FELDENKRAIS CLASSES AT THE I.U. PIANO ACADEMY

The FELDENKRAIS METHOD is an educational system that develops a functional awareness of the self in the environment. The Method utilizes the fact that the body is the primary vehicle for learning. The FELDENKRAIS METHOD is an approach to working with people which expands their repertoire of movements, enhances awareness, improves function and enables each of us to express ourselves more fully.

As pianists, we learn habitual patterns of behavior which allow us to practice and perform increasingly difficult repertoire. Often along the way we push too hard or don’t pay enough attention to the quality of our physical movements or to their integration with the musical purpose, leading to discomfort and/or injury. Alternately, we can become so accustomed to our patterns of behavior that we no longer seek to extend our technical facility beyond immediate musical needs. The FELDENKRAIS METHOD directly addresses the question of how to facilitate the learning that is necessary for organizing the whole self and recovering excluded and unconsidered movement patterns or actions. By letting a person learn how their whole body cooperates in any movement, the FELDENKRAIS METHOD assists people to live their lives more fully, efficiently and comfortably.

The FELDENKRAIS METHOD will be taught at the Piano Academy through AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT™ classes. AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT consists of verbally directed movement sequences presented primarily to groups. Each lesson is usually organized around a particular function. In ATM™ lessons, we will engage in precisely structured movement explorations that involve thinking, sensing, moving and imagining. The lessons consist of comfortable, easy movements that gradually evolve into movements of greater range and complexity. ATM™ lessons attempt to make each of us aware of our habitual neuromuscular patterns and rigidities and to expand options for new ways of moving while increasing sensitivity and improving efficiency – what great potential for pianism!! A major goal of AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT™ is to learn how our most basic functions are organized. By experiencing the details of how we perform any action, we each have the opportunity to learn how to attend to our whole self; eliminate unnecessary energy expenditure; mobilize our intentions into actions; and learn.

AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT classes will be led by Dr. Ruth Morrow, a founding faculty member of the Piano Academy and a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. She believes that the Method can help us all become not only better pianists and musicians, but also more centered, enriched, and enriching members of society. Classes are $50.00 for the full 3-week series (7-8 sessions).