A Feldenkrais class is an unusual sort of class. A quick glance would find the participants lying on the floor (or sometimes sitting or standing), doing small movements as the teacher instructs; movements like lifting a shoulder and lowering it, or rolling a leg in and out. Sometimes the movements will be so small as to be invisible; sometimes they might be combined to form larger actions.

But the important events of the class are internal: the play of attention and sensation inside you. It’s like dismantling and then reassembling the possibilites of movement for a new, more effective version. Since the movements can be as small and gentle as necessary for each person, it is easier to outwit pain, to steer positively toward comfort and even pleasure in our everyday action.

A Feldenkrais class is also unusal in not being about rules, about right and wrong. Instead we learn how our own sensation can be developed into a trustworthy guide. We do this by a process of physical riddles, by comparing the feeling of many movement possibilities and many combinations of possibilities. Some combinations may feel more ‘wrong’ some less ‘wrong’ — when we can feel the distinctions more clearly, we can choose well.

Each class (and there are hundreds of basic classes, plus variations) follows the thread of a single action from everyday life. We try out the action at the beginning of the class and again at the end so that we can notice the overall difference. Most people find the difference pleasant at the very least, sometimes profound, even dramatic — differences like standing taller without any effort, breathing more freely, inhabiting our selves and our actions more completely.

Some people attend a series of classes, perhaps a term, and find enough to satisfy their immediate concern. They may find material from the classes useful as part of their personal warm-up or daily routine. Others find the regular time and place, with the supportive concentration of the other students and the variety that is part of the Method, to be a useful part of their lives for longer periods. It is an entirely personal choice, based on what works for you.