Muscles are not meant to support weight directly, but to align the skeleton to support the body in gravity and to generate the forces necessary for movement and interaction with the surrounding environment. Proper posture is produced by continuous effort, natural balance can be relaxed and effortless. This lack of self-awareness is widespread in contemporary society. Few people are aware of how poor their balance is or how much unnecessary tension they carry. Habitual tensions in the ribcage and neck pull the head and torso forward, worsening balance.
Poor balance adds tension, as muscles contract to support off-center weight.
Excessive tension serves to reduce awareness, closing the cycle of mutually reinforcing feedback among the three. The key to improving posture lies not in effortful adherence to an external ideal of proper posture, but in increasing self-awareness, which leads to reduced tension and improved balance. The Feldenkrais Method uses gentle touch, movement, and directed attention to increase self-awareness and help you return to to the easy, fluid movement and balance that are your natural birthright. The Method is taught in two forms. In group Awareness Through Movement lessons you are verbally guided through gentle movement sequences which help you learn to move easily and efficiently.