Photo by Conscious Design on Unsplash |
|
What is the world's hottest topic? From advertising to taboos, from romance to reproduction, human nature and behavior revolve around sex. Sexual well-being is a multi-billion dollar industry - from drugs to therapies. How can Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education help one improve sexual well-being? You would be surprised - in many ways.
This month we have a host of diverse contributors. Donna Ray in her interview talks about sexuality and the way one could explore it, connecting to Moshe’s work. Deborah Bowes makes a skillful introduction to all things pelvic floor and how they are related to our sexuality and self-image. An interview with Irene Lyon highlights the connection between the state of our nervous system and healthy sexuality. Finally, Paul Pui Wo Lee talks about his personal story of exploring sensuality with a bit of help from the Feldenkrais Method.
Our contributors shared very potent lessons to help you improve your sexuality. Be sure to check out our Resource section for lessons and more information.
Lavinia, Yulia, and LeeAnn
|
|
Sexuality and the Feldenkrais Method®:
An Interview with Donna Ray
Thoughts about potency and sexuality and the Feldenkrais Method from Feldenkrais® trainer Donna Ray. Interviewed by Yulia Kriskovets.
|
|
About Donna
Donna Ray, M.A.,M.F.T. and Feldenkrais Teacher/Trainer, has been licensed and in private practice since 1985. Her practice consists of individuals, couples and families, she works with adults, teens and children.Donna knows from professional practice that achieving emotional, mental and physical well being is possible. Her background in EMDR, Interpersonal Communication, Sexual Therapy, Voice Dialogue and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, give her the skills to help you break old habits and live with greater harmony in relationships and in your career. Her website: Donnaray.com
|
|
Sexual wellbeing and the Feldenkrais Method®: An Interview with Deborah J Bowes, DPT, GCFT
Sexual well-being and Pelvic Floor: what is the connection?
Sexual well-being is one aspect of a person’s self-image. Some definitions may be useful to discuss the connection between the pelvic floor and sexual well-being.
First, Moshe Feldenkrais’ definition of self-image says that self-image is composed of four parts: thinking, moving, sensing, and feeling. Each part influences how you act and how you consider yourself. Each element contributes to your well-being and can be enlarged, or diminished.
Second, the definition of sexual health from the World Health Organization (WHO) says that ‘sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity.’ Interestingly, the WHO’s definition of sexual health is close to Feldenkrais’ definition of health in that health is not merely the absence of disease. Health is a measure of one’s ability to recover from injury or illness, or one’s resilience.
Third, the pelvic floor is involved with many functions: sexual expression, elimination, maintaining continence, breathing, managing the intra-abdominal pressure, birthing, support for the soft organs, and balance. The parts of this coordinated pelvic floor system include muscles, connective tissues, bones, joints, and nerves. This system is under both voluntary control as well as reflexive, and autonomic control. The elements of one’s self-image: thinking, moving, sensing and feeling will affect all the functions of the pelvic floor, including sexuality. (...)
|
|
About Deborah
Deborah Bowes DPT is a Feldenkrais® Trainer and Physical Therapist in San Francisco, CA. She teaches in Feldenkrais Training programs in the US and internationally. She is an adjunct faculty at Saybrook University. Her doctoral research examined using Awareness Through Movement ® lessons to improve pelvic health. She can be reached at info@feldenkraisSF.com.
|
|
Sexuality and the Nervous System:
An Interview with Irene Lyon
One's sexuality can fully blossom only if one feels safe. Irene Lyon discusses that and more in her interview with Yulia Kriskovets.
|
|
About Irene
Irene Lyon, MSC. and nervous system expert, teaches people around the world how to work with the nervous system to transform trauma, heal body and mind, and live full, creative lives. To date, her online programs have reached over 4000 people in over 60 countries. Irene has a Master’s Degree in Biomedical and Health Science and also has a knack for making complex info easy for ALL of us to understand and apply to our lives. She has extensively studied and practices the works of Dr. Moshé Feldenkrais, Peter Levine (founder of Somatic Experiencing) and Kathy Kain (founder of Somatic Practice). Irene spends her free time eating delicious food, hiking in the mountains or walking along the Pacific Ocean in her hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia. Her website is https://irenelyon.com
|
|
Sensuality: Being More You |
|
By Paul Pui Wo Lee, GCFP
The Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education has opened my eyes to the fact that judging the right-wrongness of movement could hinder one’s ability to regain their balance in response to life’s diverse situations. Becoming more at home in a wider range of movements crowns us as the masters of our personal human potential. That’s flexibility.
From a young age, I subconsciously learned that there were sometimes consequences to my movements. Transitioning out of toddlerhood, too much wrist flexing in my gesturing as I spoke, especially with the palm downwards, would begin to elicit questioning looks on people’s faces. That, in combination with my tendency to arch my back, made some people feel quite uncomfortable with my atypical behaviour for a boy. I gradually learned that “sissy,” “effeminate,” “fag” were possible words that I could be described as some day. I eventually got better at not being surprised by these words. Some days you get bitten by a mosquito, and some days you don’t. Some days it stung more than others.
I am so grateful for the space that dance has given my “girly” ways of moving to be valued as “artistic” and “beautiful”. I would look at excellent movers of William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Batsheva Dance Company, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and see them move their wrists, their pelvises, their spines, their everything in ways that were curvy, flowy, soft, undulatory. In the context of daily life such movements could be perceived “sexual,” “provocative,” “gay,” etc. Yet these dancers were grounded, agile, peaceful, ready, sensitive, ready to attack, peaceful, and expressive. (...)
|
|
About Paul
Paul was born in Hong Kong. He's a certified Feldenkrais practitioner, JKA practitioner and therapist, and currently the rehearsal director for the dance company, Of Curious Nature, in Bremen, Germany. He graduated from Canada’s National Ballet School, trained at the Rotterdam Dance Academy, and then danced with IT Dansa in Barcelona and the Gothenburg Opera Ballet. Freelancing with Andersson Dance, he toured internationally and performed at The Barbican and The Kennedy Centre. He has taught Feldenkrais at dance companies and schools in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany, and now teaches online through Movement and Creativity Library, The Exhale for musicians, as well as his own private groups.
|
|
Resources
-
“Reducing Tension in Your Pelvic Floor: Feldenkrais with Deborah Bowes / Nervous System Care” video. Click to watch
|
|
FGNA's Email Privacy Policy
If you have provided your email address to FGNA or FEFNA, we may periodically send you information to promote events, products, or services related to the practice of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education, or based on the teaching of Moshe Feldenkrais that we think will be of interest to you. You can always opt to not receive promotions while maintaining your subscription to SenseAbility by contacting us at
* You may change your preferences at any time. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact. You can revoke permission to mail to your email address at any time using the SafeUnsubscribe® link found at the bottom of every email. We take your privacy seriously. Please read the Constant Contact Email Privacy Policy.
* Note: If you are a member of, or are certified by FGNA, you have agreed to receive email and postal mail communications from FGNA including: communications regarding your status, renewal deadlines, announcements and newsletters, learning opportunities, publications, and other information relevant to
Feldenkrais® practitioners and trainees.
Amazon Affiliate
The Feldenkrais Guild® of North America is an Amazon affiliate. Affiliate links may appear in this email. When you click on the link to purchase a product, FGNA may receive a portion of your transaction.
©2020, FGNA. All rights reserved.
The following are service marks, trademarks, collective, or certification marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America in the US: Feldenkrais Guild®, Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Functional Integration®, FI®, Awareness Through Movement®, ATM®, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher®, GCFTCM, Guild Certified Feldenkrais PractitionerCM, GCFPCM, Certified Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement TeacherCM, CFATMTCM, Feldenkrais JournalTM, Friends of FeldenkraisSM, and FGNA Feldenkrais Method Logo.
The following are service marks, trademarks, or certification marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America in Canada: Feldenkrais GuildTM, Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais® Method or Feldenkrais MethodTM, Awareness Through Movement®, ATMTM, Prise de conscience par le mouvementMD, Functional Integration®, FITM, L'intégration fonctionnelleMD, Guild Certified Feldenkrais TeacherTM , GCFTTM, Guild Certified Feldenkrais PractitionerTM, GCFPTM, Certified Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement TeacherTM, CFATMTTM, Friends of FeldenkraisSM , Feldenkrais JournalTM, and FGNA Feldenkrais Method Logo.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
