Feldenkrais for Life podcast

In each episode, we discuss ideas and experiences about the Feldenkrais Method. You will learn skills that move you from pain to comfort, anxiety to ease, explore learning, and spark creativity. Check it out! You will like what you hear.

S6E5 Memory Integration – Rewriting the Stories We Hold 05/07/2025

S6E5 Memory Integration – Rewriting the Stories We Hold Donna and Al discuss the fascinating world of memory, including how implicit and explicit memories shape our experiences. They reveal how Feldenkrais lessons can soften the grip of old patterns while cultivating new, positive self-perceptions. Key Takeaways: • Implicit memories from early life shape our unconscious habits. • State influences how we recall past experiences calm states recall positive memories. • Feldenkrais lessons help rewrite unhelpful memories by changing movement patterns. Resources Mentioned: For guided lessons, visit and . Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and explore Feldenkrais lessons at /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/35428880

S6 E4: Vertical Integration – Connecting Mind, Body, and Self 04/23/2025

S6 E4: Vertical Integration – Connecting Mind, Body, and Self In this episode, Al and Donna explore vertical integration, the seamless connection between body, brain, and self. They discuss how Feldenkrais practices cultivate this integration, fostering a more embodied and responsive way of being. Key Takeaways: • Vertical integration links sensory input, emotional processing, and conscious thought. • Feeling the whole self improves coordination, clarity, and resilience. • Body scans and mindful movement are effective practices for vertical integration. Resources Mentioned: For guided lessons, visit and . Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and explore Feldenkrais lessons at /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/35428820

S6 E3: Lateral Integration – Balancing the Brain and Body 04/09/2025

S6 E3: Lateral Integration – Balancing the Brain and Body This episode dives into the concept of lateral integration, emphasizing how the Feldenkrais Method fosters communication between the brain’s left and right hemispheres. Al and Donna share how balanced hemispheric integration supports clarity, creativity, and emotional well-being. Key Takeaways: • The right hemisphere handles holistic awareness, while the left focuses on details. • Bilateral integration fosters clarity, creativity, and emotional well-being. • Eye movements can quickly shift perspective and calm the nervous system. Resources Mentioned: For guided lessons, visit and . Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and explore Feldenkrais lessons at /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/35428770

S6E2 The Spectrum of Integration – Finding Flow in Life 03/26/2025

S6E2 The Spectrum of Integration – Finding Flow in Life Al and Donna explore how habits shape our movement, self-image, and overall well-being. They discuss how the Feldenkrais Method offers practical strategies for breaking unhelpful patterns and forming new habits that align with personal values and motivations. Key Takeaways: • Integration involves smooth coordination between movement, emotion, and thought. • Recognizing early signs of disintegration allows for timely self-regulation. • Self-awareness is key to returning to balance and flow. Resources Mentioned: For guided lessons, visit and . Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and explore Feldenkrais lessons at /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/35428650

S6-E1: Transforming Habits for a Healthier Self 03/12/2025

S6-E1: Transforming Habits for a Healthier Self /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/35428535

S5 E6 - Exploring Your Body Budget 05/17/2024

S5 E6 - Exploring Your Body Budget What can interoception, body scanning, and proprioception reveal about your overall "body budget"? We try a left eye awareness lesson as an example. Visit https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. Visit the show website: https://FeldenkraisforLife.com. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/30142493

S5 E5 - The Use of Will Power 05/03/2024

S5 E5 - The Use of Will Power When should we use willpower versus effortless flow in practicing movement? We explore how willpower decreases as ability increases and how too much willful effort gets in our way. Visit https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. Visit the show website: https://FeldenkraisforLife.com. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/30142473

S5 E4 - Finding Harmony in Movement 04/19/2024

S5 E4 - Finding Harmony in Movement Mindful movement can create greater harmony between the voluntary and autonomic nervous systems. We discuss this important brain-body connection for wellbeing. Visit https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. Visit the show website: https://FeldenkraisforLife.com. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/30142443

S5 E3 - Q&A: Yoga, Emotions, Stretching 04/05/2024

S5 E3 - Q&A: Yoga, Emotions, Stretching Answering listener questions on topics like yoga, emotional release in practice, and why we don't stretch in the Feldenkrais Method®. Visit https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. Visit the show website: https://FeldenkraisforLife.com. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/30142378

S5 E2 - Creative Thinking: Convergent vs Divergent 03/22/2024

S5 E2 - Creative Thinking: Convergent vs Divergent How do convergent and divergent styles of thinking relate to creativity? We explore how Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons can stimulate flexible, creative problem-solving. Visit https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. Visit the show website: https://FeldenkraisforLife.com. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/30142278

S5 E1 - Building Confidence and Resilience 03/08/2024

S5 E1 - Building Confidence and Resilience As our physical abilities improve through practice, so does our confidence to meet life's challenges. We discuss how the Feldenkrais Method can cultivate resilience for aging well. Visit https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. Visit the show website: https://FeldenkraisforLife.com. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/30142248

S4 E8 The Sacred Sacrum and the Pelvis 08/11/2023

S4 E8 The Sacred Sacrum and the Pelvis Ancient civilizations often referred to the sacrum as the “holy bone.” We discuss the “holy bone,” the social impact of our self-image and the pelvis, and the birthing process. Visit: https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/26613834

S4 E7 Four Criteria for Coordinated Well-Learned Action 07/28/2023

S4 E7 Four Criteria for Coordinated Well-Learned Action In his book, The Potent Self, Dr. Feldenkrais puts forward four criteria for coordinated, well-learned action: the absence of effort, the absence of resistance, the presence of reversibility, and breathing and posture. We discuss each of these with examples. Visit: https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/26613798

S4 E6 Cross-Motivation 07/14/2023

S4 E6 Cross-Motivation Cross-motivation is when we enact more than one motivation at the same time. By becoming aware of our cross-motivations and sorting out our intentions so we are acting in a mono-motivated way, we use less energy, feel better, and get more done in our lives. Visit: https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/26613756

S4 E5 Trauma 06/30/2023

S4 E5 Trauma We discuss trauma resolution from the perspective of psychotherapy and the Feldenkrais Method. Visit: https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/26613708

S4 E4 Errors Mistakes and Correctness 06/16/2023

S4 E4 Errors Mistakes and Correctness We discuss how mistakes are essential to learning. Hear a story about how a music teacher encouraged a little girl to make mistakes to help her learn; and how trying to do something correctly limits our success. Visit: https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/26613654

S4 E3 Going Slowly 06/02/2023

S4 E3 Going Slowly We discuss why we move slowly when doing Feldenkrais lessons. And how essential that is for learning. Experience the difference between going quickly and going slow. Visit: https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/26613519

S4 E2 Going to the Border 05/19/2023

S4 E2 Going to the Border Working within your range of comfort, Exploring variations at the border of ability, discovering a greater capacity, Doing too much, Involving more of yourself Visit: https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/26613453

S4 E1 Reframing Illness and Building Resilience 05/05/2023

S4 E1 Reframing Illness and Building Resilience We discuss how reframing an illness can improve the healing process. How your brain is predictive, and how to build resilience through intentionally engaging in challenging situations. Visit: https://AchievingExcellence.com and https://DonnaRay.com to learn more about Donna and Al and to explore our class and product offerings. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/26613381

S3 E8 Understanding Differentiation 10/21/2022

S3 E8 Understanding Differentiation Differentiation is a crucial concept in the Feldenkrais Method®. We discuss and define differentiation and give lots of examples and a guided movement experience so you can sense the differences. We discuss differentiation in emotions, movement, thinking, and sensing. Visit Donna’s site: Visit Al’s Site: Get your first Feldenkrais lesson from AchievingExcellence.com. Use coupon awesome-podcast to save 20%. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/23640845

S3 E7 Your Brain Cannot Think Without Motor Function 10/07/2022

S3 E7 Your Brain Cannot Think Without Motor Function A fundamental concept of the Feldenkrais Method® is the brain cannot think without motor movement. We get into this concept through some movement explorations and discussions. We talk about thinking, feeling, sensing, and acting and how we move our attention to these different domains of experience as needed in our daily experience. Shifting our attention like this is primarily outside our conscious awareness. However, we can bring this process to consciousness. Donna guides us through a series of imagined movements that make this phenomenon more explicit. Norman Doidge, Visit Donna’s site: Visit Al’s Site: Get your first Feldenkrais lesson from AchievingExcellence.com. Use coupon awesome-podcast to save 20%. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/23640803

S3 E6 Mind Sets and Priming Mental States 09/23/2022

S3 E6 Mind Sets and Priming Mental States We talk about the work of Alia Crum and the studies she has done on mindsets and their influence on our health and biology. We get into the effects of social suggestions on aging. We discuss auto-suggestion and how health care providers could improve their communication skills. We return to Dr. Feldenkrais and his interest in auto-suggestion and hypnosis and how these concepts became influential in developing his method. Thinking and Doing: Visit Donna’s site: Visit Al’s Site: Get your first Feldenkrais lesson from AchievingExcellence.com. Use coupon awesome-podcast to save 20%. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/23640761

S3 E5 The Mind and the Brain 09/09/2022

S3 E5 The Mind and the Brain How does the mind influence the brain? It was a widely held belief that the mind was a result of the brain, and the mind could not reflect and affect the functioning of the brain. It was just around 2000 that this belief started to change. Dr. Feldenkrais understood this decades ago and applied the idea of using the mind to change the brain in his Awareness Through Movement® and Functional Integration® work. Dr. Feldenkrais is considered one of the first neuro-plasticians. Visit Donna’s site: Visit Al’s Site: Get your first Feldenkrais lesson from AchievingExcellence.com. Use coupon awesome-podcast to save 20%. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/23640713

S3 E4 What is Reversibility? 08/26/2022

S3 E4 What is Reversibility? What is reversibility? Dr. Feldenkrais considered this an essential concept of the Feldenkrais Method®. We give examples and do some explorations with reversibility. We also discuss good posture, cultivating quality movement, and choice. We end with how the method is generalized to daily life and how the benefits show up spontaneously without practice. Visit Donna’s site: Visit Al’s Site: Get your first Feldenkrais lesson from AchievingExcellence.com. Use coupon awesome-podcast to save 20%. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/23640647

S3 E3 Your Jaw 08/12/2022

S3 E3 Your Jaw We discuss the functioning of the mouth and jaw. What is the relationship between the jaw, neck, and eyes? How does the pelvis influence the functioning of the jaw? What part does the tongue play in a well-organized jaw? We discuss and explore these ideas in this podcast, which introduces our audio program, "Release Jaw Tension Now." Visit Donna’s site: Visit Al’s Site: Get your first Feldenkrais lesson from AchievingExcellence.com. Use coupon awesome-podcast to save 20%. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/23640602

S3 E2 Making Finer Distinctions for Improvement 07/29/2022

S3 E2 Making Finer Distinctions for Improvement We discuss a concept Dr. Feldenkrais presents in his book Body and Mature Behavior. Which is that there are two paths of development. One is the pathway of improvement in which a person continues to make finer and finer distinctions. The other is the pathway of decline in which a person lumps their experience into larger and larger categories. We discuss this in reference to movement, the Feldenkrais Method®, and hobbies such as painting, gardening, and building. Body and Mature Behavior: Visit Donna’s site: Visit Al’s Site: Get your first Feldenkrais lesson from AchievingExcellence.com. Use coupon awesome-podcast to save 20%. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/23640035

S3 E1 The Importance of Resting 07/15/2022

S3 E1 The Importance of Resting Why rest? When to rest? How does resting improve learning and productivity? There is resting as in naps, and there are rests that help us learn. Waking rests helps improve and integrate what you were just doing—facilitating learning. Resting can reset the brain and nervous system for improved performance. Visit Donna’s site: Visit Al’s Site: Get your first Feldenkrais lesson from AchievingExcellence.com. Use coupon awesome-podcast to save 20%. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/23639993

S2 E9 - Feldenkrais Aging with Ease 12/30/2021

S2 E9 - Feldenkrais Aging with Ease What happens in the brain as we age? How can we use the Feldenkrais Method® to continue to improve ourselves and do the things that are important to us in life? We each share our insights on how the Feldenkrais Method can keep you moving and vital while aging. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/21065462

S2 E8 - How Language Creates Experience 12/23/2021

S2 E8 - How Language Creates Experience We discuss how Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s books “How Emotions Are Made” and “7 1/2 Lessons about the Brain” confirm what Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais taught decades ago and offers a modern way to language what we do as Feldenkrais practitioners. We go into detail about how language creates an internal response in the speaker and listener. Language matters while guiding Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® Lessons. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/21064646

S2 E7 - Spontaneity and Aging 12/16/2021

S2 E7 - Spontaneity and Aging What is spontaneity? How do social constraints inhibit our spontaneity? Experience spontaneous changes through Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® Lessons. Discover how we develop responsiveness to our changing environment. /episode/index/show/feldenkraisforlife/id/21064478

Feldenkrais for Life podcast

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