even if you can’t do it, or can’t do it to your satisfaction, the process of exploration will most likely soften your back, mobilize your rib cage, and lengthen your neck.

The key is paying attention to how you sense and move. Doing these movements mindlessly or automatically will not produce the same results. In order to really sense, you have to slow down, reduce effort, and be curious. In this way it’s unlike most forms of exercise. You learn to use your attention like a flashlight, shining awareness to places that are unfamiliar or just numb. Doing so gives new ways to do things, and then you get to choose what works best for you.  

Teaching philosophy:

The method is extremely respectful. As a teacher, I try not to interfere with the process or assume that ‘my way’ is best. But I have a definite idea of what an organized movement looks and feels, when people are working against themselves, and what they could do to make things easier. I tailor my instructions to what’s going on. If the lesson I chose isn’t appropriate for the level of most students, I’ll scrap it and find one that would help them get there the next time. There are hundreds of lessons, some global and acrobatic, others very minimal or meditative. Lessons for walking, sitting, running, breathing, for the eyes and jaw, hands… Something for everyone.

The other aspect of the work is Functional Integration®, which is hands-on, gentle movement and touch on a low table. Its more individualized, and produces more immediate changes. My clients range in age from 11-92. Some come once a week for quite some time, some get an intensive dose of 4-5 lessons and come back periodically. But my goal is to get them to the point where they don’t need me anymore for that particular issue. Some people come not with a difficulty, but wanting to improve at sports or performing arts. Because I’m a professional musician, I often work with performers and students who are already quite accomplished but want to take their skills to the next level. Feldenkrais gives people the tools to improve beyond what is possible through conventional training.

In this culture we’re so used to trying to fill an external ideal, and so have lost touch with our internal experience. So many people are looking for ways to do this; they’re ready for it. If nothing else, Feldenkrais gives people a chance to be in their bodies for an hour. If they fall asleep, its because they needed to sleep! Attention is a currency that is in some ways more valuable than money. Being able to direct it in a useful way will certainly improve your quality of life.

The really exciting thing about working with people through the medium of movement is:

how this new physical awareness spills over into other aspects of life. After all, we are the product of all our experiences, not just genes. Change how you move, and you’ll most likely change your thinking, emotions, and relationships. It can be both subtle and profound. There are these little sartoris. One woman recently told me how the class had really made her think about how unnecessarily difficult we tend to make things for ourselves.

The idea, ultimately, is to be able to do exactly what you want to do, and to know yourself well enough to discover what that is. If you journal or have a good therapist or life coach or whatever your preferred method, you can really take off. This has certainly been my experience. Not everyone wants to take this learning to this level—they just want to get rid of their back pain!  But for me this is the most interesting part of the work, and it tends to happen regardless.

I look forward to working with you at fulfilling your own "avowed and unavowed dreams," whether it's being free of pain, improving at a skill, or being more fully yourself in every way.