A note for donors to my online lessons project — May 4

Thank you so much for your financial support for my work! Thanks to you we’ve got an incredible amount of monthly listeners. I love hearing from people all over the world who are benefitting my lessons, and I love making them for you.

Your donations make it possible to get this project out into the world, and that helps so many more people enjoy Feldenkrais study!

I recently discovered that PayPal is no longer automatically emailing me about each donation I receive. I am sorry to say this has been going on for a few months and I am perhaps very late in acknowledging your support individually. I’ll be looking through the records and reaching out ASAP to say THANK YOU and give you access to the MP3s. Please let me know if you’re looking for that access right now!

If you haven’t donated but you value the lessons, please consider supporting the project. There is no other funding source for this work besides every individual who values it and decides to give something back!

Enjoy the lessons and please spread the word. More people doing more Feldenkrais equals a better world for all of us. Thanks again, and happy studies!

-Nick

Notes from Feldenkrais for Chronic Pain workshop — March 2

Below you’ll find a much more legible and expanded text version of this whiteboard photo from Tuesday’s Chronic Pain workshop.

The number one question I get from website visitors is “Can you publish workshops as part of the free audio project?” I haven’t done much of this because the lessons I teach in my workshops are often not designed as standalone learning contexts. There’s usually some other lecture, discussion, or media content. This week I found myself using a whiteboard for the first time in about a decade (and my handwriting shows it, as you can see!).

I enjoy repackaging my thinking and presentation of Feldenkrais depending on the people present and the context, and I laid out some of our basics in a new way for people interested particularly in how Feldenkrais addresses chronic pain. I thought readers might enjoy my current take on an important topic.

It’s top level stuff, without a lot of discussion, so feel free to comment publicly below or contact me with questions. I’ll reply either way.

-Nick

Notes and Principles for Feldenkrais for Chronic Pain workshop:

CURIOSITY, at the center of the photo above, was our “word of the day” (not pain or Feldenkrais).  Notice how each of these four categories below relate to curiosity, and to each other. Read more »

Driving and Dynamic Sitting: two new free lessons added! — January 26

Nick discusses some learning context for these new lessons

[When you’re ready to explore the lessons click here to go to my new Driving and Dynamic Sitting miniseries.]

I’ve been meaning to teach more explicitly about sitting and driving for a long time, since for so many people these everyday activities are frequently challenging and even painful. Over my years as a Feldenkrais teacher I’ve noticed that most people who come to me with concerns about discomfort in sitting have the idea — consciously or unconsciously — that if they could just find the “right” chair and the “right” way to sit in that chair they would be able to engage in sedentary activities for hours without moving much.

I used to believe this too. I discovered Feldenkrais as an injured concert pianist. My study and intended livelihood required me to sit on a piano bench for 3-5 hours a day. I was rarely comfortable for much of that time, but I did what we so often think we have to do: I hunkered down into the position I thought was best, accepted the pain, and got my practice hours in. Over the years the unnecessary efforts, pain, and inefficiency of my static sitting began to interfere with the freedom of my arms and fingers for playing the piano, and I developed repetitive strain injuries that traditional medical approaches couldn’t relieve. Luckily I discovered Feldenkrais, which helped almost instantly when I began to think about and support myself better as a whole, and far more dynamically. Read more »