The Story of FlexAware^®

“Why is back pain so common and so likely to recur after treatment?”

“If arthritis is caused by aging, as many people assume, why is it typically in one hip joint, say, or one hand, not every joint equally? Our joints are the same age, after all, and get the same nutrients.”

“Exercise helps some people with some problems, but makes other people and problems worse. Why?”

These are some of the questions that motivated Steven Shafarman to create FlexAware. Years of applied and theoretical research provided an answer: Each of us has movement habits, such as favoring one hand, that strain some joints and overuse, underuse, or misuse some muscles. The research also shows that each of us can move and breathe more easily, more optimally, and that the health and fitness benefits are significant. We invite you to join us in taking the next steps.

Steven Shafarman

Steven is a successful Feldenkrais Method^® practitioner, and has taught in Europe, Israel, Australia, and Argentina. He studied with Moshe Feldenkrais between 1976 and 1983, and was Dr. Feldenkrais' assistant and appointment secretary in 1981, the last time Feldenkrais taught in the United States. Steven has also studied many other approaches to movement education and healing. He is the author of five books, including Awareness Heals: The Feldenkrais Method for Dynamic Health.

In 1995, Steven designed and taught an intensive Feldenkrais^® program for long-term chronic pain patients. Participants had a variety of musculoskeletal and stress-related conditions, including chronic back pain, migraine headaches, and pain subsequent to serious accidents. As the participants improved, several tried to do yoga, sit-ups, and other exercises; one went surfing for the first time since his auto accident two years earlier. But each of them experienced pain after that extra activity. They asked Steven to teach them better ways to exercise.

They weren’t the only ones. Other students also had exercise-related pain. Steven began to question and observe more closely, and found that exercise often reinforces movement imbalances and flawed habits. Tight, overworked muscles get stronger and tighter. Strained or misaligned joints are irritated.

Seeking to help his students and friends, and himself, Steven set out to find ways to exercise that are more effective and sustainable.

Applied and Theoretical Research 

The chronic pain program was sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Regional Health Authority and evaluated by the American Academy of Pain Management. Using pre- and post-program questionnaires, plus phone interviews one year later, the Academy's National Pain Data Bank compared it with chronic pain treatment programs that utilized physical therapy, exercise, yoga, acupuncture, biofeedback, and psychological counseling. Steven’s program got significantly better results, at one-tenth the cost. Participants' medical expenses fell by 40 percent in the year following the program.

With David Bearman, M.D., the medical director of the Health Authority, Steven wrote an article about the program that was published in the American Journal of Pain Management [PDF, or reformatted at IFF Research Journal].

After Awareness Heals was published in 1997, Steven intensified his efforts to find ways to help people exercise effectively and enjoyably and with lasting benefits. He researched the way very young children learn and move. He reviewed basic facts of anatomy, physiology, and neuroscience. And he recognized the value of whole-body movements that are natural and comfortable, and that integrate seamlessly into everyday activities.

Steven taught the first FlexAware classes in 2001. He then devoted several more years to testing and refining the FlexAware movements and concepts. In 2006 he began to educate other FlexAware teachers.

Hundreds of people have now proven the efficacy of FlexAware for fitness, healing, and exercise.

Next Steps 

You can now experience the benefits of FlexAware wherever you are. No need to travel for classes or individual lessons with Steven or another authorized teacher. The basic movements and concepts are on the DVD you can order through this website. You'll also receive regular emails with supporting material.

Though Steven created FlexAware in response to his students' requests for better ways to exercise, he and they quickly saw that it is much more than an exercise program. It's a new approach to fitness that improves breathing and movement in everyday activities. It's the real physical education we didn't get in school. Perhaps it will be in schools someday. And in gyms, health clubs, and yoga studios.

The movements are comfortable. They help you discover what's best for you, your body, and your lifestyle, so you move more easily and effectively all the time, in everything you do. That's how FlexAware promotes healing and recovery. Perhaps your doctor will someday prescribe FlexAware for back pain, asthma, arthritis, hip joint pain, scoliosis, stress, depression, and other difficulties.

Perhaps, too, it will be widely available in senior centers. Seniors are finding the FlexAware standing and walking movements uniquely valuable for better balance, with less fear of falling, fewer falls, and fewer injuries when they do fall. You'll find those movements on the DVD.

For people of any age and lifestyle, for healing and general fitness and greater vitality, we're confident that FlexAware is uniquely effective.

Feldenkrais® and Feldenkrais Method® are registered service marks of the FELDENKRAIS GUILD® of North America.