It is at this point that Feldenkrais (relying on Grabher) brings about the most important connection—at least with regard to the Tin Man’s preparation for moving on behalf of Dorothy and the Scarecrow’s welfare (Grabher, 2010, pp. 8-9):
In final analysis, the only part of our being that holds a relationship with the external world is the nervous system-the senses and the rest of the body serves only as a means for action and information gathering. It is obvious that the head, bearer of the teleceptive senses, has active participation in all of our relations with external reality. Thus, the way in which the head moves constitutes the essential ingredient in our self-image, and the vertebral column lying below it has an equally important role, because it makes rotation possible in the cervical and lumbar spine.
These considerations show the importance of the skeleton’s role in our self-image. The head, resting on the pelvic structure by means of the vertebral column, is involved in every action–passive, active, or orienting–that relates us to the external world.
Yes, a clear and positive self-image is the key to Tin Man’s commitment to the welfare of his colleagues and to his upcoming courage and determination in traveling to Oz. It is when the Tin Man is feeling good about himself and his ability to be of assistance to other people that he is mobilized and empowered. There is no need for the deep analysis offered by Wilhelm Reich. A bit of oiling of the armor and addressing other elements of physical movement and balance can do the trick.
Self-image at the center of the integration
A more detailed description of the relationship between physical movement and self-image is offered by Grabher (2010, p. 10)
If one does a detailed examination of persons in this manner and if there are truly gross differences between their self-image and their objective performances, one can be sure that there will be truly gross defects in their control of those sections of their body. For example, people who habitually hold their chest with an exaggerated tightness, as if they had just exhaled, dis cover that their self-image of the chest is two to three times deeper than the chest actually is. Inversely, people who habitually have an exaggeratedly expanded, inspiratory chest position will underestimate the depth of their chest. A detailed examination of all the body parts yields many such surprises, particularly in the pelvis and the anal-genital region.
Once we come to see that one’s degree of self-control directly mirrors one’s self-image, we can understand why we find it so difficult to improve our bodily performance by focusing only on the learning of specific actions. instead, we might well surmise that to improve one’s self-image so that it more nearly approximates reality will result in a general improvement in one’s bodily actions.
Another perspective on this integrative dynamic is offered (Grabher, 2010, p. 4)
Download Article 1K ClubThe musculature is following a pattern dictated by one’s self-image. This uniquely individual pattern is felt subjectively to be both obvious and inevitable. This is because habitual patterns are imprinted in the nervous system. The nervous system reacts to exterior stimulation with this habitual ready-made pattern, for it has no other available pattern of response. In order to bring about the kind of dynamic change we are suggesting, these compulsive patterns need to be removed from the nervous system, leaving it free to act or react-not according to habit, but according to the given external situation.
