The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 50 no 1 April 2011

Focus: Ceramics + Body
Photos: Rachel Roberts
individual hands-on lessons called Functional Integration (FI) lessons. By participating in either ATM
or FI we learn how to refine and calibrate functional movement. Rolling, sitting, walking, falling,
arching, folding, twisting, turning and reaching become total body actions as we learn to coordinate
our muscles, breathing and intention. The lessons range from being almost meditative with minimal
movement to highly active lessons involving judo rolls and headstands. They constantly confound and
delight us as we find in our own physical movement answers to each of the lesson's challenges. The
Feldenkrais mantra is "less will, more skill" and this defines the method and makes it unique - so
different from your average physical workout.
Fundamentally, the method teaches us how to feel and listen to our own bodies. As young children,
this skill is integral to our survival, but as we age many things distract us from our bodies and we start
to disassociate our thoughts from our physical selves. "We act in accordance with our self image,"
stated Moshe Feldenkrais, founder of the method. If, in their kinesthetic image of themselves, a
ceramic artist has a spine that bends in only one or two places, offering no support for the over-used
musculature of the arms and hands, then that is how the artist will interact with their clay. If they
rediscover that their spine can be incredibly strong and supple and made for all types of movement,
then they will relate to clay with more flexibility, support and power. It is not about stretching and
building muscle strength, but about building a more intuitive, responsive and intelligent body. A spine
that has twenty-four vertebrae that all play their part in reaching, bending, lifting, turning, twisting,
pushing, and arching, is a spine working at its best.
These are all movements required by the ceramic artist to varying degrees within their practice as they
interact with their clay. However, no matter how brilliantly the spine functions alone, it remains underutilised
unless the rest of the body's musculature and skeletal structure is also present in its movement.
Like opening Pandora 's box, the Feldenkrais method guides us through a fascinating exploration of our
own bodies and how we move, and maps long lost movement pathways in our self-image.
44 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRil 2011