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Anat Baniel
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Kids Beyond Limits:
by Anat Baniel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 out of 5 stars 293 ratings
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$32.51
Discover the revolutionary way to harness the brain's capacity to heal itself
Supported by the latest brain research, The Anat Baniel Method uses simple, gentle movements and focus to
In this supportive and hands-on book, Anat Baniel guides parents through the nine essentials of the method, each one designed to harness the brain's capacity to heal itself -- with remarkable and sometimes immediate results.
By shifting the focus to connecting rather than "fixing," this powerful yet simple method helps both children and parents to de- stress, focus, and grow. Most of all, the it helps all children maximize their potential, no matter what their diagnosis.
286 pages
27 March 2012
Product description
About the Author
Anat Baniel has established an international reputation for her work with special-needs children. Trained by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, a pioneer in increasing self-awareness through movement, she runs the Anat Baniel Center, a treatment facility in Marin County, California, which draws students and clients from all over the world. --This text refers to the audioCD edition.
Review
"This wonderful book illustrates how to engage the miraculous capacities of the brain to change and heal."
- Harvey Karp, MD, creator of the DVD/book The Happiest Toddler on the Block
"Kids Beyond Limits gives parents and others who care for special children new hope and a new sense of possibilities."
-- Arianna Huffington, AOL Huffington Post Media Group
"This accessible, insightful, practical book for parents of children with special needs will profoundly deepen their ability to help their children improve....Anat Baniel is a master clinician for children with special needs. The stories presented here are not exaggerations; they are triumphs from which most parents of children with special needs will surely benefit." -- Norman Doidge, MD, author of The Brain That Changes Itself
"I have observed Anat's work with severely challenged individuals over a period of more than two decades, and have witnessed transformations that are simply stunning. My hope is that the Anat Baniel Method will reach the greatest possible audience and that it will become a part of academic teaching, training and research programs in rehabilitation medicine and in physical therapy, and the sooner, the better."
-- Dr. Daniel Graupe, University of Illinois, Chicago
"Anat's work with children is magical. She's their brain whisperer. This hugely important work will free special needs children and their parents from fear and limitation moving them into a world of new possibilities and joy."
-- John Gray, author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
"Anat's work is wonderful and profound. Kids Beyond Limits does a masterful job of helping parents and caregivers help the special child in their lives. This is a book of great wisdom as well as deep appreciation for the great challenges of raising a child who has special needs."
-- Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul
--This text refers to the paperback edition.
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Anat Baniel
Anat Baniel is the founder of Anat Baniel Method® NeuroMovement®, a powerful practice that takes advantage of the brain’s remarkable ability to change itself for the better to heal body and mind. Over the past 30 years, Anat Baniel has helped thousands, from children with special needs to stroke survivors to high-performing athletes overcome pain and limitation, and reach new heights of performance, both physical and mental.
Anat Baniel was born in Israel, and she went to graduate school at Tel Aviv University to become a clinical psychologist. At the same time she pursued her passion for dance. She also worked as a psychologist for the Israeli Army for a number of years. While in graduate school, she began studying with Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais.
Dr. Feldenkrais was not only her teacher and mentor, he also became her very good friend. He was adamant that Anat do the work in her own distinct way, allowing her Method to develop and evolve uniquely and fully. His words to her early on were: “Do not let anyone tell you how to do your work.” And that included him.
Anat Baniel continued working with high performers such as musicians and dancers, with people suffering from pain or limitations, and with an ever-growing number of children with special needs. This combination of clients led Anat to have profound insight as to how the brain learns and changes. She developed her Method and defined the Nine Essentials that are required to drive potent, positive brain change.
Anat’s work is at the forefront of the emerging brain plasticity field, helping wake up the brain to its greater potency for learning and change throughout life. And anyone can benefit from the Nine Essentials, which is why Anat wrote her bestselling book Move Into Life. “You can begin applying the essentials as you read about them and begin experiencing changes right away.”
And after repeated requests from parents and students, Anat wrote her book Kids Beyond Limits. “It was the thousands of children, from a few weeks old to teenagers, whose transformations I had witnessed over the years through my work or through the work of practitioners I had trained, that compelled me to write this book.”
Anat has trained hundreds of practitioners in this Method. She and her team work out of the Anat Baniel Method Center located in San Rafael, California. For
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As Karen says the method does seem to have a reasonably sound basis.
However the "Method" comes in different forms and "value for money" may need to be assessed on a case by case basis:
1) Functional Integration - hands on therapy/lessons on a one-to-one basis. Costs vary considerably but skilled therapists do seem to get good results for many people. Others see little difference. Skills seem to be highly intuitive/trial & error so it can take longer than other therapies such as Retained Reflex which take a slightly wider view of brain development. To be fair Anat Baniel is honest about the trial and error nature of her approach but it may not suit those who prefer a more methodical approach. I met some people who had fundraised to take their children for weekly lessons over 4 years and were happy with the results.
2) neuro movement Lessons - group movement sessions which are similar in appearance to a yoga class but are said to aid brain integration and fine tuning of movements. Highly individual results. Free lessons on YouTube and magazine articles
3) teaching & workshops - quite a variation in cost. Some short sessions are free, but a 2 two day workshop on kids with special needs might cost $329+. The longer training sessions seem to have been videoed in full and can be purchased on DVD ($79 for the above 2 day workshop) so buying the DVD is better value and probably more convenient as you can watch it in short segments and not have to travel/find childcare (it was a live, almost unedited, video of a 2 day workshop). It also seems like the workshops were formulated a few years ago (based on the video clips) and presentation of the material "live" was highly variable in quality. The workshop I attended was very poor. It had less detail than the DVD and was presented in a very rambling way. People I spoke to who had little background on Anat Baniel Method before coming were left unclear about what it was about at the end - the DVD was clearer. Free workshops on YouTube also contained more info (maybe I saw her live on a bad day?) The PowerPoint hadn't been prepared specially for the $$$ workshop and it was really unprofessional. There was a sales pitch on practitioner training courses and DVDs before all the course material had been delivered which came across as a bit arrogant. I'd guess up to 10% of attendees left early and I didn't speak to any satisfied delegates. Overall I'd avoid any live presentations and stick to printed materials or DVDs - although even the presentation style for these mediums does require perseverance and a lot of time to understand the message. It might be quicker/easier to access Feldenkrais which isn't terribly different but somehow more accessible.
4) Practictioner Training - $20k or so plus expenses and 14months. Feldenkrais training is cheaper. Based on the workshop I attended I'd be loathe to sign up to longer training of unknown quality. It would take 300-400+ hours of treatment to cover the cost of the training (depending on overheads) which is not a great rate of return compared to other professions. Training used to cost a lot less. Probably best suited to wealthy Californians or hobbyist practitioners.....
Only you can decide if that's a scam.
My bias is that any method that leaves out the ego is not for me. Any transformation without ego involvement from my perspective will be less than if the ego were involved.
I cannot prove this objectively. I know it subjectively.
Best wishes.
It really depends upon the context from which you are asking. Whether this is a scam depends upon how it is being promoted for use. Certainly, the explanations are somewhat wrapped in pseudo-scientific jargon and the neurological equation is somewhat misrepresented, but that does not mean this approach lacks value for physical therapy or for muscle development, especially among children with special needs.
I see that you have tagged "cancer" with this question. If this method is being promoted as anything like a cure for cancer, it would clearly be a scam. But if it is being promoted as a way to deal with pain or muscle atrophy, as a palliative aid, then it does not seem like a scam. Of course, scam or not, your mileage will vary.
With as much research as I'm willing to give it, I'd lean toward "no, it is not a scam."
I know a little about Feldenkrais, and I know it has worked miracles for some people. If Anat Baniel's method is based on Feldenkrais+, I can imagine it working quite well, for those people who are willing to do the work.
There will be a huge gap in that last part. "Willing to do the work."
When I look at this page: The Nine Essentials, it all makes sense. The Egoscue pain method works in this space (he may not agree, but I'm painting with a broad brush).
I've done Shiva Nata a few times and it kicked my brain's butt.
This stuff CAN work, for a LOT of situations.
Collectively, these types of interventions run the risk of being oversold as a solution for ALL problems. I've run into some practitioners who claimed to be able to fix problems that, IMO, only surgery would fix; suppose it's all a mindset and I'm wired for Western medicine. Some practitioners are also not as well trained as they could be; Reiki is, IMO, polluted with "masters" who are, again IMO, not.
Kinda depends on how much she's charging, what you're willing to spend, and how many times you've been told "there's nothing wrong with you" or "we can't fix that" in a regular MDs office...
AFAIK the Anat Baniel method is basically the Feldenkraise method which is definitely NOT a scam.
