Comfortable Sleep Postures: Enhancing Rest and Recovery

Quality sleep is the cornerstone of overall well-being. In this article, we’ll explore various sleep postures and how they contribute to a good night’s sleep. A good night's sleep supports brain and heart health along with all the body's other major organs and systems. The way we position our bodies during sleep significantly impacts our spinal health, and overall restfulness. Having a range of comfortable sleep positions allows us to vary our sleep position, reducing pressure areas.  1. Side Sleeping: A Popular Choice Side sleeping is the most common position among adults, and for good reason. Here’s why it’s a comfortable choice: Spinal Alignment: When you sleep on your side, your spine tends to stay…

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To Stretch or Not to Stretch?

To stretch or not to stretch? That is the question.  Stretching is the most common way people improve their mobility. While it can be helpful, stretching is not all it's cracked up to be. Here we examine the pros and cons of stretching, including some common myths. We also consider some ways in which stretching could be doing more harm than good and some safer alternatives. Feldenkrais could be a safer and more effective alternative for some people. Stretching Following Periods of Inactivity When we have been sitting, standing or lying in one position too long, it is completely natural to stretch our muscles and joints. Any time we keep a muscle group in a…

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Why the Feldenkrais Method

Find out why we can all benefit from Feldenkrais lessons. Awareness is the key that opens the door to change. The Feldenkrais Method is a system of movement re-education, which improves the way we move, function, think and feel. It helps us refine and update our posture and movement habits by using our senses to discover more comfortable and efficient patterns. We sometimes call it movement re-education. For me Feldenkrais has been a surprising, enjoyable and life changing experience, enhancing the flexibility of my mind and body. Over the last 25 years Feldenkrais has taken me on an amazing journey through the inner world of awareness.  Why I Love Teaching the Feldenkrais Method There are…

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Medical Cannabis and CBD – How to Apply in Australia

Medical cannabis became legally available in Australia a couple of years ago. Information about how to apply for it has been slow in trickling through to the general public. A lot of people who could potentially benefit from the medicine are unsure about the prescription process or whether they would be eligible. Several people I work with are already taking it and most have been reporting benefits of reduced pain, reduced anxiety and better sleep. As you know I'm neither a doctor, not an expert on medical cannabis, however many people I work with have chronic pain, including neuropathic pain. So I have done some research and put together this information to give you some…

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My Journey with Feldenkrais

Growing up I was never well coordinated, or good at sports. My body wasn’t something I was paying much attention to. I certainly never imagined that I would become a physiotherapist and movement educator. In my teens I was far more interested in the human brain. I was fascinated by how the mind works and indeed I still am. So following highschool I studied psychology at the University of Western Australia. The decision to transfer to physiotherapy happened almost by accident. During my second year of psychology I decided to do a massage course, and discovered I loved working with my hands. Despite my general lack of coordination, I learned that I was a very…

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Beyond Chronic Pain: a Personal Journey to Create Healthier Habits

Physiotherapist Jodie Krantz shares her healing journey towards a more satisfying and comfortable way of living within with her own body. Retracing her steps, Jodie invites you to join her on a challenge to improve your own quality of life and perhaps that of your nearest and dearest. I reached the age of 50 with my body in a condition better than many my age. Being a Physiotherapist I had always done some form of exercise. My weight was in the upper end of the healthy range for my height. I didn't smoke or drink to excess - ever. I'd always watched what I ate and 'listened to my stomach', stopping when I felt full. I considered myself very…

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Flexible Habits

We all have habits, and some of them are very useful. Consider the way we can drive a car or clean our teeth without making much conscious effort. Other habits are not very useful or even harmful such as constantly hunching the shoulders or poor posture at the computer. Holding the breath is a habit we often consider to be bad, however even our 'bad habits' have uses. It's useful to hold your breath for example when you are diving underwater.   'It's only a habit - and a habit can be changed.'Jodie Krantz In Feldenkrais we are not trying to get rid of our habits, but simply to become aware of them, so that…

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landscape shot from middle of bitumen road with forest either side and mountains ahead
Now an open road

My Feldenkrais Story: Helen Pendlebury

For ten years Helen didn’t have a fixed address. She house-sat, stayed with family and friends, and lived in group homes. She also struggled on and off with chronic pain and mobility issues. She had tried Feldenkrais in the past and had left it behind due to shoulder pain.  More than two decades later, she found her way back to Feldenkrais and the effect on her physical and mental well-being has been transformational.

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businesswoman stretching after prolonged sitting at her computer and doing breathing exercises
A business woman stretching at her computer

The Risks of Prolonged Sitting

The Risks of Prolonged Sitting A business woman stretching at her computer Prolonged sitting at a computer endangers your health Do you feel stiff and sore after prolonged sitting at a computer for a few hours? Along with poor posture, sitting at a computer can contribute to Occupational Overuse Injuries. These were previously called Repetitive Strain Injuries or RSI. Neck and shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and lower back pain are common in people who sit too much. Screen brightness and constant focal length can also cause eye strain. Many businesses now offer ergonomic work station assessments to help reduce these workplace injuries. How many hours do you sit each day? Try this calculation. Consider…

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Lengthen Your Hamstrings

Lengthen Your Hamstrings Are your hamstrings long or short, tight or relaxed? Lengthening your hamstrings can help with running, kicking, sitting, bending and lifting more easily. Try this simple 'Awareness Through Movement Lesson' in the Feldenkrais Method to help lengthen your hamstrings. READ MORE about the difference between tight and short hamstrings. Lengthen your Hamstrings  A Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement Lesson by Free2Move Principal Physiotherapist Jodie Krantz KEYS TO SUCCESS Do all movements slowly and mindfully. The movements should be made as smoothly as possible and in such a way that they do not cause you pain. Focus on the sensations you feel in your body. Try to reduce the amount of effort you use. Don't do…

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a group of 5 men and women laying on their backs holding one knee as part of a Feldenkrais exercise in a big room
Awareness Through Movement Feldenkrais Lesson

Learning easy graceful movement through Feldenkrais

Feldenkrais is about the impossible becoming possible, the possible easy and the easy graceful. Difficulties such as aches and pains or limitations in our strength, flexibility or coordination can motivate us to find new ways of moving that reduce the strain and restore a sense of wellbeing.

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