Functional Integration
In a one-to-one Functional Integration lesson, I use sensitive, precisely focussed and individually tailored touch-based strategies to encourage you to experience new ways of moving and being and to integrate these new possibilities into your everyday life. In Feldenkrais work we use touch and verbal instruction in order to communicate with your sensory-motor nervous system via your skeletal, muscular, and fascial systems. This process subtly stimulates any chronic contractions in your tissues to switch themselves off.
Improvements are usually noticeable by the end of your first lesson, and I will encourage you to be aware of those differences, and will give you shorter Awareness Through Movement sequences to explore as “homework” to help you retain the changes you are experiencing.
By unravelling your old habits layer by layer and uncovering the authentic self beneath you are learning a new way of being; more organic, more integrated, more spontaneous.
There is no speedy route to establish these beneficial changes in your self-use, and consistent improvement will come with regular awareness practise, and by making the commitment to focus on your self development and continuing growth.
…fortunately new students can usually tell very quickly if the method is working for them!
People often book private lessons with me only when they are newly injured, in chronic pain, or if they have developed a condition from cumulative misuse such as RSI, Housemaid’s Knee (Bursitis) and Tennis Elbow, however it is so much quicker, easier, and cheaper to prevent these problems than it is to cure them, so please consider coming to me for a short series of lessons before a problem has become fully established, when you are still just getting the warning twinges.
I am always happy to negotiate an affordable fee if that enables you to make a regular commitment, so don’t hesitate to talk to me about concession rates.
Because this work is about improving sensory-motor awareness it is also effective for people with more serious problems with the nervous system such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, or brain injury (including Stroke and Cerebral Palsy).
Call me for a chat before making your decision
You are always welcome to call me for a chat without feeling ready to make a decision. My Contact page offers various methods for getting in touch with me.
Feldenkrais Potent Voice
My Potent Voice training combines Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement and hands-on Functional Integration with the state-of-the-art vocal training techniques that have emerged in recent years, thanks to the more refined observational equipment available to modern vocal science.
My intention is to enable anyone who wishes it to develop a flexible, strong, healthy and fully self-expressive voice. Whether your interest is singing, speaking well as an actor or presenter, or freeing your natural voice as part of a self-healing or spiritual development process – and of course any combination of these elements – then there is something in Potent Voice for you.
Voice, Singing & Performance Coaching
In a one-to-one coaching session we can explore any and all elements of vocal performance, drawing on both my Potent voice work and fundamental Feldenkrais to expand your abilities in any area that interests you .
Self-Healing Training Sessions
I have refined those aspects of Awareness Through Movement that most directly relieve pain, and thus allow greater mobility throughout the self, and developed an individual process that can easily be taught online.
As part of this same project I am developing a course in Feldenkrais-enhanced meditative techniques, focussing on both pain relief and stress relief – as pain creates stress, and stress creates pain, these two are somewhat inseparable. New science exploring the self-healing potential of our neuroplastic and bioplastic nature means that the healing response, most often recognised as the ‘Placebo’ effect is becoming better understood all the time. The evidence is that the effects of stress on our health are global, and often reversible – at least to some extent – and the route to this shift is via our brain and nervous system. If we can unlearn our chronic stress responses we can reboot our own immune system and make valuable changes to our own health. This is more usually recognised as an effect of meditation, but the science supporting the benefits of “moving meditation”––Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and of course Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement––is growing at the same time.
I was particularly excited to discover Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais’ life-long interest in the potential of self-hypnosis – also known as ‘auto-suggestion‘ – as I discovered its value for myself back in my 20s and am very much enjoying developing this aspect of the Feldenkrais Method now.
I will continue to expand on these themes as this site grows. Please do not hesitate to contact me in order to chat whether or not you feel ready to make a booking. I am sharing a lot of background information on my FaceBook pages, so do have a look there if you want to know more about the science behind my Quintessensual Consciousness course.
*…although resting is vitally important to the learning process, for so many reasons it will justify a whole article as soon as I get a chance to write it!
Do not hesitate to call me for more information, or just to chat; you can connect by email, or using this contact form.
Private lessons on Zoom
All of the processes I teach are available online. I am currently using Zoom, which means that a recording of your lesson will be included in the fee.
I have decided to offer an online discount to anyone who needs it, rather than lower my standard rate for one-to-one sessions online, which is £80 for a 75 minute session (the extra time is necessary for discussion and feedback). This means my standard fee is only a “suggested” rate, and I am happy to accept a donation instead. I can accept payments via BACS, and, if that is inconvenient for any reason, PayPal.