Functional Integration (FI) lessons are private, hands-on lessons that are tailored to your specific challenges, needs, and goals. Most lessons take place with you lying on a low padded table, but you may also be sitting or standing. During a lesson, I find the persistent movement and posture habits that may be interfering with what you want to do and harming you. I manually guide you through your habitual movement patterns and gently suggest alternative movement patterns to inform your nervous system of other options. Both of us pay attention to how your nervous system responds and to which patterns you're receptive at the moment. I think of an FI as a conversation between two nervous systems that are listening very attentively, using the language of touch and movement.
An FI lesson is very comforting and enjoyable. Some of your habitual patterns of muscular contraction may be so unrelenting, even when you're at "rest", that they cause you pain, exhaustion, weakness, and tightness. As the compulsive firings of your nervous system are quieted, these unintended contractions decrease. Your discomfort dissolves and is replaced with a growing sense of ease and pleasure. Your ability to try out new movement patterns and fire new neural pathways expands.
FI has the advantage of providing feedback and comfort through my touch, as well as addressing your specific needs. If you have serious pain, injury, or disability, you may want to try a private lesson before trying group classes.
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, and Guild Certified Feldenkrais PractitionerCM are all service marks, collective or certification marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America.