“It is not just a method of body movement, but rather an awakening

of resourcefulness and creativity.”                    Ruthy Alon

                                             

The Bones for Life^® Program

Bones for Life is a movement program based on the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. One of its foremost goals is to strengthen bones using the Feldenkrais tools of awareness and focused attention to affect beneficial, long-term change. Originally designed to halt and even reverse the deterioration of bone tissue, the program uses mindful exploration, pressure, rhythm, and vibration with particular focus on alignment, finding strength through organization and stimulating bone health. 

By restoring the uninterrupted transmission of pressure from feet to head, individuals are able to affect the regeneration of bone tissue. They are also taught to restore spinal movement which makes each step they take healthier and more productive. A critical component of the program is habituating students to the ability to fall in safety. Current studies posit that the ability to move and to fall safely has more impact on the health of bones than bone density. Students report reduced tension, enhanced posture and coordination, increased flexibility and stability, and.greater general comfort.

The Principles Underlying Bones for Life

Principles fundamental to the program include acknowledging individual differences and needs, finding dynamic movement in safety, and using natural, organic movement that the nervous system understands and recognizes in order to create what is needed for enhanced health and well-being.

Additional Benefits from the Bones for Life Program

There are many ancillary benefits for students of Bones for Life. They include:

• rediscovering one’s potential for natural movement and efficient coordination;
• enjoying a more effortlessly upright posture;
• restoring the biological optimism that is inherent in a reliable skeleton;
• deepening one’s core strength;
• organizing the body’s alignment to absorb and manage the transmission of force using a domino-like system of support;
• increasing the body’s resourcefulness in adjusting to equilibrium demands quickly;
• finding a new lightness and spring in one’s walk;
• calming down the nervous system and cultivating one’s inner focus; and,
• expanding access to one’s innate creativity.

How to Study Bones for Life in Charlotte

The program is taught in various formats. General Bones for Life classes draw from the 90 processes in Bones 1, Bones 2 and Bones 3 and is open to anyone interested in these explorations.  

Bones 1 classes draw from the 30 processes that make up that part of the program, which emphasize alignment and introduces the element of vibration. Bones 2 draw from the 30 processes in that part of the program, building in complexity and encouraging full body relationships in movement. Bones 3 draw from the 30 processes that make up that part of the program and includes both the most subtle parts of the program as well as introducing the pattern of falling to encourage ease in building a relationship to the floor within comfort. There are some classes in the Bones 3 segment which are only open to participants who have taken previous classes.

There is also a workshop format for Bones for Life (see Workshops) at various times.

Class size is limited. As each class forms, members are polled to establish the best day of the week and time for meeting. 

There is also a 4 day training program available (see Training Program) and Friday and Saturday workshops included during the training program (see Workshops).

Fees and Equipment

Classes are often taught in a series or workshop and run about $20 per class. A payment schedule can be arranged, if needed. For certain classes, students need to bring their own wrist and ankle weights.

Ruthy Alon, Creator of The Bones for Life Program

Ruthy Alon, a senior trainer in the Feldenkrais Method, has applied her experience of teaching the Feldenkrais Method  for more than 40 years to the challenge of finding a way to regenerate the vitality of bone tissue. She has taught the Bones for Life classes all over the world and currently trains and certifies practitioners to ensure the dissemination of her material to the larger public. She is the author of Mindful Spontaneity and creator of the video Movement Nature Meant.

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