The purpose of this article is to reason about and shed new light on this important chapter about the brain (CNS), based on an expanded understanding of the original text.

So far, I have looked closely at a few paragraphs and find that my in-depth reading has added something essential to my comprehension of Moshe Feldenkrais's (MF) original discovery and path. Although it is basic knowledge that I learned from YR and is found in his authorship, I can now attribute it directly to the source. This direct attribution provides an authenticity I find necessary from a future perspective. Written text serves as more solid evidence compared to hearsay or even recorded lessons or talks. Maybe it will be the same for you?

I have revised the translation faithfully to the original wording because the choice of words matters, and I see no reason whatsoever to alter the author's intentions.

In some instances, there are crucial differences. I also reproduce the Hebrew text—perhaps someone wants to follow my line of thought? Another reason is to preempt criticism by offering clarity.

In the first pages of the original book, MF urges readers to study the theoretical chapters in part one to "give the reader a broadened horizon and a deeper understanding of the practical lessons, making the practice more effective."

These are not empty words. For years, I have been teaching advanced seminars to teachers who never opened the book and were not encouraged to do so during their basic training. Frequently, I’ve had to teach the theoretical ABCs of the models and witnessed the joy and relief when teachers finally understood what they were doing and why—not merely copying experienced or recorded lessons.

The book *Improving the Ability: A Theory That Can Be Put Into Practice* is written as a manual with different layers and approximations. It invites the reader to engage in the Feldenkrais inquiry. The book is for amateurs (someone motivated by love rather than money) and summarizes 1,000 lessons, which MF presents as 12 model lessons with extensive meta-comments.

I want to draw attention to the fact that it also reflects the many years of processes undergone by participants who learned with MF since he started teaching in the early 1950s. What he witnessed gave him the confidence to continue developing his discovery and publish it in book form.

The carefully written theoretical section, recommended to be read before engaging in practice, provides valuable information about what might happen when a student embarks on continuous exploration of lessons. This recommendation is reliable because the "how to proceed" and the "why" are explicitly justified and thoroughly explained. These processes have been observed repeatedly among participants over the years and represent a body of evidence, albeit reported in an undifferentiated way.

In 1981, 15 years after publishing the fifth chapter, Moshe Feldenkrais revisited it with a subtle hint in the additional title of *Basic Feldenkrais*: *The Elusive Obvious*. On page 44 of the first edition, within the chapter on Biological Posture, he reflects on Chapter 5, stating:

He writes:

“…I have discovered, through personal experience, a phenomenon which is now one of the foundations of my teaching. I believe that I have already mentioned that I badly injured a knee while playing soccer football in my younger years…

…The trauma of the good knee had somehow made the injured leg more usable than before; in fact, had it been as good as it was then I would not have had to hop. I thought that I might be turning insane. How could a leg with a knee that had prevented me standing on it for several months suddenly become usable and nearly painless? This happened, moreover, when the quadriceps of the leg had nearly vanished, as is usual in severe injury of the meniscus, and the thigh was visibly thinner. It seemed to me that the vanished quadriceps had become suddenly toneful enough to allow me to stand on the foot…

...Many years later, on reading Professor Speransky's book A Basis for the Theory of Medicine it dawned on me that changes like the one I had experienced can' be understood only by referring to the nervous system…

.… At the time of the injuries, it seemed to me a wild idea to even consider it possible to effect a change in an anatomical structure through an alteration in the functioning of the brain, which involves negligible energy, compared with one in the skeleton…

 …We need a more imaginative scientific approach to understand the whole interrelated functions of all aspects of ourselves, rather than just being content with some idea of localized function. It is a very complex problem, and we must prepare for more than one surprise before we have the foundations even on which to construct a building of knowledge and clear understanding…”

Many have documented Moshe Feldenkrais’s background, life attitudes, habits, achievements, influences, and friendships in great detail. Yet, in this article, I wish to highlight aspects that have largely been overlooked.

The story of his knee injury is well known—an injury so severe that orthopedic surgery was ruled out, leaving him to face the prospect of chronic pain and disability. The spontaneous phenomenon he experienced one night almost seems miraculous, even revelatory. As Feldenkrais described, this unexpected recovery occurred without warning, a rarity rather than the norm. Far from being mystical, it is now understood to be an organic instance of neuroplasticity.

Remarkably, Feldenkrais wrote about hope as early as the age of eleven. Read more in article 18)

Confronted with his inability to walk freely, he delved into Autosuggestion and Self-hypnosis, techniques popular in the 1920s. He concluded that imagination, rather than willpower, governs human behavior. In his Epilogue, he emphasized the importance of a singular, formulated thought—an idea that Chapter 5, *The Structure and Virtues of its Function*, mirrors.

The monograph was not available in English until 2013, a translation undertaken by my initiative. Feldenkrais had reprinted it in 1977 with a new foreword, but until the 2013 publication, its content remained largely unknown to non-Hebrew readers, including trainers, teachers, and students.  (See article 6.)

I believe that the delay in translation has contributed to misunderstandings regarding Feldenkrais’s early views—particularly his understanding of the subconscious, the image preceding action, and his distinctive approach to emotions

This gap has left room for misinterpretations, with some defining Feldenkrais’s discovery merely as movement lessons. From a Classical Feldenkrais perspective, however, his intention was not to create a sophisticated form of physiotherapy addressing isolated body parts or pain. Instead, he aimed to address the wholeness of the individual by leveraging the brain’s unique capabilities for abstraction and awareness.

Was his sudden recovery a coincidence? Or could it be explained by the fact that his brain was already predisposed to the conditions necessary for such an event? It seems plausible that his hopeful and solution-oriented mindset played a role.

But what more is needed to rewire a brain in a desired direction? What enables this transformation for many? How can one integrate and make such change habitual? I argue that both a solid theoretical foundation and highly skilled practice are essential—
Chapter 5 offers valuable clues.

Early on, Feldenkrais’s curiosity was sparked by the idea of proving that this natural phenomenon could be achieved consciously and systematically under the right conditions. His inquiry into the nature of action involved years of exploration, trial and error, knowledge gathering, and firsthand experiences. Ultimately, he developed a carefully honed method, replacing chance with reproducibility. Today, this method stands as a theoretical model with clearly defined principles, tactics, and strategies. Its systematic approach often leads to eureka moments, enabling individuals to integrate alternative habits into their life processes.

Feldenkrais demonstrated that the phenomenon, originally spontaneous, could be deliberately induced—a concept he termed "learning by choice." YR highlighted the scientific validity of this model, emphasizing its repeatability as evidence of its credibility.

Chapter 4
The Structure and Virtues of its Function
הַמִּבְנֶה וְסְגוּלוֹת פְּעִילּוּתוֹ — hamivneh v’sgulot pe’iluto

In the official Awareness Through Movement book, this chapter title is translated as Structure and Function. But the term virtue is omitted – even though the word virtue appears several times throughout the chapter.

I translate הַמִּבְנֶה (hamivneh) as structure.

A possible synonym is anatomy – but here, “structure” refers to the brain, not to the skeleton or mechanical associations. This chapter concerns the always-active, living brain. Moshe Feldenkrais (MF) sometimes also uses Mind & Matter or Matter & Mind to describe his method.

I translate סְגוּלָּה (segula) as virtue.

This is not a straightforward choice. The word segula appears in the Bible (Exodus 19:4–6), where it denotes “treasured possession” and is used in relation to the chosen people. But the word also has other meanings.

I am confident that virtue is the correct term here. I met Robert Alter  in Stockholm and asked him whether “virtue” could be used in a secular context to translate segula. After I explained the context, he agreed. Google Translate also supports this translation. (For Hebrew readers, I provide a link with more synonyms of virtue.)

According to its Latin etymology, virtue (virtus) originally meant manliness or courage. In its broader meaning, it refers to the excellence or unique quality of a thing.

Compare the original, more remarkable title –
The Structure and Virtues of its Function –
with the more common rendering Structure and Function – and ask yourself:
Why did MF include the word virtue?
It is not a parasitic word — not something superfluous or decorative.

Humbly, I would suggest that MF chose a word like virtue precisely to highlight the excellent functioning of the brain as essential to his path.

About the title Awareness Through Movement

The English title of the book, Awareness Through Movement, is inspired by Chapter 5. But remarkably, the phrase that many now associate with “the Method” was not coined by MF in the original Hebrew manuscript. It is a creative formulation by an unknown translator.

I find a certain irony in this. Yes, MF approved the title, but it is a product of its time – a zeitgeist, even a cliché – rather than a theoretical statement.

“Moving does not give rise to awareness.”
MF writes explicitly:
“The awareness correlates between intention to achievement.”

This distinction is critical. The English title has created confusion and led to fundamental distortions of the method’s essence. Many now confuse awareness with movement – and forget to articulate the mind.

On MF’s exactitude

It’s worth pointing out that MF was highly precise with titles and wording. This applies to his book titles, chapter headings, and paragraph names. I have compiled a list of all the paragraph titles from the book (not yet published), and reading it is like encountering a curriculum.

In article 4) MF's Clear Continuity of Writings    I have a longer discussion about MF's booktitles.

§1. The abstraction (ההפשתה) - the exclusive virtue of man.
§2. The structure of the brain - the personal nucleus.
§3. Cyclical internal impulses.
§4. Dawn of learning ability.
§5. The minutes of distinction - the property of man.
§6. Personal experience versus heredity.
§7. The concept of contrast originates in structure.
§8. Reversible and irreversible processes.
§9. Made at the end and planned from the start/ Last in deed first in thought
§10. Achievement does not indicate knowledge.
§11. The awareness correlates between intention to achievement.
§12. The awareness is not necessary for life.
§13. The awareness is a new era in evolution.

§ 9
Made at the end and planned from the start/
Last in deed First in thought
compared to
The delay between thought and action is the basis for awareness

This title is the same name as the title of the second chapter of the epilogue in Autosuggestion.  Read more in article 6). It is chosen with care, based on a long Jewish tradition to regulate life and improve life processes. This title and its profound meaning is reused after the content has been evaluated over 40 years by MF and still proved valid. It is not trivial. It is significant.
The translator invented The delay between thought and action is the basis for awareness as a summing up of the text of the paragraph. There is only a problem that it is not be found in the text... I take this to mean that
a) the translator is unfamiliar with the epilogue.
b) is unfamiliar and ignorant of the significance of the title.
c) does not understand what MF actually wrote. 

When I compare the entire Hebrew text with the English translation, I find differences both in meanings and in reasoning, which you can read sentence by sentence in the PDF attached in panel 5, one box for each sentence.

By using the same title, Moshe Feldenkrais gives a direct reference to how he developed the theory of his model from ideas written 40 years earlier. He continued to cherish Autosuggestion and his Epilouge throughout his life. In 1977, 10 years after this book was published, he reissued Autosuggestion with a new foreword by Kreitler's. Read more in article 5) § 8

MF refers to the Virtues of the Thought and the Brain, ideas developed over years, researched and proven to be reliable and repeatable with the power of will and by that manisfeted as a model of relearning.

What spontaneously happened one night with MF's knees (brain) became a theoretical and practical path for learning and later a profession.

We need to know and understand this continuity and the source of the knowledge becomes safe and reliable.

Thus, the ideas of Autosuggestion and the role of the unconscious are concealed in the English book and probably in all books translated from English instead of Hebrew. Because the book is used as a professional textbook as well as a book for amateurs, it makes the theoretical framework of the Feldenkrais Method unnecessarily difficult to understand. Furthermore, the text cannot be traced back to the source. The connection is elusive.

One can easily follow how Moshe Feldenkrais in his writings have a continuity, both in certain phrases as well reusing whole chapters. I conclude that it is a sign of approval and satisfaction, he saw no need for change or reformulation. This is well confirmed by Yochanan Rywerant. What is previously written in 1929, is still valid in 1966, when the manuscript of the book Improving the ability was completed.

The use of language was important to Moshe Feldenkrais and his Hebrew is accurate and precise and not archaic, something that has been claimed over the years. Furthermore, I find that Yochanan Rywerants precise use of language in his teaching, is related directly to the Hebrew originals of Moshe Feldenkrais’ writings.

§ 11
The awareness correlates between the intention to achievement

The translation of § 11 in the English ATM book reads Awareness fits action to intention

התודעה היא תיואם בין הכוונה לעשייה
ha´todah hi teum bejn hakavannah l´assiya

The key Hebrew word chosen by Moshe Feldenkrais is  תיאום - Teum - Correleate

To get an idea of the whole concept of awareness as it is intended in this classical sense, a further understanding of the word fits is asked for as teum is more to it than fits. The dictionary says: to match, to fit in, to correlate, to adjust.

In texts dealing with consciousness, awareness and wakefulness the word correlation is used. Awareness also connects well with adjustment. I chose correlation as neural correlation is used in combination and I find it matches Moshe Feldenkrais intentions.

Assiya is an action that has a definite purpose behind it.
My choice is achievement

עשייה - assiya - achievement

translates to: making, doing; achievement, work, performance.

I am influenced by an expression used by Karl  H Pribram, image of achievement. see panel 8