Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984)

studied intensively in psychology, neurophysiology and other health-related disciplines to integrate and refine his ideas into the system now known as the Feldenkrais Method.

Moshe Feldenkrais graduated from l’Ecole des Travaux Publiques de Paris in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and earned his Doctor of Science in Physics from the Sorbonne in Paris- where he assisted Nobel Prize winner Joliot-Curie in early nuclear research. In Paris, M. Feldenkrais met Jigaro Kano, the creator of modern Judo, became one of the first Europeans to earn a Black Belt in Judo and to introduce Judo in the West through his teaching and books on the subject.

After suffering crippling knee injuries, Moshe Feldenkrais used his own body as his laboratory. In developing his work Moshe Feldenkrais studied, among other things, anatomy, physiology, child development, movement science, evolution, psychology, a number of Eastern awareness practices and other somatic approaches. He taught himself to walk again and in the process developed his method for accessing the power of the central nervous system to improve human functioning.

 

Dr. Feldenkrais authored a number of seminal books on movement, learning, human consciousness and somatic experience. He taught in Israel and many countries in Europe through the 1960s and 1970s and in North America through the 1970s and 1980s.

 

In his life Dr. Feldenkrais worked with all kinds of people with an enormous range of learning needs -from many infants with Cerebral Palsy to leading performers such as the violinist, the late Yehudi Menuhin. He taught over a number of years for the dramatist Peter Brook and his Theatre Bouffes du Nord. 

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The breadth, vitality and precision of Dr. Feldenkrais’ work has seen it applied in diverse fields including neurology, psychology, gerontology, performing arts, sports and rehabilitation.

 
Learning to undo unnecessary habits will have a more lasting effect than trying to correct your posture from outside, using additional muscular effort. If you learn to sense your range of comfort, you will find yourself staying within that range more often. 

Moshe Feldenkrais