Customer Reviews

The Elusive Obvious or Basic Feldenkrais

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This book was published in 1981, three years before the master's death. It deals with "simple, fundamental notions of our daily life that through habit become elusive". In his foreword, Moshe says: "The material is new; it is the writer who is older". He tells us: "This book may help you to a happier road in the direction of your individuality...". It is about the "how"s of his technique (both of the individual session and his group lessons), and deliberately not about the "why"s. Some of the topics discussed are: The Human Being as an organism - what do we share with organisms in general and how are we unique? * The unique potential of a really human learning; * A discussion of the biological aspects of posture; * A rare presentation of Moshe's insights about the body patten of anxiety. In his later years Moshe never lost his wit and his legendary perceptiveness. His insight and originality, his many sided life-experience, his deep empathy with his readers, shine more brightly and resonate more deeply than ever.

In my opinion, the most readable and interesting of Feldenkrais's books.
The best introduction to Feldenkrais work is really experiential but words can give context to experience and also broaden the range of that experience. This book offers that. It shows that Feldenkrais' interests were continuing to evolve later into life. The applications and explanations of his work resonate with me far more strongly than, say, the ones in Potent Self, Body and Mature Behaviour, or even Awareness Through Movement.
Those books have their own strengths(altough for me Potent Self and Body And Mature Behaviour are incredibly dull) but this book hints at a far more human approach to the work only hinted at in Awareness Through Movement.
There are some interesting anecdotes including an encounter with Heinrich Jacoby(whose work paralleled Feldenkrais's own) and the works of Milton Erickson, J.Z Young, and Schrodinger(amongst others) are reccomended.
For those wishing to experience the work find an Awareness Through Movement class near you(with a teacher you like) or try individual Functional Intergration sessions. To read Feldenkrais' own words about his method then his Awareness Through Movement book might be the first stop as it gives practical instruction and some of the theory surrounding the lessons. This should definitely be the next stop as, it is in my opinion a fascinating insight into Feldenkrais' thinking at a certain stage in his life and far more readable and enjoyable than any of his other books. It is sadly, out of print.

Oddly enough this genre is not my typical pick. Admittedly I read this book because a totally different type of guru recommended it for "inner game". He was particularly fascinated with the title "Elusive Obvious". In any case the book is written by the very talented Moshé Feldenkrais, who's method of awareness through movement transforms ones body into a state of total efficiency. He begins with walking through our earliest movements as infants, and how that movement ultimately creates our concept of awareness. Feldenkrais details his theories of how certain movements correlate with the nervous system. If your into Yoga or reflexology then you will appreciated this book more than me. As for my "inner game" I have learned that no movement should go to waste.

The book also has a pullout chart that illustrates the proper movements of which Feldenkrais speaks of in his book.

This book of The Elusive Obvious deals with learning new ways to change your way you move your body and learn to improve your life after having a injury or stroke sickness etc. He is a great author and great learning Feldenkrais method descriptions and about the author Moshe Feldenkrais.