Body and Mature Behavior: A Study of Anxiety, Sex, Gravitation and Learning

"Body and Mature Behavior" is a unique study of human development that is concerned with the relationships between movement, emotional maturity, and behavior patterns. Moshe Feldenkrais, the developer of the Feldenkrais Method®, was superbly aware of the muscular responses, tensions, and rigidity that lead to both physical and emotional problems. The book’s subtitle speaks to the primary themes of the book - anxiety, sex, gravitation, and learning. Feldenkrais outlines his primary topics in an intellectually rich and eloquent style. From the very Introduction, Feldenkrais delves straight to the heart of his case: a condensed description of the conditions of our existence, touching upon topics like neurology, prehistory, child development, individual-societal relationships, and more. A fascinating discussion of gravitation and the anti-gravity mechanism is followed by a discussion of the effects of emotion (especially anxiety and the attitude to sexuality) on posture and on personal patterns of movement. Feldenkrais speaks to the importance of acknowledging the inseparability of the body and the mind.

Read the Foroward of the original 1949 publication