A recent thread on Feldyforum, the on-line discussion group for practitioners of the Feldenkrais Method, addresses one of the key assumptions of the Feldenkrais Method, and I suppose of somatic education in general. The assumption is that a human being, given several options for action, can be relied on to choose the one that is most efficient, effective, and well organized.
As I read this thread, I notice the omission of one important element, and that is PLEASURE. Pleasure to my mind is our greatest, surest guide to optimal function. Any organism is drawn instinctively to the manner of action or expression which is most pleasurable. And the most pleasurable way is invariably the most effective, the most efficient, the most conserving of our vital energies.
This relationship between pleasure and optimal function was made explicit by neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp in his book Affective Neuroscience. He wrote:
"A general scientific definition of the ineffable concept we call pleasure can start with the supposition that pleasure indicates something that is biologically useful....Useful stimuli are those that inform the brain of their potential to restore the body toward homeostatic equilibrium when it has deviated from its biologically dictated "set-point" level."
Recognizing the biological importance of pleasure can help us to understand and explain the assumption that we always choose the best way. It suggests that if we can, first, discover for ourselves one or several ways of action that are different than what we already know and, second, come to feel and acknowledge which those different ways are indeed more pleasurable, then we are on the way to meaningful change. After all, without pleasure, where is the incentive to change?
Long-time students of the Feldenkrais Method are well acquainted with this principle: Correct action feels exquisitely pleasurable—no matter that we may sometimes experience frustration, even pain, in the process of discovering it. (Some of you will share my fond memory of the blissful expression on Feldenkrais master Gaby Yaron's face, and in her entire being, when she used to pronounce some movement, "Genau Genug!"—exactly enough.) Overly forceful, misdirected action always lacks that pleasurable element.
To the extent that this ability to discover the correct action and to feel the pleasurable feelings that accompany it is generalized, so that we can go on to achieve it in any situation, we begin to enjoy full spontaneity, and full freedom of thought, action, and expression. IMHO, that's what keeps us and our students coming back to the FM year after year.
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