|
Curiosities |
We hope you'll enjoy!
Trout
|
|
Dear MaryBeth,
 "Tra
la, it's May,
The lusty month of May,
That lovely month when everyone goes
Blissfully astray. . ."
Camelot, "It's May"
Tra la, indeed!
Welcome to our May newsletter. If it's a month for "going
astray," how do you know when you are?
It's a month for mothers, and mothers -to-be.
It's a month for graduations, enjoying the great outdoors, and
beginning to enjoy the marvelous hydration opportunities
available in Houston's Humidity. May is meant to be enjoyed!
We hope you'll find much in our offerings this month to lead
you astray for awhile! Experience yourself in new ways, learn
enjoyably, discover new possibilities. It's our great
privilege to assist you in turning your intentions into
actions. Join us!
|
|
Return
to Feldenkrais Center of Houston Homepage
"Resistance is Futile. . ."
 Perhaps
there's no quotation from popular culture that will get a
bigger response. At the very least, it's guaranteed to smoke
out even the most closeted Trekkie. OK, for the purists,
here's the full quotation:
"We are The Borg, lower your shields and surrender your ships.
Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be
added to our own.
Resistance Is Futile."
Well, it's not a happy story, is it? Perhaps no other line
evokes a sense of utter hopelessness, the inevitability of
annihilation, the total loss, takeover, submission of self.
It is oblivion, death, nothingness. It's bad. What do you
want to do, what MUST you do? Resist, of course!
Western culture is based on resistance. Perhaps that's why
the Borg is such a powerful archetype of evil. It threatens
to destroy our individuality, our self, Life As We Know It.
The triumph of our world religions, political systems, staking
out the moral high ground, is based in the resistance of. .
.something.
It's interesting to note that Moshe Feldenkrais was one of the
first European black belts in judo, and was instrumental in
bringing Judo to the West. Martial artists do not use their
brawn to overpower an attacker. They know that resistance
wastes energy. Resistance makes one weak, inflexible,
unresponsive. Better to flow with the attacker, when he can
be overcome by his own actions.
When we're dealing with our own bodies, it might be useful to
take just a part of the quotation, out of context, "Resistance
is Futile," and remember the judo master. We come to find
that it's the resistance that is causing the pain, or
difficulty, or "stuck-ness." When we find ways to soften, to
allow, to follow our own curiosity, we lower the level of
resistance. We entertain a new possibility, something that
feels foreign, unnatural, strange. But different. Maybe even
better. We haven't given in to the Borg. We have given up our
preconceptions, our preconditions, all of the "shoulds" and "oughtta-be's"
and simply embraced what is.
In that moment of non-resistance, our true individuality can
flower. The "path of least resistance" can be a pathway out
of pain, into peak performance, and into your full potential.
How would your life change if you experienced no resistance?
|
|
Our Weekly Schedule
Awareness Through
Movement®
Classes
Tuesdays: 10:30-11:30 a.m.
@ MDAnderson
Place. . .of Wellness.
MD Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe
713.794.4700
I'll be subbing for my friend and colleague Nancy Wozny for
the next few weeks.
Classes are FREE to ANYONE
whose life has been touched by cancer.
(Turn north onto MD Anderson Blvd. off of Holcombe:
Turn right into Garage 10. Walk across the street and
follow the white awning to
PoW.)
Tuesdays: 12 - 1pm
@ The
Jung Center,
5200 Montrose.
713.524.8253
Taught by Team Feldenkrais!
Tuesdays: 6-7pm
@ The
Jung Center,
5200 Montrose.
713.524.8253
Spring series continues
through 5/15. We'll take a little break and resume 6/5.
(Our other venues continue, however--join us!)
Wednesdays: 12 - 1 pm
@
PilatesHouston,
Corporate Plaza II |3930 Kirby, Suite 102
(Near Kirby & 59).
713.528.2525
Come see our wonderful new venue Join us and bring a
friend!
Thursdays, 11:15 am-12:15 pm
@
NiaMoves in the Heights
3221 Houston Ave.
713.864.4260
LESSON OF THE WEEK:
It's "Balance in Imbalance,"
a fascinating lesson that will give you better balance, more
security and safety, and effortless action in any position.
- Balance in Imbalance (week of May 7)
- Who'd a-thunk it? (week of May 14)
- High Rollers (week of May 21)
- Summer Pre-View: You've got Legs! And Arms! (week of
May 28)
|
|
Return to Feldenkrais Center of
Houston Homepage |
Book Salon for Curious Readers
"Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain" for May 24
 Our
partner organization,
Mastery of Learning®, sponsors a book salon each month.
May 24, 7 p.m, the discussion will be on
"Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a
New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform
Ourselves"
by Sharon Begley
Sharon Begley is a science columnist for
The Wall Street Journal.
She was co-author of The Mind
and the Brain, a previous Salon book. She makes the
information easy to read and accessible for the average
reader.
Why bother to read it?
This is an accessible, meaningful, and compelling look at
our new understanding of how the brain and mind interact.
These are findings from a meeting between western
neuroscientists and the Dalai Lama. They addressed the
question, "Is it possible to change the structure and function
of the brain, and in doing so alter the way we think and
feel?" In short, the answer is yes. This is a good
companion book to
April's Salon book, Evolve Your Brain.
Read the review at Amazon.com.
Listen to an
NPR interview with Sharon Begley.
You'll see lots of parallels with the
Feldenkrais Method, and
salon participants will be invited to attend a FREE
Awareness Through Movement
seminar to experience the feeling of neuroplasticity in
action.
Save the date! RSVP to chris@masteryoflearning.com, and we'll
see you May 24.
|
Return to
Feldenkrais Center of Houston Homepage
Thank You!
and, it ain't over 'til it's over. . .
The Saga of HB 1883
Many thanks to all who expressed interest in the bills
before the Texas House of Representatives (in committee,
actually) which would have had disastrous consequences for a
number of legitimate professions in a misguided attempt to
regulate massage and bodywork as a means of curtailing
criminal activities, particularly prostitution.
Right.
We thought it was a bad idea, too.
Quite a few of you also phoned, faxed, and emailed the members
of the House Government Reform Committee to weigh in on our
position. And--cautiously--we can say that WE WERE
SUCCESSFUL! We created enough confusion, or at least showed
that the issues were much larger than the ones simplistically
laid out in the bills in question, that the committee has
decided to wait. Both bills, HB1883 and HB2957, are
languishing and look like they will die in committee.
During the interim session, the committee will do research,
hear witnesses, and explore the issues further in preparation
for the next legislative session in January 2009. We will
continue to stay abreast of the action in this area, and we
will continue to work to protect
Feldenkrais
practitioners and other movement educators, AND YOU, from
unnecessary, intrusive, and overreaching legislation.
Thanks a bunch. We'll keep you posted.
Catch up here.
|
|
All for now,
MaryBeth Smith, MM, GCFP
The Feldenkrais Center
of Houston
MaryBeth Smith is the Director of the Feldenkrais
Center of Houston. With over 20 years experience
teaching in university, business, and community settings, she
now uses the Feldenkrais
Method to help successful people in the professions and
the arts to achieve personal breakthroughs.
|
|
|
