Working in Movement

Paying Attention Can Change Things Hakomi is a body-oriented form of psychotherapy that I don't know much about. I stumbled upon the text of a speech, Mindfulness and Renowned Research, on the Hakomi Institute site while doing a Google search for "neuroplasticity and feldenkrais." Like the Feldenkrais Method that I practice, Hakomi seems to be a relatively recent development that resists easy classification. In other words, it seems to be out of the scientific mainstream. Perhaps there is discussion about getting it more recognition from the sciences. Almost a the beginning the speech cautions:

...we must take great care to avoid the long-standing psychological tradition of putting our energies into trying to appear as scientific as possible, and, in so doing, watering down our own concepts in order to adapt them to the so-called "hard" sciences. This is usually done ... in the hope of being acknowledged.[Halko Weiss]

I can imagine similar, if not identical, statements at a Feldenkrais meeting.

The major points that emerge after this caution focus on how the practice of mindfulness is a crucial element in changing individual self-organization and, presumably, behavior. Neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to remodel itself is a key element:

The research shows that experiences actually rebuild and remodel the brain continuously as we have the experiences. Experiences therefore have a direct influence on the creation of individual brain architecture. Consequently, we must view the brain not as some fixed object, but as a life-long construction site. Neurons are in a permanent process of reconnecting and rewiring depending on their use. The intensity of synaptic links and pathways are strengthened when they are used often, and they deteriorate when hardly used at all.[Halko Weiss]