The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion [Paperback]

Moshe Feldenkrais (Author), Mark Reese (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2002

Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc., a visionary scientist who pioneered the field of mind-body education and therapy, has inspired countless people worldwide. His ability to translate his theories on human function into action resulted in the creation of his technique, now known as the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education. In The Potent Self, Feldenkrais delves deeply into the relationship between faulty posture, pain, and the underlying emotional mechanisms that lead to compulsive and dependent human behavior. He shares remarkable insights into resistance, motivation, habit formation, and the place of sex in full human potential. The Potent Self offers Feldenkrais' vision of how to achieve physical and mental wellness through the development of authentic maturity. This edition includes and extensive Forward by Mark Reese, a longtime student of Feldenkrais, in which Reese discusses many of the important ideas in the book and places them in the context of Feldenkrais' life and the intellectual and historical milieu of his time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The heritage of Moshe Feldenkrais proves its mettle year by year, as his original vision takes root among the thousands of practitioners and students who carry his method forward. His often brilliant turns of mind are scattered among a handful of books left to posterity. The Potent Self is one of the most important."
—Don Hanlon Johnson, Professor of Somatics, California Institute of Integral Studies; editor of Groundworks and Bone, Breath, and Gesture

"The radical roots of Moshe Feldenkrais’ Method are clearly apparent in this book, displaying how his work evolved from his concerns about the deleterious effect of family and society upon the growth and development of human beings. Mark Reese’s new Foreword beautifully traces the historical and cultural context in which the book came about, and brings to life the current relevance of Feldenkrais’ thinking of fifty years ago. The Potent Self is still potent. It is well worth reading and rereading."
—Carl Ginsburg, Ph.D., Feldenkrais Trainer

"Moshe Feldenkrais has created a towering body of knowledge. There is no other theory or practice that delves so knowingly and deeply into the relationship between the body, its reflexes, its habitual levels of muscular tension, and gravity. Feldenkrais [is] as seminal to somatics as Freud was to psychology."
—Robert Shaw, M.D., Medical Director, The Family Institute of Berkeley, CA

About the Author

Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc., is the founder of what is today called the Feldenkrais Method. As a result of suffering debilitating injuries, Feldenkrais began an intense exploration into the relationship between bodily movement and healing, feeling, thinking, and learning. In the process of healing himself, Feldenkrais made revolutionary discoveries, culminating in the development of the method that now bears his name. There are two aspects to his method: an individual manipulatory technique of neuromotor education called Functional Integration and a group technique called Awareness Through Movement. His unique and subtle approach to facilitating human change and to improving functioning is spelled out in a number of influential books, including: Awareness Through Movement, Body and Mature Behavior, and The Elusive Obvious. Dr. Feldenkrais is also the author of a number of books about Judo and one of the first Europeans to hold a black belt in the art. Today there are nearly four thousand Feldenkrais Method Practitioners around the globe. His insights contributed to the development of the new field of somatic education and continue to influence disciplines such as the arts, education, psychology, child development, physical and occupational therapy, sports enhancement, and gerontology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Frog Books (November 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583940685
• ISBN-13: 978-1583940686
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent aid to improving the functioning of the whole self, April 21, 2005

By 

David - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion (Paperback)

I've had no experience with the Feldenkrais method, nor even any particular interest in taking any classes. My interest is in improving the general functioning of my body and mind.

This book provides deep and cogent analysis of a number of issues that I've not seen covered with such care elsewhere. Particularly interesting to me was the chapter on "Resistance and Cross Motivation," discussing the lack of clear, singular motivation in many of our actions that then manifests as resistance or tension. Performing actions well, then, is not just about working hard to overcome obstacles, but letting go of the resistance one creates in oneself.

Also discussed are issues such as compulsiveness, fatigue, the nervous system and its relationship to the muscular system, sexuality and its relationship to social integration, and of course a great deal about posture and about healthy physical functioning. Through all of this he continuously relates body to personality in many ways, making clear that what manifests as physical functioning or dysfunction -- the entire spectrum, from individual cell to mental health and even to social structure -- is of a piece and cannot be separated; e.g. "faulty posture can always be traced to those factors that cause increased emotional tone."

It's difficult to reduce this book to a simple summary; the ideas are both broad and deep and provide a lot of fertile ground for further exploration.

The book overlaps of course with ideas from other movement therapies. I thought that it went into more depth than Alexander Lowen's "Bioenergetics," and that it was more systematic in dealing with the mental and emotional roots of physical posture than what I've read and experienced in the Alexander Technique. Having no allegiance to any of these therapies, I'm happy to endorse "The Potent Self" as a valuable resource to enhance one's own self-awareness on all levels -- mental, emotional, and physical -- and it can complement many forms of self-directed healing. For instance, the ideas in the book are very complementary to the Bates Method of natural vision improvement.

If there is a drawback to the book, it's that the language can be a bit academic and take some serious thought to digest. But the value is in the digestion anyway.

Also, if you are expecting a lot of exercises, you'll be disappointed. There are a few things to try, but the bulk of the book -- and what I consider most valuable anyway -- is discussion of the dynamics that propel behavior and action.

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Not Impotent Self, September 22, 2003

By 

Eli Guy "Feldenkrais practitioner plus" (jerusalem) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion (Paperback)

When was this book written? "Before, during and after [...] 'Body and Mature Behavior', which was published in 1949" (quoted from the Editor's Note to the 1985 softcover edition). Already then Moshe was writing for the general reader, but at that time he decided not to publish this book before attaining the recognition of the scientific community.

The book's uniqueness among the author's other books is the emphasis indicated in the title: the nature of human sexuality, its hindrances and its potential. In this context his ideas acquire an additional sense of urgency. Like in all his writings, Moshe's perspective is unusually wide. Yet the style is highly concentrated.

We all know the "admirable saying 'Love thy neighbor as thyself' [...] Yet there is also room for the symmetrical saying". There is danger of such forms of love for the other which are in fact a compulsive expression of the anxiety in social relationships. What are the limits of human capacity? "Impotent rage and impotent love have a great deal in common. In both, the desire to do is excessive... in both cases ... "ought to" ... is more pronounced than "want to". This leads a discussion of

Spontaneity (as contrasted with compulsive action): "At root of all anxiety ... lies inner compulsion". Where is the borderline between automatic (reflex) response and free (learned) choice of action? Individual freedom is tamed by society. Society may punish heavily for deviations from its demands. "... we should not consider frigidity in women and impotence in men as physiological deficiencies, but as the result of successfully achieving a mistaken education". We are dependent. We strive at maturity. Maturity means reducing dependence. The game is not easy. A non-optimal result in maturation is always reflected in posture. "POSTURE is misleading; it suggests fixity", but in fact it describes "the use of the entire self in achieving and maintaining ... configuration and position". There follows a discussion of Body and Mind. "What is needed is a positive method of directing oneself... in short, the physiology of doing". "The cmpetent adult's action is so simple that he can never understand the complexity that bewilders the incompetent person".

It is at this points that the author introduces a discussion of correct posture and specific demonstrations of his method (which made him so famous). Then again Moshe turns to the wider aspect of "physiology and social order". In this context he underlines an aspect of sexuality which is "rarely recognized": the "regulation of the sympathetic-parasympathetic balance". A rare discussion and instruction of what is required for the improved co-ordination of abdomen, pelvis and head is one of the highlights of the book.
Moshe concludes with "a little philosophy": "Our object is to discover what it is that you really want". Some short examples of case histories follow.

To review Moshe's books is no easy task. If I have not succeeded in making you eager to read the book, try the book itself. Like all the Master's books it is this special mixture of a companion and instructor, rich in insights which have lost nothing of the originality with the years.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Potent (not Impotent) Self, September 21, 2003

By 

Eli Guy "Feldenkrais practitioner plus" (jerusalem) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion (Paperback)

When was this book written? "Before, during and after [...] 'Body and Mature Behavior', which was published in 1949" (quoted from the Editor's Note to the 1985 softcover edition). Already then Moshe was writing for the general reader, but at that time he decided not to publish this book before attaining the recognition of the scientific community.

The book's uniqueness among the author's other books is the emphasis indicated in the title: the nature of human sexuality, its hindrances and its potential. In this context his ideas acquire an additional sense of urgency. Like in all his writings, Moshe's perspective is unusually wide. Yet the style is highly concentrated.

We all know the "admirable saying 'Love thy neighbor as thyself' [...] Yet there is also room for the symmetrical saying". There is danger of such forms of love for the other which are in fact a compulsive expression of the anxiety in social relationships. What are the limits of human capacity? "Impotent rage and impotent love have a great deal in common. In both, the desire to do is excessive... in both cases ... "ought to" ... is more pronounced than "want to". This leads a discussion of

Spontaneity (as contrasted with compulsive action): "At root of all anxiety ... lies inner compulsion". Where is the borderline between automatic (reflex) response and free (learned) choice of action? Individual freedom is tamed by society. Society may punish heavily for deviations from its demands. "... we should not consider frigidity in women and impotence in men as physiological deficiencies, but as the result of successfully achieving a mistaken education". We are dependent. We strive at maturity. Maturity means reducing dependence. The game is not easy. A non-optimal result in maturation is always reflected in posture. "POSTURE is misleading; it suggests fixity", but in fact it describes "the use of the entire self in achieving and maintaining ... configuration and position". There follows a discussion of Body and Mind. "What is needed is a positive method of directing oneself... in short, the physiology of doing". "The cmpetent adult's action is so simple that he can never understand the complexity that bewilders the incompetent person".

It is at this points that the author introduces a discussion of correct posture and specific demonstrations of his method (which made him so famous). Then again Moshe turns to the wider aspect of "physiology and social order". In this context he underlines an aspect of sexuality which is "rarely recognized": the "regulation of the sympathetic-parasympathetic balance". A rare discussion and instruction of what is required for the improved co-ordination of abdomen, pelvis and head is one of the highlights of the book.

Moshe concludes with "a little philosophy": "Our object is to discover what it is that you really want". Some short examples of case histories follow.

To review Moshe's books is no easy task. If I have not succeeded in making you eager to read the book, try the book itself. Like all the Master's books it is this special mixture of a companion and instructor, rich in insights which have lost nothing of the originality with the years.