bonafide motion {testimonials}
"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."
- Meaghan Buckingham
"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."
- Naomi Khalil
"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."
- Marna McGlinn
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.
Christine Soulliere-Horton
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.
- Mary Ellen Keyes