What Is The Feldenkrais Method & How Can It Help With Chronic Pain?

If you've ever dealt with chronic pain, you know that there are few things more frustrating than waking up day after day with the same ache, no matter how much physical therapy you're doing or how many yoga classes you're taking. Enter the Feldenkrais Method, a technique created by Israeli engineer Moshe Feldenkrais, designed to help you become more aware of how your body interacts with the world around it.

Similar to the Alexander Technique, the Feldenkrais Method is done very slowly and gently. Even in slower movement classes like yoga, there are quicker segments of class during which our awareness can leave our bodies if we're not careful (think sweaty sun salutations). The Feldenkrais Method, which is composed of movements like pelvic tilts, hip release exercises using bolsters, and side bends to release the neck. At no point while conducting these exercises should you speed up—movements should be as slow as possible and intentional.

Raynor notes that while the Feldenkrais Method is highly effective, in order for it to stick in the long-term, it's a good idea to understand where your pain comes from in the first place. "It's important to figure out what needs changing so we can stop feeding the discomfort or pain," she notes. "You know that you dealt with the root of the pain, not only when it is gone but when you do not have to stretch the same tension over and over. The fact is that we have unconscious habits that are feeding our conscious habits. For instance, everybody focuses on poor posture. Yet, round shoulders have various reasons for being rounded. It could be locked knees when standing, or a lack of awareness of the balancing spot of the sits bones while sitting. Until they are addressed as part of a whole-body dynamic, no shoulder openers will really fix poor posture."