A global approach

Checking out my Facebook feed this morning — something I must confess doing incredibly irregularly — I read a post from French Feldenkrais colleague Mickaëlle Acke. In it, she quotes Feldenkrais trainer and speech therapist François Combeau. Over 30 years ago, François established the l’espace de temp présent, a stunning center for somatic learning in the heart of Paris. (I speak from experience because I have had the honor and pleasure of teaching there.)

The quote is such a beautiful expression of the perspective that informs Moshe’s method that I wanted to share it with you:

What we call the Feldenkrais Method is a global approach to the person and their functioning. It does not seek to identify and isolate a specific disorder of the whole person in their way of acting, thinking, and behaving in the environment. It is not about recovering from an affliction or reducing and erasing a pathology. Instead, it seeks to get us moving, to redevelop the ability to learn, to adjust, to organize ourselves in action in a more functional way, one that respects our structure and its operating rules.

— François Combeau

You’ll find the entire article here. Please note that the translation above is mine, meaning I alone am responsible for any errors or omissions.

You can find more information about François’ work on his website, along with a selection of his French, English, German, and Spanish articles. (Look for the flags in the upper right corner to toggle between the French and English versions of the main pages)

A big “Merci beaucoup” to Mickaëlle for sharing this insightful quote!

I created the image at the top of today’s blog using a photo of François I found on his site.