ABM Movement Lessons

The Anat Baniel Method (ABM) of movement does not seek to cure pain, but rather to overcome the source of pain by teaching you a better way to move. ABM works with your brain to form new connections and patterns. These patterns not only help alleviate pain but also allow you to increase your performance, flexibility and overall comfort with motion. ABM tends to be something adults seek out when in pain, but is also successful with helping developmentally disabled children as well as athletes as a complement to the current fitness regimen.

  1. How ABM Works

    • The brain needs to learn new movements in order to correct painful habits. As your brain controls all movement, you tend to do what you have always done, correcting for pain by overcompensating elsewhere. This overcompensation often develops into bad habits, potentially creating new painful movements. ABM presents the brain with a series of options. By slowly moving your body through different ranges of motion, your brain catalogs what hurts and what does not. This gives the command center options when telling your body how to move.

    Functional Synthesis

    • Most ABM participants begin with functional synthesis, or FS. A professional analyzes your current movement pattern, trying to identify where some of your problems might be. You then lie on a table and the practitioner moves your body for you. The goal is to show your brain other movement options as the practitioner manipulates your motion from outside the brain body connection. This process also introduces the relationship between certain movements and other parts of your body.

    Transformational Movement Lessons

    • TML, or Transformational Movement Lessons, are usually group lessons. In these situations, a practitioner or teacher goes over movements with a group of students. These motions have been studied and often provide solutions to a great number of patients. The lessons are presented while encouraging sensing what your body is really feeling, visualizing what you want and thinking about how the movements interact. By working slowly through the process, it gives you time to develop a full sense of what is going on rather than just reacting to stimuli.

    The Evolution of the Process

    • The ABM method is the marriage of a scientist who is also a judo master, Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, and a dancer, Anat Baniel, who worked as his apprentice. Baniel wanted to find a way to bring the scientific breakdown of movement to the general public. She understood the importance of demonstration but believed it was important to share the underlying theory with those seeking relief from pain. After working with Dr. Feldendkrais with patients, Baniel went out her own to develop her own theoretical basis for teaching the process and helping clients through classes. This allowed her to begin to train new practitioners, expanding the reach of the program and helping a large number of people who would otherwise not have access to the process.