Awareness through Movement® as a CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE

While many see Awareness Through Movement® (ATM) as purely a means of achieving physical goals, it is unquestionably also a process that leads to a richer inner experience.  This is one of the many surprising results of Feldenkrais lessons, during which you practice marrying your attention to gentle, guided movement.

There are many ways to turn your attentions to a deeper appreciation of your inner landscape: yoga, meditation, psychotherapy and many others.  Each of these disciplines relies on an increasing ability to focus attention.   Awareness Through Movement  is a profound method of learning to focus attention, as you are directed to ‘notice’ the intimate details and sensations of your movement.  You gradually become more aware of the ripple effects of each movement through your body, and the source of your effort.  Your muscle tone becomes more evenly distributed, creating a more relaxed state.  With practice you become less judgmental, less engaged with discursive mind as you learn to sink into the heightened awareness that grows from your practice.  You become aware of the vastness of your inner life.

Mihaly Scikszentmihalyi, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago writes in Flow:  The Psychology of Optimal Experience:  

“To gain personal control over the quality of experience…
one needs to learn how to build enjoyment into what happens day in, day out.”