Problem Solving, Part II

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After my post here on November 16 about "Point of View and the Feldenkrais Method," which dealt with problem-solving (read it here), it's exciting to see this new article:

ScienceDaily (2009-05-13) -- Swinging their arms helped participants in a new study solve a problem whose solution involved swinging strings, researchers report, demonstrating that the brain can use bodily cues to help understand and solve complex problems.

According to lead researcher and professor Alejandro Lleras:

The new findings offer new insight into what researchers call "embodied cognition," which describes the link between body and mind, Lleras said.

"People tend to think that their mind lives in their brain, dealing in conceptual abstractions, very much disconnected from the body," he said. "This emerging research is fascinating because it is demonstrating how your body is a part of your mind in a powerful way. The way you think is affected by your body and, in fact, we can use our bodies to help us think."

Dear Reader: please picture me, a Feldenkrais teacher, doing handsprings and saying, "HA!"

Read the article here.

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Point of View and the Feldenkrais Method

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Words matter. Word choices matter.

The spirit in which words are chosen matters. It all depends on the topic and your point of view to determine whether the search for finer distinctions is an engaging exploration, or arbitrary nit-picking and hair-splitting.

So, I began to wonder about the distinctions between "problem solving" and "solution finding." Point of view, intention, and habitual ways of perceiving can make a big difference in whether, or how, you change your situation to the better. It's a similar stance to your personal view of "is the glass half empty, or half full?"

People come to me with problems. They have pain, or difficulty, or impaired function. They have a desire for things to be different, and better, for them. In part, the Feldenkrais Method shifts the attention away from the problem or deficit, and toward solutions. Not just "a solution," or "the solution," but to come up with multiple solutions. The situation improves, not by ignoring or denying the difficulty, but by working (or playing) with it to transform it.

Each Feldenkrais lesson is an experiment in problem-solving/solution-finding. Each lesson begins with a small, gentle, safe, comfortable movement of some part of your body. Gradually, you realize that that part of you is connected to some other part of you, and it moves, too. The task is to find the simplest, most comfortable, most efficient and economical ways to allow the movements to change, and grow. You don't have to figure it out on your own. Your Feldenkrais teacher guides and facilitates the process. You find solutions that work for you. Or, you begin to learn a process for finding solutions in the future. It's all good.

I find that focusing exclusively on the problem side of the equation makes the problem grow, and even multiply. People get stuck with a problem because they can't find a way to change it. I love the exploratory action of the Feldenkrais Method, because it accesses each person's curiosity and creativity. Some folks have not accessed their curiosity and creativity since they were small children.

The catalyst for the creative process is the question, "What else?" What else could you do? How else could you do it? For example: whatever you are doing, try doing it:

• slower
• faster
• smaller
• larger
• smoother
• "jagged-er"
• shorter duration
• longer duration
  
• looser
• tighter
• in reverse
  
• sitting, standing, walking, staying, lying down: on front, on back, on side (change your position)
  

Get the idea? Your actions and your thinking will begin to take on a Dr. Seussian quality: could you do it in a box? Could you do it with a fox? However, if you pay attention to what happens with each variation (your "results"), and incorporate what you liked best about each, something new will begin to emerge. Add the aspects that work well. Eliminate the aspects that don't work. There are almost endless possibilities and variations. You just have to take time to play to discover them.

All of this pre-supposes that you know what you're doing in the first place, before you start changing it. As Moshe Feldenkrais said, "If you don't know what you're doing, then you can't do what you want." His work incorporates a hardy optimisim that things can always improve. The Feldenkrais Method sees your glass as half full, and endlessly refilling. "Another round" is always on the way.

Rome Built in a Day?

"Rome wasn't built in a day."

I grew up on that proverb. My mother would say it any time progress toward a desired goal met an obstacle. I learned to have patience and a philosophical attitude toward life, and to value processes as much as achievements.

And now, someone HAS built Rome in a day. Read the story here.

How did she do it?

• She got a friend to help her. Projects are much less daunting when you're not alone.
  
• She scaled down "the ideal." It looks like her Rome fits on a table top, and she used paper and wood.
• She approached it as play, with curiosity. She didn't know how it would turn out.
• She lowered her standards. She created something that pleased herself. She's apparently not too worried about what anyone else thinks of it.
  

This story appeals to me because it resonates with the Feldenkrais Method. Although the work has many benefits for people who desire pain and stress reduction, and improvements in posture, coordination, and well-being, I also value this work as a method of learning and problem-solving. The Feldenkrais Method is useful for anyone who is dealing with overwhelm, or even with just "whelm." We have so much on our individual plates -- work, family, relationships, deadlines, projects, goals, physical issues -- that easy proverbs and platitudes lose their ability to encourage us. The Feldenkrais Method teaches a comprehensive approach for thought combined with intelligent action.

• The teacher or practitioner is not in the role of "therapist," but rather more like a tour guide. I'm there to help, to witness, and to acknowledge. I've got a map, and I know the landmarks of your experience. There's much you can do for yourself with this type of assistance.
• By "scaling down the ideal," the task, whatever it is, becomes more manageable. Remove your pre-conditions and pre-judgments, and see what happens. Many small steps lead surely to your goal. Celebrate each one. For example: you don't have to redesign your entire filing system TODAY. Spend 5 minutes trashing the junk mail. Want to keep something? Find, or make a file folder and file it. You've made progress.
  
• Get curious and "muck about." Experiment and explore. You will find unexpected resources as you go. You'll discover how creative you are.
• By "lowering your standards," you make space for change to begin. If everything has to be perfect, or nothing -- frequently you are left with nothing. Action stalls out under the judgement of perfection, and always comes up short. Anything worth doing is worth doing badly. After you have begun, you have surmounted the biggest obstacle. Improvement is inevitable.

Whether you are a skilled high-achiever at the top of your form, or a person with serious challenges, you can benefit from working with the Feldenkrais Method. As you become more aware of what you are doing, you become more adept, more adaptable, more effective. You can "build your own Rome," whatever that looks like. Let's get started!

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The Vital Ingredient

This man is Stuart Brown. He thinks you should play more.

He has devoted his life and career to researching why "all work and no play make Jack (and Jill) a dull boy (girl)." He's got some serious advice, with brain research, psychological studies, and hard data to back it up.

We've become joyless, wary, and guilt-ridden in the face of our obsession with hard work and problem solving. Without play, we're doomed to stay in the same rut. Play is essential for health and creativity. In fact, it may be the single most significant factor in determining our success and happiness. However, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, people seem reluctant to use this simple process for building a better life: make time for play. To watch Stuart Brown's TED Talk, click here. (Highly recommended!)

For something to qualify as "play," it must be purposeless, all-consuming, and restorative. Some people have forgotten how to play. We operate by the notion that everything must have a serious purpose ("What's this going to do for me? What am I accomplishing?), we are constantly distracted by multi-tasking demands, and we wonder why we're always worn out. We are sleep-deprived (there's another soapbox for another time), and we are even more play-deprived. We're willing to do anything to achieve "peak performance" and positive results. Anything, that is, except the activities that are most effective: rest, and play.

Nothing will inspire a chorus of "Yeah, but. . ."'s quicker than the suggestion that someone take some time out to rest and play. If you see yourself here, it's easy to get back on track. Classes and lessons in the Feldenkrais Method can reconnect you with your lost ability to play. Through the gentle, sometimes whimsical explorations of subtle movements, your mind and body gain refreshed focus, the ability to see fresh perspectives, and the safety to experiment with something new. Moshe Feldenkrais often exhorted his students to "play with this movement," "do this with the greatest ease possible," "do this as if you had the afternoon to waste." To reconnect to your body, your sensations, and your imagination is of vital necessity.

"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." The wisdom of this ancient scripture advises balance in all things, a yin and yang in a constant and dynamic cycle. Come and play with us!

To find a Feldenkrais practitioner anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, click here.

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