Tag Archives: digestion

Working with Internal Organs: No Guts, No Glory

I was lucky enough to do a day-long workshop with Elinor Silverstein at the 2018 Feldenkrais® conference. The subject was working with internal organs: “No Guts, No Glory.”

Feldenkrais training focuses on skeletal movement, so the idea of relating directly to our viscera intrigued me.

During the demo, Elinor’s fingers danced lightly across her client’s abdomen as she described the path. Then she led us through self-examination, recommending we use the pressure of “half a grape.”

Throughout, Elinor was bubbling over with infectious delight.

3D rendering of a male skeleton torso

3D rendering of a male skeleton torso

Elinor pointed out the open space in the middle of the skeletal model, where our internal organs nestle. It’s between our diaphragmatic arch and the pelvic bowl, and it’s huge! What an opportunity. And we lose that opportunity if we don’t help our clients and ourselves become aware of what’s going on there: digestion, elimination, acid reflux.

I’m not going to lie—feeling your way into the right amount of pressure takes practice. I did get nauseated during the first part of the session. But by the end of the afternoon, I was starting to get a handle on the Goldilocks pressure, just enough to connect and listen through my fingertips, and for my internal organs and tissues to listen to my fingertips. Closing the loop.

Fight or Flight

Vagus nerve vector illustration. Labeled anatomical structure scheme and location diagram of human body longest nerve. Infographic with isolated ganglion, branches and plexus. Inner biological ANS.So many of us live with the fight or flight switch constantly On. In other words, we live with lax vagal nerves. Our digestion suffers, and more.

Every Feldenkrais lesson offers the opportunity to tonify your vagus nerve. Notice during the next lesson you take how your breathing slows and deepens, how your circulation improves, how the floor beneath you seems to soften. All that is you shifting into para-sympathetic mode, rest and digest. Doesn’t it feel refreshing? That’s why you often finish a lesson feeling lighter, more cheerful, rested.

Connecting with the Vagal Nerve System: Enliven Digestion & So Much More

Ready to learn simple, potent techniques to help improve function of the vagus nerve system? Join us for this two-day workshop with instructor Elinor Silverstein, GCFP.

Vagus nerve vector illustration. Labeled anatomical structure scheme and location diagram of human body longest nerve. Infographic with isolated ganglion, branches and plexus. Inner biological ANS.This long-branching nerve system begins in the base of the brain. It travels all the way down to the bottom of your belly, touching and communicating with almost every organ on its way down.

Proper vagus nerve functioning is strongly implicated in physical wellness, emotional well-being, rest, and sleep. It’s essential for regulating your digestion and immune system, as well as controlling blood pressure and heart health functioning.

Did we talk about memory, short and long term? Yes, it is part of this, too.

WHEN: Saturday, January 25, 2020: 10 am-5 pm
Sunday, January 26: 10 am-4 pm

COST: Regular $275 (thru Jan. 5); Late $295 (after Jan. 5).
Register here on Brown Paper Tickets. Or send a check made out to “Dallas Feldenkrais” to: 3515 Cedar Springs Rd., Dallas TX 75219.

Email angela at dallasfeldenkrais dot com to request group rates for your staff.

WHO WILL BENEFIT?

This workshop is for:

  • Functional medicine and integrative medicine professionals
  • Feldenkrais practitioners
  • Osteopaths
  • Occupational therapists
  • Physical therapists
  • Massage therapists
  • Yoga therapists
  • Other somatic practitioners, including those who offer Structural Integration, Bowen technique, Body-Mind centering
  • Other interested health professionals who’d like to enrich their practice with these simple, potent techniques

WHAT TO EXPECT

You’ll engage in Feldenkrais Method® movement lessons and simple hands-on techniques. And you’ll learn the science behind it to teach you what you can do for yourself and to help your clients promote and sustain wellness.

Snacks included. Catered lunch optional.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Head shot of Elinor Silverstein

Elinor Silverstein, GCFP

Elinor Silverstein, an internationally recognized Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner , holds degrees in Biology and Zoology. In addition, she integrates the sciences of nutrition and movement biology into her teaching of the Gut-Brain Connection and Vagus Nerve System Health. Elinor has over 35 years of experience using the Feldenkrais Method® to assist people with their healing process as they deal with serious nervous system disorders—both diagnosed and undiagnosed. She teaches her Gut-Brain, and Vagus Nerve connection programs to medical professionals, Feldenkrais practitioners, and the general public throughout the world, while maintaining a private practice in Orange County, California.

Presented by Dallas Feldenkrais/ Dallas Movement Lab in partnership with Westside Wellness Dallas and SimplyAware.