Feldenkrais therapy in Kirkland when pain limits how you move
Feldenkrais therapy, as I use the phrase here, means movement (somatic) education. It is a way to study how you move, notice habits that are hard to feel from the inside, and learn other options. It is not medical treatment. I won’t diagnose you or treat a condition. If you are experiencing unexplained pain, please see your doctor first to rule out any serious medical issues.
In a one-on-one Feldenkrais session, called a Functional Integration® lesson, you stay fully clothed. I use gentle touch and movement to help you feel how your whole body takes part in ordinary actions, e.g. sitting, turning, reaching, walking, climbing stairs, or getting in and out of the car.
I am Laura Yedwab, a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, and I work with clients in person at my studio in Kirkland, WA.
Book A Free Consultation
Sessions are one-on-one, hands-on, fully clothed, and in person at my Kirkland studio
What is Feldenkrais therapy?
In a Functional Integration lesson, I help you notice how your whole body takes part in a movement or doesn’t. For example, I often see people who don’t use their glutes enough in walking and thus overuse their ankles or hip flexors. Once you can feel your habit, you can begin to change it.
The lessons are hands-on and often surprisingly fun. Each one is built around your own movement patterns.
— Moshe Feldenkrais, The Case of Nora (p. 37)
When Feldenkrais may be a fit
Feldenkrais therapy is a way you can learn to move with more awareness and less strain. Most of how we move runs on autopilot, so being told to “sit up straight” or “engage your core” rarely sticks. The change comes from noticing, in detail, what we’re actually doing.
Many clients come to me wanting to return to how they moved before the pain, but that way of moving is often what led to it. My goal is to set you on a path of continuing improvement, which has no limit.
How is Feldenkrais therapy different from physical therapy, massage, chiropractic, yoga, and Pilates?
I see this all the time. For example, Kate, an executive coach who was committed to her fitness, came to me with constant pain in her Achilles tendon. Her personal trainer and her doctor mostly suggested changing her shoes. She did, again and again, and it made no difference. The problem was how she moved. After we worked on that, she finished a ten-day trek without the Achilles pain.
What happens in a one-on-one Feldenkrais session
I’m not treating your knee, back, or shoulder. We’re improving how you organize your whole self as you move. As the movement improves, there’s often less strain on the part that hurts.
Why everyday movement habits can change
Our movement habits are learned. As a baby you worked out how to roll over, sit up, reach, and finally walk. Once each pattern was good enough, you stopped thinking about it and went on to the next thing. Those early solutions became the defaults you still use today.
They served you for years, but now (perhaps after long days at a desk, an injury, or simply getting older), some of them are no longer good enough, and you start to feel it as pain.
A Child Learning to Walk
What people often notice after Feldenkrais lessons
Movement is in everything we do, e.g. getting out of bed, reaching a high shelf, turning to check traffic, or typing at a computer. It is also part of every breath, every word we speak, and every gesture.
As moving takes less effort, people notice the difference in ordinary things. One client said walking got so easy it almost felt like cheating. Another client noticed they were no longer bracing themselves before climbing the stairs to go to bed at night.
What people often notice goes past the physical. They are happier and feel more alive. V. is one example. She came to me after breaking her back three times, in pain and afraid of what the years ahead would hold. After a couple of months, the change showed up first in her walking:
I no longer had pain when I walked. I went on a hike and it was longer than I wanted (like seven hours). My legs were a bit sore, but it was only when I got back to the car, did I think, “Holy Cow, I just walked for seven hours.”
However, what surprised her most was the reduction of fear:
There used to be so much fear about what was going to happen. If I was in so much pain at 40, what would my life be like at 60? That psychological issue is now gone. Feldenkrais was like having the sun come out.
How much and how quickly the change occurs is different for everyone. But it’s common for people to find they can do things they’d given up on. V. is one of many; you can read other clients’ stories in their own words.
Why I became a Feldenkrais practitioner
I worked with several physical therapists for over two years. They all agreed that my glutes were weak and that my hamstrings were doing too much of the work. They prescribed exercises to strengthen my glutes. I did the exercises daily. But no matter how much I strengthened my glutes, my movement patterns stayed the same. On the court, I kept overusing my hamstrings. Though physical therapy was helpful, it was not enough.
Finally, a friend convinced me to try Feldenkrais. After only a few sessions, I noticed improvements. I discovered how to engage my glutes while playing and they became stronger. Since I stopped overusing my hamstrings, they were able to recover. My movements became more powerful and fluid. And I was winning more games!
Even after my hamstrings stopped being an issue, I kept going. My posture and overall sense of ease improved, and I was inspired enough to become a practitioner. I joined a four-year, Guild-accredited program and became a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner (GCFP). I love sharing what I’ve learned with my clients.
Laura Playing Racquetball
See if Feldenkrais therapy is a fit for you
If pain has been limiting what you do, the free consultation is a simple way to see whether this kind of movement education makes sense for you.
Sessions are in person at my Kirkland studio. There is no diagnosis, no treatment, and no commitment.