TESTIMONIALS > Feldenkrais | Pilates

Feldenkrais

“I have long sought a way to relax my body and mind simultaneously. Meditation, Yoga and plain old exercise all had their benefits but never struck the right balance. Upon the suggestion of my wife, I decided to try Feldenkrais. My preconception was meditative movement behind a more biological, as opposed to spiritual, principal. At only 31, I have recurring pain in my knee from running and a pain in my back from an injury that does not want to go away. Otherwise, I am very healthy but prone to hold a lot of tension.

After four to five sessions of Feldenkrais I noticed my aches begin to fade. Not in an immediate way like aspirin for a headache. It was a subtler loosening. My posture began to improve and I felt lighter on my feet. Truth be told, I am not exactly certain how this works. I will admit that I quickly came to believe in the concepts, as I understand them. The body has a natural construction that can skew itself throughout one’s life as it learns to compensate for injury, aging and stress. It can be taught to right itself. With anything potentially therapeutic, I feel belief in the system is half the battle.

Having only taken Feldenkrais for a couple of months, the movements still seem too subtle and arbitrary to fully understand. To me, that is part of the appeal. It allows me to give myself over without over thinking. I Trusted ö-Sel to know what she was doing and the fact was I always felt better. Ultimately, the greatest benefit was an awareness of my body that I did not have before. I pay attention to how things feel. I notice when my posture slumps and my joints tighten. I may not always lie on the floor and spend an hour righting myself, but I am no longer completely out of touch with my body. My body tells me in subtle ways that it appreciates that.”
Tim Dallesandro, Sound Engineer

“I have gained so much from ö-Sel’s Awareness Through Movement Classes. I have a new sense of softness and undulation in moving. Even though I am a swimmer and I have practiced yoga for thirty years, The Awareness Through Movement lessons have brought new awareness to all my other activities.”

“Experiencing Functional Integration Lessons with ö-Sel have been enlightening and at times emotionally moving. I have learned so much about my body and how I live in it. It has brought a new perspective on how I feel and think about the physical problems I have had (chronic back pain). ö-Sel’s lessons have given me a tremendous amount of understanding and physical relief.”
Donna Rini, Artist

“As a Marathon Runner I often run 5+ hours that not only challenges me physically but also mentally. Using the Feldenkrais® Method of Somatic Education has helped me to achieve greater calm and focus and has tremendously increased my body awareness both during exercise and in day-to-day living. The pains I suffered in my hip and back when I ran has also disappeared.”
Ben Navarrete