Anat Baniel Method Neuromovement®

The Anat Baniel Method®️ of Neuromovement®️ is a hands on approach to applying the science of neuroplasticity using movement to address pain and limitations.

Based on the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais this method is focused on positive brain change to rehabilitate, improve and excel. Often described as healing and empowering, ABM Neuromovement® has the potential to shift you or your child’s trajectory from hopeless to hopeful.

THE ABM METHOD

The Anat Baniel Method® of Neuromovement® is a holistic approach to learning sought after to address neurological, genetic, and developmental issues, pain, learning difficulties, improve performance outcomes, encourage emotional variation and artistic range, speed recovery after injury and improve activities of daily living.

By first connecting mind and body through a sensory exploration using touch and gentle movements, a person is able to form the foundation for change, awareness. By learning how to change one’s movement habits, the brain rewires neural pathways to organize new movements. Learning and brain development is non linear and thus ABM Neuromovement® is focused on improvement, not on fixing problems. By improving what we are already doing well, we tap into the learning capacity of the brain. The brain expands and new neural pathways are created, this is the beauty of neuroplasticity. Using the vast variety of ABM of Neuromovement® lessons the brain is encouraged to essentially create an endless repertoire of information to pull from for any given task. By learning in this safe and natural process people are able to integrate these changes into life, building confidence in mind and body.

People have a tendency to focus on the problem, be it the pain, the injury, the learning deficit, or the developmental milestone that has not been achieved. In ABM of Neuromovement® these seemingly localized issues are not addressed directly. Instead a person is treated as a whole entity with careful consideration of the entire organization. The root cause is often far from the issue that is presented. A pain in a foot may be more related to a lack of rotation in the upper spine, the limitation may be in the organization of that movement rather than the actual parts themselves. A speech problem is often more about the brain organizing the movement of the mouth. An older adult who is prone to fractures from falls could improve not from strengthening the muscles, but again by expanding the neural mapping of these movements.

“Movement is utilized as a language to communicate with the brain.”

An Anat Baniel Method® of Neuromovement® practitioner will teach you how to move in ways that are easier, more graceful, more organized and much more intelligent. These movement lessons call upon the brain to upgrade in order to match the gentle demands. These demands are individually tailored to encourage success whether it be movement, performance or cognitive.

THE PROCESS

Sessions are typically conducted on a table, fully clothed in a quiet space. In time they may progress to be more demanding in sitting, standing, crawling or walking. Using a gentle touch a practitioner guides a students to learn to become aware of their own habits.

The practitioner brings the student only to places they can go easily. There is no stretching, no straining, and definitely no pain. This safe and gentle approach is essential to allow neuroplasticity to work. The practitioner will provide sensory input through touch or verbal instructions to bring awareness to certain areas that may have been “forgotten” in a particular movement, gently suggesting participation.

By simultaneously bringing awareness to parasitic efforts causing unnecessary strain, a student is empowered to change rather than shamed via correction. Throughout a series of lessons conducted frequently for 1-2 weeks, a student is left with a vast repertoire of movement themes that represent the brain growth that has occured invisibly. Following a series of lessons there is a period of rest for several weeks to allow these changes to integrate and become the students new automatic that can then be performed much more quickly and automatically.

THE BENEFITS

Students often report feeling more graceful, strong and in control. Parents comment on children who are happier, calmer and more confident.

Pain is often significantly decreased and abilities soar whether they be athletic, learning, or motor. The awareness and attention that is harnessed and strengthened in lessons begins to seamlessly blend into the world outside the studio.

Students report feeling much more focused, having less anxiety and sleeping much better. The reputation of ABM Neuromovement® has spread greatly by students astonishment of such huge improvements (physical and cognitive) with such little effort, which runs quite counter to our society’s inclination to push harder and go faster. Children who were told they would never walked have walked, adults who were told they would deteriorate at the hold of disease have flourished, limitations are discarded and possibilities are embraced.

BOOKS I RECOMMEND

BY ANAT BANIEL

• Kids Beyond Limits

• Move Into Life

BY NORMAN DOIDGE

• The Brain that Changes Itself 

• The Brain’s Way of Healing

BY KAREN PAPE | The Boy who could Run but not Walk

BY KIMBERLY JOHNSON | The Fourth Trimester

BY JILL BOLTE TAYLOR | My Stroke of Insight

BY TIFFANY SANKARY | Feldenkrais Illustrated: The Art of Learning