Just to let you know that there will be two more Feldenkrais classes before the Easter break – this Thursday at 5.45-6.45 and Saturday 10.30-11.30 at Breathe Pilates, so treat yourself to a little pre-holiday class. Then I’m taking a break until 18 April when I’m running – by popular request – a half day workshop entitled “Releasing your Neck, Shoulders and Upper Back”. The workshop will be from 10.30 – 1pm with a break for tea and biscuits halfway. I’m attaching a flyer for this and please let me know if you’d like to book.
For those who have paid for a block of classes, don’t worry classes will start again on Thursday 23 April and Saturday 25 April as before. Its £35 for a block of four classes (doesn’t have to be consecutive and you can mix up Thursdays and Saturdays). Drop in rate is £9.50 with a 20% discount for Equity, M.U. members and full-time students. Keep an eye on the website for more information.
Happy holidays everyone and hope to see you soon.
Author Archives: Dianne
Refresh yourself with a Spring Workshop!
SATURDAY 18 APRIL 2015 WORKSHOP: “Releasing Your Neck, Shoulders and Upper Back” 10.30 – 1pm. Lack of flexibility and tension in your upper body can affect everything you do. This workshop will help you find easier ways of improving your everyday movement and different approaches to your yoga and sports practice. If you would like to try a one to one session with Dianne where individual issues can be explored, there is an opportunity to book a half hour taster session following the workshop. £20 (£18) Please go to http://diannehancock.co.uk for more information
Salon.com releases Doidge chapter on Feldenkrais
Salon, a news and entertainment website, decided to release a free chapter of Norman Doidge’s latest book “The Brain’s Way of Healing” and that chapter was the one all about The Feldenkrais Method and Moshe Feldenkrais’ work in neuroplasticity. Its interesting that Norman Doidge has spent a good deal of this chapter describing Moshe Feldenkrais’ personal history as opposed to his work in the field of neuroplasticity – which is the main topic of Doidge’s book. Feldenkrais was a remarkable man and had a remarkable life, that shouldn’t undermine his worth, even if it does read “more like a spy thriller than a neuroscience textbook”. Personally, I think there is nothing wrong with making science textbooks accessible. See for yourself: 
Learning from an Expert
I first watched this video several years but still use it as a teaching tool and a lovely reminder of how integrated movement is natural to all of us!
Feldy Feet
Last Saturday’s class was all about rediscovering your feet’s function and flexbility. One of the class members arrived ready for a positive experience!
Feldy Feet
Norman Doidge
There has been a great deal of excitment over the last few weeks amongst the Feldenkrais community with the publication of Norman Doidge’s new book, “The Brain’s Way of Healing”. Doidge is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst whose previous book “The Brain that Changes Itself” has sold over a million copies worldwide. Doidge is interested in the phenomenon of neuroplasticity – the recent discovery that the brain can change its own structure and function in response to experience. How does this affect us? Well, it means that it is possible to re-awaken lost physical and mental function through movement and reverse conditions thought to be irreversible. The Feldenkrais Method takes up two large chapters of Norman Doidge’s book where he first describes the development of Moshe Feldenkrais’ ideas and experiments and then details specific cases where Moshe and his students worked with severely damaged clients to bring about astonishing improvements in physical and mental development. The book is written is a easy, accessible format that will not please some scientific communities but it means that the notion of neuroplasticity can be readily understood by anyone reading this work. For the Feldenkrais community, we are happy to receive such detailed recognition by an acclaimed author.
New Class starting tonight
I’m looking forward to starting a new class tonight at Breathe Pilates. This will be an opportunity for those who like a lie-in on a Saturday to get their Feldy fix at the end of a busy weekday instead! Tonight’s class will be about helping our poor hard-working feet find a little more flexibility and joy.
Finding greater flexibility…
Had a very enjoyable class yesterday at Breathe Pilates where we explored flexibility in ankles and feet which is so important for supporting movement in the whole body and giving knees some much needed help! This month we’re going to develop the theme of flexibility in feet, ankles and knees and how we can integrate the whole body in this.
Feldenkrais for Dummies
This morning I’ve been listening to this excellent programme from Australia’s ABC network “The Body Sphere”. It contains one of the clearest explanations of The Feldenkrais Method and also has an interview with Dr Frank Wildman who wrote “The Busy Person’s Guide to Easier Movement” – a publication I recommend to anyone interested in an introduction to The Method.
New weekday class starting soon
We’ve just added a new class to the Feldenkrais timetable – Thursdays from 17.45-18.45 at Breathe Pilates. These will start on 19 February and run until Easter. Use the booking form on the Classes page to book either a single class or a block of classes. £9.50 for a single class or £35 for a block of four. See you there!