Moshé the Neuroplasticity Pioneer

In 1949, decades before neuroscience confirmed it, Moshé Feldenkrais proposed that the human brain could reorganize itself throughout life. While conventional wisdom insisted the brain was hardwired and would inevitably decline with age, Moshé taught that "you can, at any time of your life, rewire yourself – there is nothing permanent or compulsive in your system except what you believe to be so." He understood (with a 20th century overemphasis on the nervous system) that learning takes place through novelty, expansion of repertoire, and awareness of differences. His method was built on the principle that the nervous system's remarkable plasticity could be harnessed for learning and improvement at any age. Modern neuroscience has vindicated his insights – neuroplasticity is now a well-established scientific principle, and Moshé Feldenkrais is recognized as a pioneer who not only intuited these truths, but figured out how to make it work, long before the research caught up. In fact, in a lot of ways, the research is still catching up.