It's not always easy to describe the Feldenkrais Method that I practice. I've taken a stab at it in my About Feldenkrais post, and there are many other sources of information on the web and elsewhere.
The idea the state of the body's muscular and nervous systems are inseparably bound isn't new or information about it rare. And popular books like those from Antonio DaMasio throw in theories about the tie between body state and emotion. But sometimes information from other fields comes along that helps make some of the ideas a bit more concrete, easier to grasp.
A Look Tells All in the October 2006 issue of Scientific American Mind describes the work of psychologiest Paul Ekman. Ekman has been developing an inventory of facial microexpressions that zero in on the emotions behind those expressions. This is not to be confused with body language or the type of common sense that tells you someone is mad when his face is red. These microexpressions last a very short time and aren't apparent unless you're looking for them.
Ekman has been training law enforcement officials and others to recongnize these sorts of emotional indicators to avoid the so-called "Othello's error" - taking irreversible, later-regretable action based on misinterpretation of a person's emotional state.
But what I find interesting are some ideas from Ekman that Feldenkrais might have liked:
Ekman discovered another interesting phenomenon after spending the day in his laboratory trying to reproduce a convincing look of sadness: that evening he realized that he was feeling depressed. He then found that if he spent time engaged in imitating the components that make up a smile, his mood lifted. "That was like an epiphany," he recalls. It contradicted the naive notion that feelings originate solely in the psyche and that the body merely communicates them outwardly.
Ekman and (his U.C.S.F. colleague psychologist Wallace) Friesen were able to demonstrate that the coordinated tightening of certain facial muscles not only affected blood pressure and pulse rate but also could trigger the corresponding emotion. It seemed clear that a feedback mechanism was at work between the facial muscles and the brain's emotion centers.
Another take on this idea comes from, of all places, dermatology and the use of Botox. Eric Finzi, MD, PhD treated 10 clinically depressed patients from his practice with Botox injections. The Botox affected the facial muscles in a way that made it impossible for the patients to frown or assume a sad expression.Nine of the ten reported they were no longer depressed after two months.
"I think there is direct feedback between the facial frown muscles and the depression center of the brain," Finzi tells WebMD. "If you can prevent the negative signals that occur when someone frowns, the brain interprets this as meaning that things are better."
In Feldenkrais work, the effects of working with this sort of feedback usually result in a feeling of lightness and ease of movement, though other sensations and behavioral effects might pop up after a lesson. Interesting to see these sorts of ideas flowering in other places.