Groundhog Day and Feldenkrais(R)

Here it is, Groundhog Day all over again.?When you grow up in?Western Pennsylvania like I did, Groundhog Day was very exciting, and a day we looked forward to with eager?anticipation. For us, not only was Groundhog?Day?a huge event,?it was treated like a National Holiday,?even though we still had to go to school.

After all, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and?New Year's were long gone, and there really wasn’t anything special to look forward to. Let's face it, the days were dark and dreary, the weather was brutally cold, and even the most hardy of us were pretty sick and tired of winter. ?

By early?February?the fresh white snow that thrilled us a few short months ago was still on the ground, collecting dirt and piling up along the streets as large mounds of gravel-peppered bulletproof ice. Icicles as big as?a grown man’s arm hung perilously from corners of every building, threatening to impale a small child at any moment.?The thought of Suzie Snowflake tapping at our windowpane?one more time made everyone but the most hardcore skiers want to zap her with a blowtorch. If nothing else, it would relieve the boredom and gut wrenching monotony we were experiencing every day. At least Punxsutawney Phil would give us something new and different to talk about for a few hours before slipping back into the cold, dark winter which seemed like it would never end.

We were stuck. Stuck in a rut that we couldn't get out of, no matter what we did. Life can be a lot like that. We get into habits and patterns that might not be serving us well, but we can't seem to find our way out. Those patterns are as deeply ingrained as the famous Pennsylvania potholes that left craters in our streets, temporarily hidden under a deep layer of snow and ice, getting even deeper with each passing year from lack of attention. And those craters are just waiting for the opportunity to devour us if we don't do something to stop them. So, what's a person to do?

The good news is that our nervous system is inherently flexible, malleable, and ready, willing, and able to change. We can interrupt those patterns which are not serving else well to allow for new, healthy, and positive patterns to emerge. It's called neuroplasticity, and we can access this miracle of nature in a variety of different ways. However, I have found that the most powerful and effective way to tap into the magic of neuroplasticity is through movement, with Feldenkrais(R).

Feldenkrais(R) is a gentle and highly sophisticated form of neuromuscular re-education based on movement exploration and self-awareness. There is no right or wrong, good or bad, better or worse in Feldenkrais(R). There is no judgement, and no such thing as mistakes, just opportunities to learn and grow. Isn't that a lovely philosophy to live by? It's certainly better than waking up to the same old "stuff" every single morning, or waking up with the sound of Sonny and Cher singing "I Got You Babe" on the radio.

We all get stuck every now and again. I personally found myself at the bottom of those potholes more than once in my life with absolutely no idea how to climb out. Until I found Feldenkrais(R). Feldenkrais(R) strengthened my spine, lengthened my legs, loosened my hips, and opened my heart. And it gave me the tools I needed to keep from falling into the dark pit of despair, or at least how to find my way out in case I did.

This Groundhog Day, I will pay tribute to the world's most famous and persnickety rodent by sensing my contact with the floor, becoming one with my breathing, and exploring many variations of ordinary movement patterns which will end up being anything but ordinary. Because life is meant to be extraordinary, and Feldenkrais(R) can help you with that. Happy Groundhog Day! I got you, babe.