Moving Awareness

6/25/10 news update:

Welcome to Moving Awareness!  It’s summer and it’s sunny, breezy, and beautiful most days in my sunroom teaching studio in Eagan, Minnesota.  Please scroll down for the most up-to-date information about studying Feldenkrais with me, including:

• Expanded hours: Wednesday afternoons from 2:00-6:00 PM are now available for individual, hands-on Functional Integration (FI) lessons.  I teach FI Tuesdays 9-9, Wednesdays 2-6, Thursdays 10-9, and Sundays 9-1.
• Feldenkrais for children: This summer I am welcoming children into my private practice by offering a low-fee intensive program for children with neuromuscular challenges caused by cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, developmental disorders, brain trauma, and similar conditions, as well as children with autism spectrum disorders, and any child wanting to improve his or her attention, coordination, skill, and confidence.   I am happy to speak with parents by phone (917-575-7380) or e-mail (nick@movingawareness.com) about what Feldenkrais can do for their children.  More details are below.
• Registration is now open for the summer quarter of my ongoing Awareness Through Movement classes at the St. Paul JCC.  Classes are Monday mornings at 9:30 or Thursday evenings at 5:45.  Call the St. Paul JCC at 651-698-0751 to register.  Complete information is below.
• Read a few recent testimonials I’ve received by e-mail from my students.  Experience the Feldenkrais difference for yourself with my introductory package of three one-hour, hands-on lessons for $90 (total!). After that, enjoy the affordability of my sliding scale for continued study.  To schedule lessons or learn more, contact me at nick@movingawareness.com, or 917-575-7380.  Testimonials, and full details below.

Feldenkrais for children:

I recently completed a forty-hour advanced training with Sheryl Field, Feldenkrais Practitioner and founder of The Field Center for Children’s Integrated Development, and I am now welcoming children into my private practice.  For children who begin studying with me before September 1st, 2010, I’m offering a low-fee intensive program of $30 per 40-60 minute lesson.

During a Functional Integration lesson with a child, I’ll use hands-on contact to gently stimulate muscles, joints, and ligaments of a child in ways that suggest more efficient organization during normal voluntary movements.  For children with developmental difficulties, I’ll provide essential sensory feedback that would have arisen typically from the child’s own movements.  Giving a child the opportunity to experience basic and necessary movement options allows for improvements in functioning.

Please contact me at nick@movingawareness.com or 917-575-7380 to learn more about how your child can benefit from Feldenkrais.

Public Awareness Through Movement classes at the St. Paul JCC

• Mondays, July 5th – September 20th*, 9:30 – 10:30 am
• 9 session, JCC member tuition: $79; nonmember: $125
• This class is held in the JCC’s Pilates Studio
• Register by June 30th by calling the JCC (651-698-0751) or registering online at the St. Paul JCC.  Drop-in space may be available after the class begins.  Call the JCC for more information.
• No class on 7/12, 8/9, and 9/6.

THURSDAY EVENING SPRING QUARTER ATM CLASS DETAILS

• Thursdays, July 8th – September 2nd, 5:45 – 6:45 pm
• 9 classes, JCC member tuition: $79; nonmember: $125
• This class is held in the JCC’s Mind/Body studio.
• Register by June 30th by calling the JCC (651-698-0751) or registering online at the St. Paul JCC.  Drop-in space may be available after the class begins.  Call the JCC for more information.

A video about Feldenkrais ATM classes can be found below!

Please dress in layers so you will be comfortable with the variable temperature in the room. Bring a towel for use in class.

If you’re new to Feldenkrais, ATM is a great way to encounter the method and start unlocking your potential for graceful, efficient movement.  If you have health, pain, or movement concerns about whether you would be able to take and benefit from the class (the answer is almost certainly yes!), please contact me at 917-575-7380.

ATM classes use exploratory movements and guided attention to evoke new neuro-muscular patterns in the brain, improving your strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, and focus in an easy and pleasurable way.

Invented 50 years ago by Israeli athlete, Judo master, engineer, and physicist Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, the Feldenkrais Method has been called “a revolution in human health” by Smithsonian Magazine. Students call the Feldenkrais Method “the missing link in fitness” and “a user’s guide to the human body.”

What else can you expect in a Feldenkrais ATM class?

• The movements are very gentle and relaxing, never painful.  Anyone, at any level, can do them.
• You will feel better after class: you’ll probably stand taller, feel lighter, more flexible, and more grounded.
• A certified Feldenkrais teacher has been through an extensive 4-year training similar to kinesiology and is an expert in movement, posture, and body mechanics.

Functional Integration testimonials and information

From Paul, a realtor: “I have experienced sciatic nerve pain for over 3 years along with arthritic joint pain in my knees.  I was not familiar with the Feldenkrais Method and was skeptical that a treatment so simple and easy could make a difference.  Since meeting with Nick I have been virtually pain free in both areas and notice my posture and movement has improved dramatically.  I wholeheartedly will and do recommend Feldenkrais to everyone I know.”

And while I can’t guarantee this immediate and enormous improvement for everyone, some students respond like Sandra did: “My physician son suggested I see a neurologist because of constant pain down the front of my leg for 6-8 weeks.  However I decided to try Nick and Feldenkrais that a friend suggested before seeing the neurologist.  I don’t understand how it all works but I have no pain after one session with him!  It is amazing to me.  I gained awareness of how I move and carry pain and tension in my body so I’m continuing to see him  to work on other areas that cause me difficulty.”

David, a neuropsychologist, wrote: “I enjoyed your gentle manner, your attentive eyes, and your knowledgeable way of guiding me to discover my own solutions for helping me improve my comfort.  What a beautiful model for personal empowerment and the discovery of internal resources of which I was unaware.”

And my student C.R. simply wrote: “I am soooooooo excited about what Feldenkrais is doing for me. Thank you Nick!”

My popular introductory package for individual study continues.  If you haven’t experienced Functional Integration yet, please come enjoy the potent benefits of three one-hour individual hands-on FI lessons for $90, total. There is no better way to address your pain reduction and self-improvement goals than the neuromuscular reorganization possible through hands-on Feldenkrais. For continued individual study after your introductory three lessons, I use a set-your-own-fee sliding scale, from $30-90 per lesson. To schedule lessons or learn more, contact me at nick@movingawareness.com, or 917-575-7380.

Sliding scale for one-on-one Functional Integration: $30-$90 set-your-own fee

I recognize that my students’ wellness goals and financial circumstances vary. To ensure that you are able to come for lessons often enough and long enough to achieve lasting improvement, I have recently revised my sliding scale. I am committing to a lower fee, higher volume health care model that will be more beneficial for more people. These days health care as a whole is deeply divided along class lines; I teach using a sliding scale so that my practice isn’t.

• All current and new students (after their introductory three lessons for $90) are now asked to set their own fee, between $30 and $90 per lesson.
• At the request of some students who asked for guidance in choosing their fee I have created a sliding scale explanation and recommendations page which I now give to all my students.  Click here to view a pdf version. This sheet answers most of the common questions about this unusual and liberal fee structure, and I hope you’ll read it.
• As always, new students receive their first three one-hour individual lessons for $90 total.

What is the Feldenkrais Method?

Feldenkrais is a system of movement education with applications similar to physical therapy, but more holistic. When someone wants to reduce pain, recover from an injury, or improve an aspect of themselves (anything movement, balance, posture, or performance related), a Feldenkrais lesson addresses the whole person – not just the symptom – by eliciting changes in the nervous system. Scientists call this process “neuroplasticity” – the brain’s extraordinary ability to acquire more efficient patterns of movement and action if given the right environment. Nothing creates that environment like the Feldenkrais Method. Lessons are pleasant and effortless, and done fully clothed. For the one-on-one Feldenkrais modality, called Functional Integration (FI), lessons are done lying on a low, comfortable table, with the practitioner using a gentle, non-invasive touch. Students describe lessons as pleasurable and relaxing, and you will find reduction in pain, specific improvements to how you function in your day-to-day life, and tools for continuing to improve yourself.

The following short video is an introduction to the group modality of the Feldenkrais Method, classes called Awareness Through Movement, as they are taught in wellness centers and fitness clubs.

The Feldenkrais Method uses gentle movement and directed attention to improve movement, enhance human functioning, and relieve chronic or acute pain. With this method, you can increase your range of motion, improve your flexibility and coordination, and rediscover your innate capacity for graceful, efficient movement. By expanding the self-image through movement sequences, the method enables you to include more of yourself in your movements. Students become aware of their habitual neuromuscular patterns and rigidities, and learn to move in new ways.

You can learn more about the Feldenkrais Method, including answers to frequently asked questions, testimonials, and research here.

The Practitioner

Nicholas Strauss-Klein, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practionercm, is a graduate of the New York Feldenkrais Method Professional Training Program and has studied the method for eight years in New York City, Baltimore, and Israel. He brings to his Feldenkrais practice the unique background of an advanced Master of Music Pedagogy degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and 15 years of individual and class teaching experience. He currently teaches Feldenkrais to students pursuing all types of improvement: healthy people who are interested in making their day-to-day activities more effective and pleasant, people seeking to enhance their fitness training and athletic performance, musicians, dancers, and performing artists, and people recovering from injuries or living with disease or disabilities. E-mail nick@movingawareness.com, or call 917-575-7380 for more information about the method or to schedule a lesson.

Nick, Jen, and Henry Strauss-Klein

Lessons and Class Schedule

I teach one-on-one Functional Integration lessons by appointment in my studio at our home in Eagan, south of St. Paul, convenient to I-35E and I-494. Lessons are about one hour, by appointment, available Tuesdays 9-9, Wednesdays 2-6, Thursdays 10-9, and Sundays 9-1. We will try to schedule your three introductory FI lessons ($90 total) within a week or two to maximize the benefits. Please call 917-575-7380 or e-mail nick@movingawareness.com with questions or to make appointments.

Awareness Through Movement classes:

Group Awareness Through Movement Feldenkrais Method are ongoing at the St. Paul JCC.   See above!

Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, and Functional Integration® are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America.

Some photos by Rosalie O’Connor www.rosalieoconnor.com