Your Sense of Balance (2-day online seminar)

A large amount of brain area and nuclei in our nervous system are dedicated to balance and equilibrium. This in itself  tells us what an important function our sense of balance is and that it deserves our awareness and attention. 

From birth, we are equipped with a series of reflexes related  positional changes in relation to gravity. Throughout our development these reflexes are transformed into a highly effective coordination that eventually allows us to stand and move with our head upright.

But a good sense of balance is not only related to the position of standing or the ability to not fall. It also influences the quality of all our movements, from raising an arm to reaching for a distant object, playing a sport or an instrument.

In this Feldenkrais workshop we will explore some of the strategies used by our nervous system to create our sense of balance. You will be able to understand, through a series of Feldenkrais lessons, the intelligence with which the brain combines the senses, the body-scheme, and proprioceptive and environmental information in order to achieve good balance.

This course was a 2-day online seminar that we recorded in 2022, and it contains more than 6.5 hours of Feldenkrais group lessons (« ATMs »), talks, and LABs. When practicing this course at home with the videos, we recommend distributing the lessons over 2 or 3 days.

Content

1. Talk (Introduction to the course and the topic « balance ») – 17 min.
2. ATM (The simple efficiency of your feet) – 73 min.
3. Talk (Sharing experiences with the previous ATM) – 23 min.
4. LAB (How being out of balance can affect the use of your feet) – 5 min.
5. Talk (Questions and answers) – 17 min.
6. ATM (The position and freedom of your head) – 52 min.
7. Talk (Ending the day) – 4 min.
8. Talk (Some reflections on the previous day; neurophysiology of balance) – 38 min.
9. ATM (Balance in 3 points with movements of the spine) – 70 min.
10. ATM (A three-dimensional map for your balance) – 70 min.
11. Talk (Final reflections and goodbye) – 17 min.

Duration: 385 minutes