Once More, with Feeling: The Magic of Movement and Emotion

This week was something truly special. In our online Feldenkrais lesson, we explored a beautiful lesson known as the Prayer Lesson. At first glance, it’s a simple movement: bringing your palms together and gently raising and lowering them in front of yourself. Seems pretty straightforward, right?

But what made this lesson so powerful wasn’t just the physical gesture—it was how we infused it with intention, a little like adding your favourite herbs or spices to a meal—suddenly, the whole thing becomes something more. We added feeling to the movement.

The idea behind the lesson is to approach the movement with a sense of gratitude, reverence, or devotion—similar to how one might feel during prayer. After all, many people practice some form of prayer or ritual, and if that’s something we do regularly, perhaps there’s a reason for it. Could adding that same sense of intention enhance our movement?

So that’s what we did. As we moved through the lesson, we thought about the people and things we’re grateful for: a photograph of loved ones, the feeling we get when we’re with a pet, or the feeling we experience watching a sunrise. Some of us drew on religious or spiritual practices. All the while, we continued the simple gesture—raising and lowering our palms—trying it in different positions: lying on our backs, sitting, kneeling, and so on. The beauty was in the variation, in how the movement felt differently in each posture.

The results were nothing short of remarkable. Everyone in the group shared how much better they felt after the lesson—calmer, freer in their heads, necks, shoulders, and spines. Some felt more grounded in their walking, while others described a sense of greater physical and mental connection. The most common feedback was a deep feeling of being both focused and relaxed.

It made me reflect: how often do we consider that how we move and how we feel are intrinsically linked?

Think about it for a second— have you ever had the urge to kick a bin when you’re angry? Or maybe jumped for joy when something great happens? Our feelings and our movements are deeply connected.

Here’s a little experiment you can try yourself: Sit down, hunch your shoulders, and round your back. Really slouch in. Now, frown. How do you feel? Probably not great. But now, while staying in that slouched position, try smiling— a big, cheesy grin. Feels strange, doesn’t it? Now, while keeping that smile, lower your shoulders, lift your chest, and look upwards. Suddenly, you feel better, don’t you?

This simple experiment shows us something very important. When we change the way we move, we can shift our emotional state. And when we change our emotional state, we can change the way we move. The two aren’t separate—they are, in fact, one and the same.

It’s something worth considering, especially for those of us who come to Feldenkrais lessons in search of self-improvement. One of the key principles of the Feldenkrais Method is that movement is only one part of how we see ourselves. How we think, feel and sense ourselves is equally important. To truly improve or make a lasting change, we need to bring our feelings into the room with us. It’s not enough to just focus on the mechanics of movement; we also need to be aware of what we’re feeling as we move, and how that shapes our experience.

So next time you’re practicing a Feldenkrais lesson—or just moving through your day—ask yourself: How do I feel when I move? When I move in a way that feels good, do I feel better in my mood? Could I like myself more? And, conversely, can I change my mood by shifting the way I move? Maybe I could like myself more by moving in a way that feels good.

Move Well.

James :)