— What Clients Are Saying
"Rebecca is a master of her craft. I don’t think it’s possible to put into words how grateful I am for the role she has played in my healing journey. Her expertise in Somatic Experiencing and Feldenkrais, coupled with her adept understanding of the nervous system, served as the foundation in which I could finally heal my trauma. Rebecca not only provided a safe container for me to transmute my wounds, but also taught the tools necessary to care for myself outside of sessions. I would recommend Rebecca to all family and friends who are ready to make peace with their mind-body system, take back their agency in life, and experience a lighter, more regulated way of being."
"From the first time we met Rebecca, we realized her approach was different than anything we had ever experienced with traditional therapy. She observed and connected with our son Gabriel in a way we hadn’t seen before. She has been working with him for over a year now and she has become an integral part of his healing journey. He has developed a deep sense of trust with her which allows him to safely connect with his body and the space around him.
Rebecca has a true gift for helping kids and their families navigate the complexities that come with having a special needs child, and we are very thankful for her calming presence in our lives."
"My son, Naji, who is diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, works with Rebecca and has gained a heightened sense of his body mechanics. He has learned to engage his muscles and navigate space in an unassisted way. Each session with Rebecca leaves him stronger and more self- sufficient."
"The Feldenkrais Method® has greatly helped my eleven year old son. His sensory integration issues are decreasing and his confidence is increasing. With his practitioner, he has developed methods of coping with situations that had previously been overwhelming. His focus, acceptance of responsibility, grades & overall happiness are improved."
"Working with Rebecca has been an educational experience, taking me to places in my being and my body that I have never explored before; allowing me to be in control of my feelings on an emotional and physical level. She has a calming presence and I feel safe in the environment she provides. At first, the sessions proved to be challenging, because I was discovering and focusing on parts of my body that were tense and veiled - trying to manifest ease and comfort with little effort. It reteaches the brain how to connect to these parts of the body, but the more you do it, the easier and more seamless these movements become and the better you get at recognizing parts of your body that you wish to change."
"Rebecca is truly a gift. Her extensive knowledge and experience in dealing with the nervous system, coupled with her compassionate and thought-provoking approach, has helped me in ways I didn't think were possible. She has taught me how to tune into my body and calm my nervous system while simultaneously recognizing why certain experiences ignite my fight-or-flight response. Rebecca gets down to the root of the trauma, patterns, and behavior, which provides clarity, comfort, and a path forward for someone working to heal."
Steele was born at 30 weeks gestation. The first 9 weeks of his life were spent in the NICU. The first 8 days of his life he was on ecmo and had several complications. He had a stroke while on ecmo and has damage to 95% of the left hemisphere of his brain. When he got the diagnosis of cerebral palsy the prognosis from the doctors was very grim. We were told all about the things Steele wouldn’t be able to do. He was sent home with a feeding tube, oxygen and having seizures several times a day, sometimes 10 an hour.
The first time we met Rebecca was on Steele’s 13th day home. Since then he has been doing 3-5 lessons a week. It’s been amazing watching Steele’s progress with the ABM lessons! It’s like every lesson is a piece to a puzzle of a skill, then one day it all comes together. Steele was able to wean off of the oxygen quickly. He started breastfeeding within a few weeks, and with Rebecca’s encouragement, we were able to make it to breastfeeding full-time with no bottles or feeding tube. Steele was on 3 anti-convulsants when he came home, we were able to wean those off and he has been seizure free for over a year and a half. He is now 27 months old and is starting to take steps independently, his speech is rapidly progressing and he continues to gain new skills almost daily.
We recently had a 2 year check up with his original NICU doctors and they are in total shock at how well Steele is doing! They’ve admitted that they never thought he would be the way he is today. Rebecca is one of the most kind hearted people I have ever met. It’s been such a comfort knowing she is helping Steele in such dramatic ways. I will be forever grateful she is in our lives.
Why I like the Feldenkrais Method
I retired 3 years ago after 36 years as an Occupational Therapist working with injured people and I went back to “school”, a Feldenkrais movement education and body awareness “school” that is creating better connections between my brain and body and thus more efficient, pain free movement. A brain is a terrible thing to waste. I like to learn and I like these classes, usually attending 3 times per week.
Movement is life but when old sports injuries and bad compensatory movements and postural habits finally caught up with me, I was determined to change this limping, downward spiral. In the past I had some experience with the use of the Feldenkrais Method with my patients and myself and was amazed at the positive results.
At first after retirement, I read my old and new Feldenkrais books, listened to some old tapes but wanted and needed more. I wanted a good teacher. I found an excellent one. For the past year, I have been attending Feldenkrais Awareness through Movement (ATM) small group classes and one to one Functional Integration (FI) lessons with Rebecca Roman, a guild certified Feldenkrais teacher trained also in the Anat Baniel Method.
What is this amazing Feldenkrais Method? Feldenwhat?? It is a neuromuscular method using ingenious, slow, gentle movements following verbal directions from the teacher to tune in to your body and learn to move efficiently and without pain. And it works. It is never too late, to teach an old dog new tricks. Feldenkrais is not Yoga, not Tai Chi, not a gym workout or therapy, but it is all about being aware of how you use and move your body. You have to pay attention and think and figure out things for yourself! No sleeping or relaxing in this class. You do not copy a teacher’s movement or do mechanical reps of a shoulder movement with no connection to the rest of your body. The lessons include the entire body in every action. You are given the tools to help yourself. After a lesson, I am very calm, all muscular tension is gone and I really wish I did not have to drive home. But I do and realize that I am easily turning my entire upper body to check traffic, lightly holding the steering wheel, have the radio turned off so I can integrate the lesson in to my brain and body and float out of the car and into the house. Simple changes in my movement patterns have taken away my feet, back and knee pain.
These lessons help the brain learn new functional patterns that your nervous system incorporates. A life without pain is possible but you have to use your brain. Forget about relying on the Advil, ice, cortisone injections and surgery. Use your brain to change how you move. Feldenkrais is not a pain management system. It improves your function and then the pain decreases. Taking Rebecca’s fun and fascinating Feldenkrais lessons I have eliminated 4 years of plantar fasciitis, 30 years of on and off back pain and sciatica and greatly improved the use of my right knee which had not been very happy and was getting worse. I now feel like I am in control and can make new movement choices. If I get a backache I know what to do, change my movement pattern and muscular tension, and/or hit the floor and do a Feldenkrais lesson and then get up smoothly from the floor with the pain decreased or gone. I also am now automatically aware of how I walk, stand, sit, drive, get up and down from a chair, climb stairs, swim, do Tai Chi and Yoga, garden and work on and enjoy our sailboat.
Moshe Feldenkrais said “if you don’t know what you are doing, then you can’t do what you want.” I know what I want. I want to move efficiently without pain. Feldenkrais lessons are the means to this end. Feldenkrais also spoke about the need to develop “flexible minds” as the objective of his work, and of the development of flexible bodies as a tool to that end.
I wish I had done this a long time ago. I am now starting to know what I am doing, and, hopefully, can soon do almost anything I want. I really like Feldenkrais. Thanks Rebecca.
