Learning takes time

Especially today, you need not look far to see the allure of the instant. Consider microwave in minutes meals, sound bites, super-short videos, abbreviated summaries of bestsellers, etc.

When it comes to personal growth, neither an enlightening phrase (no matter how clever) nor some sudden realization can replace the slow, unpredictable unfolding of human development.

Sure, you and I can change in an instant.

One word or phrase, a movement you’ve never experienced before, or a flash of insight can change how you make sense of what you’re sensing from that moment forward. But the sudden spark of realization can hide how long it takes to get there.

While Mini-Feldenkrais classes — two to five minutes long — are instrumental in rekindling learning and integrating what you’ve learned into your life, they no more replace complete lessons than either fast food or healthy snacks supplant balanced meals.

We don’t usually make sudden, long-lasting changes instantaneously. The design of the nervous system creates invariance: as you move through space, the world around you remains constant and stable. The hallmark of having learned a skill well is that it becomes reliable and automatic, recurring habitually with barely a thought.

What’s more, you never know when your regular study, daily practice, or persistent, progressive inquiry will pay off. It’s a matter of sticking with it so that you make it to the (next) transformative moment.

The process of practice and refinement happens through time, not in the schoolroom — whether it’s virtual or actual. Developing your understanding and skill happens after class, between scheduled meetings, and below the level of consciousness. It isn’t simply a question of ingesting and chewing; digestion is mandatory.

Showing up is necessary but not sufficient for improvement. Engaging is essential, as is allowing for reflection and integration. Commitment, on the part of the teacher and the student, is required.

Learning takes time.

If you’re a Feldenkrais trainee, teacher, assistant trainer, or trainer, there are still spaces in the upcoming yearlong, FI® oriented BREATHING BETTER postgraduate course. To find out more and enroll, please click here.

If you’re looking for a series of curated, contemporary, challenging ATM classes about the martial arts of daily life, you might consider Moving from Your Center. Please click here to learn more and sign up.