SoundBodies (TM) – The Feldenkrais Method(TM) with Elisabeth Reed

Elisabeth Reed, GCFT (Certified Feldenkrais^TMTeacher)

Elisabeth Reed is not currently taking new Feldenkrais students, but hopes that you will find the info and resources below useful.

A new way of thinking about your practice

The language of music is very physical; we speak constantly in terms of things like breathing, gesture and weight. Musical gesture, like physical gesture, can be initiated from anywhere we can imagine: from our breath, from our spine, from our feet, sitz bones, pelvis, or belly. The valuable thing about the Feldenkrais Method^TM is that it helps us discover many more options for initiating or refining a gesture, a direction for the phrase, or an emphasis. Once we are aware of how we habitually limit ourselves, we can begin to sense a whole new range of possibilities for creating and shaping sound through movement.

Like many musicians, I came to the Feldenkrais Method^TM in the course of dealing with a repetitive stress injury. The Method is invaluable for addressing such injuries, since it not only looks at the presenting symptoms but also investigates the underlying context of behaviors that produced them. Yet, while the Feldenkrais Method alleviated what was a potentially career threatening injury for me, its power as a tool for understanding those holistic contexts of movement and thought has been the Method’s greatest contribution to my musical life.

Since incorporating the Method into my playing and teaching I have come to believe that the benefits of Feldenkrais study for the non-injured musician, in the form of heightened musical awareness and skiff, even outweigh its more well-known role as an approach to free oneself from pain.

If you know what you’re doing, you can do what you want.

–Moshe Feldenkrais

About Elisabeth

Elisabeth graduated from the Semiophysics Feldenkrais training in San Raphael, California, in 2000, Elisabeth studied with Dennis Leri (one of Moshe Feldenkrais’s original students). She has worked with musicians from the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the American Bach Soloists. She has given classes in the Feldenkrais method at the Juilliard School and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as at numerous summer workshops such as the San Francisco Early Music Society Workshops and the National Viola da Gamba Society Conclave.

What Students Say...

"Elisabeth has been the single most influential person in my life for the past two years. I came to her with serious cello-related injuries - unable to play for more than a half hour per day - and through her expertise, not only in the Feldenkrais Method^TM but in how to communicate her extensive knowledge to others, I am almost completely healed. Elisabeth is one of those rare people who can uncannily read your mind and what you need with a mere glance, and she knows exactly how to get you there (and it's not always what you'd expect!). Her warmth and compassion as a person combined with her holistic approach to movement and music make her the perfect teacher for healthily reaching one’s potential, and her valuable lessons can be continuously applied to every aspect of our lives."

"Several years ago I consulted with Elisabeth when I was experiencing pain in my left arm after a period of serious over-playing of the violin. She had me perform various motions and asked me questions about what I was feeling, after which she made several simple observations and recommended several simple exercises to do at home. Two weeks later I was, incredibly, almost pain-free without having resorted to medical intervention. Since then I’ve been recommending Feldenkrais in general, and Elisabeth in particular, to any colleagues who’ve experienced similar issues."

"Thank you for the great class! I am now suddenly aware of all kinds of things that my body does when I play that have nothing to do with playing. I realized just now that whenever I shift I have to purse my lips first which, of course, makes me late. That's just one example. THANKS!!!"

"Elisabeth Reed's Feldenkrais class at the Viola da gamba National Conclave was a marvelous way to reconnect with what my body was telling me during a week of intensive playing. She created a climate of gentle humor and good information, making everyone feel safe and comfortable as we explored with movement. I'd take another class with Elisabeth in a flash!"

Learn More from Elisabeth

Shoulder work demonstration

Additional Feldenkrais Resources

Where are YOU? Martial arts, self-awareness and Historically Informed Performance

by Andrew Lawrence-King

Elisabeth Reed, GCFT (Certified FeldenkraisTM Teacher)