I recently listened to an interview with one of my teachers, who, among many other things, discussed key differences between Feldenkrais and exercise. This isn’t often a major topic of discussion in the Feldenkrais world, so I really appreciated his perspective—especially on the idea of a threshold of effort.
As both a fitness trainer and a Feldenkrais practitioner (there are maybe five of us in the U.S.!), I offer a unique perspective that blends these two worlds. Let me explain why this matters.
Most people associate improvement with pushing harder—lifting more weight, running faster, or increasing repetitions. Traditional exercise works above the threshold of effort; we see benefits when we challenge our muscles and cardiovascular system past a certain point. This builds strength and endurance but doesn’t necessarily improve how we move.
Here’s the problem: If we push harder and faster with poor movement patterns, we risk injury, hit frustrating plateaus, or simply feel bad when we exercise (I would argue that when you move well, exercising actually feels good!!).
Feldenkrais, on the other hand, operates below the threshold of exertion. In Awareness Through Movement (ATM) lessons, slowing things down allows us to sense what’s going wrong. Without the strain of effort, we can uncover habitual tensions that often go unnoticed in high-intensity workouts.
Here’s the connection: Taking time to improve movement patterns makes exercise feel better—and actually enhances our ability to improve.
Instead of pushing harder, Feldenkrais teaches us to move smarter. Before increasing effort, it’s crucial to ensure movement is what we Feldy Practitioner’s call well-organized—otherwise, we’re just reinforcing dysfunctional patterns.
If you haven’t yet experienced the benefits of slowing things down, my next series is the perfect opportunity. Move Better, Play Better starts next week—join me and feel the difference!
If you want to listen to the full interview with Andrew:
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