No. There is no stretching or straining during an Awareness Through Movement lesson. “Less is more” is the approach for Awareness Through Movement lessons. Also, each class lesson is unique – you will seldom go through the same series of movements in any two classes.
In an exercise class, you become more familiar with movements you already know, and your muscles become stronger. During a Feldenkrais lesson, you experiment with new movement patterns, which improves your movement and function, while creating new neural pathways, so both your physical movement and your brain function improve.