To be Myself

This passage from Clarice Lispector’s A Breath of Life seems so fitting for the discoveries you’re making in class. Some of you have found that it takes much more effort to move when you freeze different parts of yourself, or when you clench your jaw to move your leg, for example. This is what Feldenkrais calls parasitic effort.

My dear friend Ursula has extended the idea of parasitic effort to include the wasted emotional effort we add onto situations, especially those beyond our control. I have found this to be an incredibly helpful frame, and I share it in case it resonates with you as well.

We'll continue to find and eliminate effort that is parasitic and zone in on effort that is productive in our work together.