No. 14, December 26, 2017
THE WELLNESS SALON
Musings on wellness from Donna Simmons, Feldenkrais ® Practitioner
Weber’s law, also called Weber-Fechner law, is a historically important psychological law quantifying the perception of change in a given stimulus. The law states that the change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Moshe Feldenkrais stressed the need for sensitivity in the use of stimuli for improving behavior and function, citing the Weber-Fechner principle. Weber’s law shows that using less force allows for more sensitivity to our actual level of effort. Learning how to use just the necessary amount of force can help improve your day-to-day activities. Establishing the minimum necessary amount of stimulus to achieve the just-noticeable difference (JND) is crucial to the process of neural re-education since it recognizes the importance of the “big brain” in re-shaping well-worn behavioral patterns that no longer serve us.1
The changes in our environment such as injury or stress that lead to the adoption of counterproductive patterns are usually quite subtle, well below the JND threshold. That’s often how we end up with those unhelpful behavioral patterns in the first place. We also know that in a room full of shouting people, one more shouter will make little difference, whereas in a room of whisperers speaking slightly above a whisper is sufficient to be heard distinctly. Creating a space for neural re-education is the art and science of the Feldenkrais® Method. In my own practice, I combine this highly practical approach with several other modalities that I have found effective for problem-solving in the functional and physiological sphere.
Thursday, December 21, the winter solstice, marked the end of our planet’s inexorable march into darkness. At a rate well below the just noticeable difference, the days are finally growing longer. Hallelujah! And although 2017 has been marked by an outpouring of chaos, destruction, and despair, there have also been equal amounts of hope, compassion, and light. I propose that we focus on those things that bring us hope and ease. What have we got to lose?
It is in this spirit that I offer my wishes for an end-of-year celebration filled with love and laughter. May the New Year bring us all a sense of peace, health, joy, love, and laughter. May it do so gently and with kindness. May we remember to breathe deeply in both directions and accept our own self with love and then extend that out to others.
As Joseph Campbell said: “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” Enjoy being who you are without those cumbersome limitations, no matter how familiar they may be.
Namaste, Donna
December 2017
1Comprised of the brain together with the central and peripheral nervous
systems