For those of you who knew one of my earlier websites, you may wonder why Radically Transformative Fitness has been re-named Slowing Down Faster.
Learning (long version)
“[In the] humanistic conception, with its roots in the Enlightenment… education is not to be viewed as something like filling a vessel with water, but rather, assisting a flower to grow in its own way… in other words, providing circumstances in which the normal creative patterns will flourish.”
-Noam Chomsky, Chomsky on Mis-Education
What is learning?
What is improvement?
What is Slowing Down Faster?
by Edward Yu
Slowing Down Faster could be considered the art of learning how to learn or, put another way, the art of learning how to improve. Slowing Down Faster is in this manner a radical departure from conventional approaches to learning and improving because where Slowing Down Faster emphasizes exploration, thereby encouraging people to learn how to learn and learn how to improve, conventional approaches focus on mimicking and performing, which commonly results in trying to learn and trying to improve.
Continue readingLearning (short version)
“[Darwin] valued questions over answers, curiosity over conviction, and perseverance over test of ideas that were so implausible that other people never thought to take them seriously.”
-Frank Sulloway, Born to Rebel
What is learning?
What is improvement?
What is Feldenkrais?
How helpful is “expert” advice?
“To improve, we must first discover where we are contradicting ourselves.”
A short article on running (and a few other things)
By Edward Yu
Why is it that even after heeding expert advice we rarely improve? Is it because we don’t know how to follow directions? Do we simply lack the willpower to maintain a strict training regimen? …or is there a problem with the advice?
Continue readingA few words on Feldenkrais
“We have forgotten that the first maxim covered life as well as sport judo and few of us seem to have ever learned the meaning of the second (which means simply love).”
-Robert W. Smith
The Feldenkrais Method was born out of a childlike curiosity that all of us possess, even if it lies dormant beneath layers of assimilation to our fast-paced culture. Its founder, Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, exemplified the same fiercely independent way of thinking that we see in all great scientists, musicians, artists, writers, dancers and athletes—indeed, anyone who values exploration, uncertainty and playfulness. It is also the same sort of mindset that we see in infants, toddlers and young children and that we ourselves embody in our more spontaneous, less defensive and perhaps more vulnerable moments.
Using prism glasses to alter perception
When used in conjunction with the mirror technique, prism glasses can not only make you more comfortable, but alter your perception in new ways. The result is a new realm of possibilities for generating new neural pathways–ones that are divorced from habitual ways of perceiving.
Through the looking glass: simultaneous tapping can enhance optical illusions
Applying Ramachandran’s ideas to pain, stroke & neurological issues
Using 2 mirrors to work with stroke, chronic pain and neurological issues
Using 2 mirrors for stroke, Bell’s Palsy, chronic pain and other neurological issues
Working with 2 mirrors can quickly stimulate non-habitual perception and consequently generate new neural pathways in the side of your brain affected by stroke, Bell’s Palsy, chronic pain or other neurological issues.
Using optical illusions to reduce pain and tension while improving strength and coordination
Applying ideas from Ramachandran & Feldenkrais to pain, stroke & neurological issues
A little theory behind Ramachandran & Feldenkrais
Ramachandran’s mirror work when combined with Feldenkrais can be highly effective in dealing with chronic pain, stroke & neurological issues.