Me, A Hero?

by | Oct 24, 2014 | Movement as Medicine, The Creative Body, The Feldenkrais Method®


 For millenniums society revered the warrior. The protector, the hero, the soldier battled for territory, for freedom, for an ideal. We all carry a piece of the warrior in our DNA, but most of us have no desire to go into battle. What are the qualities of the warrior that can serve our lives as they are now? When I first read Carlos Castaneda’s books, he spoke of the need to be an “impeccable warrior,” to learn how to “stalk.” It wasn’t until many years later that I realized he meant that I had to be impeccable and learn to stalk myself.

The late anthopologist Angeles Arrien spoke of the qualities of the leader/warrior: flexibility, knowing when not to push, and the courage to face the unknown. As I looked at those qualities I couldn’t help but think this is exactly what happens in an Awareness Through Movement® lesson. Feldenkrais lessons can bring us insights into how we approach life challenges, and teach us to explore options for movement that can then translate into life experience. As we develop this awareness, we become impeccable, as well as in Moshe Feldenkrais’ words, “elegant.”

Here is a free lesson called non-striving. Perhaps as you explore the movements in this lesson, you can see the possibilities for flexibility, when not to push and more. (Excerpted from What Are You Afraid Of?)