Shaking up Habits of Observation and the Effect on Mood

Feldenkraisian shifts in attention seem to be inherently calming. The classes can leave people with a pleasant sense that their brain has been freshened up. I have observed this in myself and from what my clients report in words or—most convincingly—in how their movements change in a class and from class to class. How their faces look at the end of class. To those observations, I add a dollop of current neuroscience, particularly predictive processing, which tells me that while we may not be able to 'control' internal systems in a 20th century way, we can influence what we pay attention to, and that influence has immense power.

So… your influence over what you pay attention to has power to change your golf stroke, but why is it just so innately marvelous-feeling, regardless of the benefits to how you organize your movement?

Hmmmmm. I don't know. Predictive processing folks seem to have a struggle with the concept of 'innate pleasure'—a real gap—so so far they aren't much help.

This is where I fall back on subjective experience. For you— When a Feldenkrais lesson provokes you to temporarily lighten up on a habit, when your systems agree to look at the sensorial data freshly, and maybe expand its movement repertoire…. is that pleasurable? Does it help you feel spiffier?

Do you like the results in the sense that you feel you move better—however you define that?

Do you like how your mood has changed in the course of the lesson? Did you enjoy toying with not just your movements but also the way you notice your movements?

Is there something enlivening about allowing yourself to notice stuff you had been in the habit of shushing?

That is always the question that really matters. (And if the answer is 'no,' then why do it?)