Moshe Feldenkrais

As in the case of Wilhelm Reich, Moshe Feldenkrais’s parents were European Jews—living at the time in what today is the country of Ukraine. Moshe was born in 1904 and was raised in Belarus. Having moved to Palestine in 1918, Moshe Feldenkrais worked as a laborer and began to study self-defense (including Ju-Jitsu). Following his subsequent migration to France during the early 1930s, Feldenkrais obtained a degree in engineering. He subsequent was awarded a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Paris. Marie Curie was one of his teachers.

Like Reich, Moshe Feldenkrais was strongly influenced by his encounter with a masterful teacher. In his case it wasn’t Sigmund Freud; rather, it was Jigoro Kano, a leader in the field of Judo. Having earned a Black Belt in Judo, Feldenkrais began to blend his engineering background (studying the structure of human bodies) with his Judo (studying human movement).  This exploration would soon be engaged in a different country. Like Freud, Feldenkrais, as a Jew, had to escape to England in 1940. He aided the war effort by serving as a science officer in the British Admiralty.

Feldenkrais’ interest in the interplay between the human anatomy and movement became more immediate after World War II, when a personal Injury led him to begin developing his own approach to rehabilitation. Feldenkrais began to offer lectures and training programs regarding his new treatment methods and published his first book on his method (Body and Mature Behavior: A study of Anxiety, Sex, Gravitation and Learning). In this book, Feldenkrais (2005) touched on some of the same topics as Reich. Like Reich, he also became interested in many other topics and theories—including those offered by Gurdjieff (a noted mystic).

In 1951, Moshe Feldenkrais returned to Palestine (now Israel, an independent Jewish state). He again applied his scientific knowledge to ongoing defense efforts (this time it was Israel)—and became the personal trainer of David Ben-Gurion (Prime Minister of Israel). Feldenkrais’ fame (and work) soon expanded—especially in the United States. He offered training programs in both Israel and the United States during the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.

The Feldenkrais method involving the gentle manipulation of the body had arrived—though it had its detractors. They were not as vehement as those who criticized Reich’s methods, but they still led to some push back from both sides of the mind-body debate. The widely accepted integration of physiology and psychology had not yet taken place. Moshe Feldenkrais died on July 1,1984 at age 80 in Tel Aviv Israel.

Similarities

There were several common characteristics in both the background and life experiences of Reich and Feldenkrais that helped to shape their perspectives and practices. First, they both claim a Jewish heritage—with all of its opportunities and challenges. One element of this heritage is the importance placed on the human body by Judaic theology. While Christianity tends to be enamored with the mind (and spiritual matters)—often pointing to the evil wrought by the lustful physical body– Judaism has always acknowledged the vital role played by our body in both the secular and sacred world.