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Parallel to my artistic work I am a Feldenkrais practitioner.
Feldenkrais is a movement method named after its inventor Moshe Feldenkrais who was a judoka, a mechanical and electrical engineer and an assistant to Frédéric Joliot-Curie, to name a few. After a serious accident on his already injured knee, Moshe Feldenkrais was proposed a surgical operation with an estimated 50% chance of success. He preferred to avoid this operation and studied everything related to health and healing: anatomy, physiology, neurophysiology, psychotherapy, rehabilitation exercises, yoga, hypnosis, acupuncture. Thus, by treating himself, Feldenkrais gradually manages to walk again. He can even resume judo. After months of meticulous observation and exploration of the body, based on very slow movements, he discovered and refined a process of self-learning, inspired by that which children use to move and then acquire walking. For him, this awareness of the physical and cerebral mechanisms related to our posture and movements is a key to improving the harmonious functioning of body and mind.
For me, having lived with a chronic disease for 20 years and with chronic pain for almost 10 years, the method gives me options. It doesn’t make the pain disappear by miracle, no, but it has changed my attitude towards what I experience. I can now find moments of ease and happiness while moving and manage way better to know how much I can do and when I need to stop. If you want to know more, here you find an interview with me with an assistant trainer.
This video gives you an idea of what a lesson can look like. We call group lessons awareness through movement: through repetitive, playful, sometimes gentle, sometimes faster movements and during many small breaks, we explore movement sequences and refine them.
The lessons are guided verbally only and many of them are based on children’s movement development. You are invited to sense yourself and perceive all aspects that are available to you at that moment, making it possible to experience lightness, free breathing, stability and general well-being (the list can be much longer, depending on each person) that you can then integrate into your daily life.
An Awareness through Movement class lasts about 50 minutes, and if questions arise, I am available before and after the classes to answer them. To participate you will need a soft gym mat, which can be a little thicker, as well as socks, comfortable clothes that don’t restrict you, a blanket and a cushion or two. Blankets and cushions are available depending on the class location. Some sessions can also be offered online via Zoom or other software. In this case, you will need a mat or blanket on the floor, enough space around yourself (arms and legs stretched out without bumping into anything), a couple of cushions and a quiet setup with a computer with an integrated camera and microphone.
In parallel, there are individual classes where I mainly move the other person, which we call Functional Integration, and this class takes place in a separate room; very often lying on a table, but also sitting, standing etc., and lasts 45-60min.
Applications of the Feldenkrais method:
- Improved performance in athletes, actors, musicians, dancers
- Chronic back pain
- Signs of wear and tear of the musculoskeletal system
- Stress management
- Accompanying psychotherapy for psychosomatic illnesses
- Developmental delay and learning disabilities in children
- Rehabilitation of neurological disorders (f.e. stroke, Parkinson’s, MS)
- Prevention and health care
If you are curious and enjoy movement, are a musician, sit a lot, or if you want to move with more ease, you have the ideal ingredients to make the lessons interesting and meaningful for yourself.
upcoming classes:
* online or in person: on request, please write to info [at] christinaclar.net
* every 3rd monday of the month in vienna 7th district for functional integration: 17.3., 14.4, 19.5, 16.6.25… reserve your spot: info [at] christinaclar.net
*Awareness through movement classes (group) 06.Februar.-22.Mai.2025: thursdays 18-19h at Adolf Kolpinggasse 18, 9020 Klagenfurt.
I teach with alternatively with Annina Cerha, Jutta Kojalek und Erhard Klammerth (in person); class dates: 06.02.2025, 20.02.2025, 27.02.2025, 06.03.2025, 13.03.2025, 20.03.2025, 27.03.2025, 03.04.2025, 10.04.2025, 24.04.2025, 08.05.2025, 15.05.2025, 22.05.2025
organization & subscription: Volkshochschule
* Happy feet: Feldenkrais and hiking in the Ysper valley june 20-22nd 2025
Crammed into shoes most of the time and far away from our heads, our feet get little attention, even though they carry us through the day. Immerse yourself in a journey of discovery to your feet, a weekend off for you with sensing and savoring: gently arrive within yourself by learning to understand and feel your feet. A weekend of awareness through movement units, strengthening through mindful hiking in the magnificent nature of the Yspertal and healthy feasting thanks to the organic cuisine of the Landhotel. Observe how conscious movement changes the way you walk.
Course with three Feldenkrais “Awareness through Movement” classes, three guided hikes and a restorative yoga session
themes:
- perceiving your own posture
- less is more: how I learn to feel more of myself and at the same time strain myself less
- which axes are important for shifting weight when walking?
- activating weakened muscles
when: june 20th 1pm – june 22nd ca. 4pm (arrival is already possible on 19.6.)
where: Landhotel Yspertal, Ysper 1, 3683 Yspertal (only 90min from vienna & accessible via public transportation)
costs: 240 € course fee + accommodation: single room and half board from 246 €, double room & half board from 226 € p.p.
Course registration: yoga@astridwiesmayr.at. Please book your accommodation directly with the hotel at info@landhotelyspertal.at with reference to the workshop ‚Happy feet. Feldenkrais and hiking‘.
Course leaders:
Christina Clar is a certified Feldenkrais practitioner, artist and musician. She teaches Feldenkrais and music and movement workshops .
Astrid Wiesmayr is a certified yoga teacher, teaches Hatha, Yin and restorative yoga, Svastha yoga therapy and is a mountain hiking guide with the Alpenverein Edelweiss.
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