Something is awesome in the state of Denmark
SCNM
The Scandinavian Center for Neurodevelopmental Movement (SCNM) is 40km north of Copenhagen in the small town of Fredensborg, Denmark. It’s a place for kids and parents to work with practitioners (like me) who facilitate learning through movement. And since I just got back from my first trip there, I want to share a few photos and words about what I experienced. Bottom line: SCNM and Denmark are awesome.
With a famously robust welfare state, Denmark consistently ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world. High minimum wage, high quality of life, good work-life balance, one of the best country in the world in which to raise children and be a woman.
And the municipalities in Denmark (which are like counties in the USA) provide funding for families of kids with disabilities to get training that will help them take better care of their kids. So SCNM provides parents and kids intensives for learning how movement + attention helps brains get more flexible and adaptable.
I was there for 9 days and worked with 9 different kids. Overall I did 42 sessions. Saw some kids once, some 12 times. It was by far the most intensive Feldenkrais work experience I’ve had to date, and I loved it. I’m excited to say I’ll be going back 3 times in 2025 to continue exploring and deepening the learning relationships.
Enjoy a few more photos and videos if you please.
One of the kids I worked with was Stefan. He was discovering and practicing supporting his head while standing on his elbows, among other things.
I also worked with Rita. One thing we played around with was shifting weight and leaning, which challenged her to involve more of herself in her responses to the world.
On my day off, I went to explore Copenhagen, and the highlight was finding a gluten free bakery that made fantastic sourdough rolls and CROISSANTS. You’ll see how happy I was.
This email is going out the week of the 2024 election in the US, so I currently feel a lot of uncertainty about the direction my country is going. I’m happy I’ll be visiting SCNM and Denmark regularly in the months and years to come.