Moshe Feldenkrais D.Sc. (1904 -1984) was a contemporary of Dr. Ida Rolf. His "Method" is a form of somatic education that uses gentle movement and directed attention to improve movement and enhance human functioning.

The work is based on principles of physics, biomechanics, and an empirical understanding of human development.

Besides being a currently practiced "method", the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais has directly influenced the developments of most modern somatic innovators. His classic writings continue to challenge and inspire me in my approach to helping clients in the reorganization of their movement patterns . It is through his work that I really came to understand in a practical way much of what Willhelm Reic was writing about in "Character Analyses".

Here is a synopsis of the life of this most remarkable man....

Dr. Feldenkrais, was born in Russia in 1904. At the age of 13 he left his home and traveled alone for a year until he reached Palestine where he worked as a laborer, cartographer, and tutor in mathematics. During his mid twenties he won a scholarship to, and became a graduate of l’Ecole des Travaux Publiques de Paris, in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. He later earned his Doctor of Science in Physics from the Sorbonne in Paris, where he assisted Nobel Prize winner Joliot-Curie in some of the very first experiments in atomic research. In the early 1940’s, while working in anti-submarine warfare for the British Admiralty, he patented a number of sonar devices.

While in Paris, Feldenkrais met Jigaro Kano, the creator of modern Judo. Feldenkrais became one of the first Europeans to earn a Black Belt in Judo (1936) and to introduce Judo in the West through his teaching and books on the subject.

In 1942 Feldenkrais suffered a series of sports related knee injuries, The Medical Doctors pronounced to him that he had only a fifty percent chance of reasonable recovery. They also warned him that if surgery failed, he could likely never be able to walk again. Feldenkrais decided against the surgery and embarked on a lifetime study of the structure and function of the human nervous system. He applied his brilliant mind to the study of anatomy, physiology, neurology, biomechanics, cybernetics and human movement development. Feldenkrais succeeded in completely restoring his ability to walk! He also continued to practice Judo at black belt level until he was sixty-eight years old!

In 1949, Feldenkrais published his theories about the relationship between human movement and the nervous system in his first and now classic book "Body and Mature Behavior".

Today, the teachings of Moshe Feldenkrais are recognized as a sound, dynamic methodology that not only improves biomechanical efficiency it improves all forms of human functioning, allowing people to live more comfortable and rewarding lives.