Feldenkrais Awareness & Movement Individual Sessions

What to expect In an individual session we look at how you move and feel, and seek to enlarge the space of your comfort. I will ask you what brought you here, and we will assess together where you are in your walk of life and how I can help you. Although words are an important component of our interactions, the real protagonist of a 1:1 session is touch, so I will ask you to lie on a padded surface and, fully clothed, I will explore the way your body likes to move and the ways in which it is not yet accustomed to moving.

This type of work is hands-on, and at the same time very different from physiotherapy or osteopathy. You won't hear your bones crack; I will not "go deep" in your muscles; you won't feel your muscles being pulled beyond comfort. One way in which Feldenkrais is different from other practices is that we look at you as a whole: pain in your knees could have to do as much with your feet as with your neck. Nothing acts in isolation.

A session lasts about an hour. I will also leave you with some practical elements that will help you carry the experience in your daily life: movements you can do on your own, or things to pay attention to. Wear loose, comfortable clothes.

After a session, most people feel more grounded, calmer, that they can stand and move with less effort, and that the pains they had come with are less intense. They feel like their nervous system is less on alert. They also notice effects in their profession and daily activities. The number of sessions suitable for you depends on what you are dealing with: a recent injury may heal in a few sessions, whereas it may take more sessions to get past a more engrained movement pattern.

Is this right for you? What does a mango taste like? You will never know until you put a piece in your mouth.
What does a 1:1 session feel like? You will never know until you try one.

There's a widespread belief that it takes force to release tightness, that we need to stretch and pull to restore our natural way of moving, but how is any part of you supposed to feel safe and change its patterns of movement under coercion and strength? It will only result in more contraction. Instead, a functional integration session works through respectful touch to show your body how it can enlarge its possibilities without dismissing its current way of being.

There's obviously no guarantee that an individual session will help you, but it's happened very rarely that a person came out of a Functional Integration session feeling no effects whatsoever. At the same time, these sessions are not magic, and I recommend you don't come with the expectation that it will heal all your problems. Healing is a process and, if I can, I will help you through it.

Group vs Individual lesson, which to choose? If you are new to the method, I recommend you take some individual lessons first, or shortly after you start with the group classes. Individual sessions are tailored to you, and will help you understand what you are looking for, how to avoid straining yourself without noticing; group classes put you in your process and are best experienced when you know already how to take of yourself, by yourself. Some people take a few individual sessions while they also start participating in group classes, and then continue with the group and sporadically with 1:1 lessons; some people only ever get individual sessions.

There's nothing wrong with you In a Feldenkrais lesson you are never just a body: you are always an inseparable mash-up of movement, thoughts, emotions, and sensations. None of your limbs acts in isolation. I will also never assume that you have something wrong, or something to fix. Instead, I will work under the assumption that you are wonderful the way you are, and see how I can help you become even more wonderful.

Although many people come to individual sessions because of physical problems, a good amount of people also come to become more excellent at what they are already good at. You don't need to be sick to feel better in yourself, and you can develop tools to be better equipped in times of urgency.

Feedback from people I worked with

lala
Elvira

 

As someone who struggles with stress a lot, I was curious to see whether Feldenkrais could help me calm down and focus on the present. During my first FI session I was very surprised by how helpful the small movements and Stefano's gentle guidance were in keeping my mind from spinning. I had never thought of evaluating small daily movements - bending over my laptop, folding my legs when I sit down, my posture when I walk - based on how they feel with the intention of being kind to myself. After every session (of which I've had three so far) I noticed feeling taller and more stable in the way I stand and walk. Knowing now that I can feel so much more at ease by doing the same things in a slightly different manner has been my most impactful realisation from the sessions and helps me ground myself whenever daily demands feel like too much.

Fiona, master student in Development Economics

 

lala
Lavinia