I’ve never really written about my individual lesson, Functional Integration, based on the Feldenkrais Method. Still, people often find me who have tried everything to get rid of their complaints. Usually, they come saying, “I want to explore what I can do myself ‘to feel better,’ ‘to get rid of my complaints,’ ‘to prevent the recurring repetition.’
Why is it called Functional Integration?
What I call a function are activities like sitting, standing, walking, bending, reaching, shaking hands, sitting down, standing up. I look at how much of you is involved in that function, where you allow yourself to go along, what you hold back, what is out of sight, out of your attention, and how much effort it costs you. Your entire body is always involved. Some parts initiate, and some parts must yield. What works against the movement, where moves something else simultaneously? Discovering these things and optimizing the cooperation is what Moshe Feldenkrais called Functional Integration.
How Does it Work in Such a Lesson?
I listen to what your wishes are and how you describe your problem(s) and ask some clarifying questions, so I have more information. But then it really begins. After that, the information mainly comes through feeling and by me watching how you move.
I ask you to stand and observe what stands out to me. I ask questions to direct your attention to what you feel and whether it matches with what I see. Then I place my hands on your pelvis and feel how you stand on both feet and move you in different directions to feel how that goes and what stands out. Usually, people stand more on one leg and have directions of movement that go easily and those where there is clear resistance.
After that, I look at how you walk. There’s a lot I can see from that, and I ask you to make certain comparisons: for example, do your shoulders move in the same way? Equally?
Depending on your question, I either continue in sitting or lying on my Feldenkrais table, a ‘massage’ table at sitting height. For example, if I hear in your story that sitting is not easy, I start there. Since you spend many hours a day sitting, if you can realize more ease there, it changes your whole perspective. If we improve something in another way and you sit uncomfortably for hours, it’s like pouring water into the sea in my opinion. Sitting is something that can truly be easy, I believe. But if you have pain while sitting, I’ll work with you lying down to find the pain-free position and work from there.
Different Types of Pain Complaints
People usually come with complaints and want to get rid of them. I always ask: “Where do you want to go? What do you want to achieve? What do you want to be able to do better? How will you know you’ve achieved that?” Getting rid of complaints is a logical wish but has a negative direction. Knowing what you want to work towards works much better and makes it easier for me to act upon. The clearer you know what you want, the more efficiently we can work together. I always say, “I don’t work with complaints, I work with people! So, with the whole picture where you can put anything you want in. Anything related to your functioning, such as stiffness, awkwardness, movement limitations, chaos in your head, and so on.
I help you let go of your own limiting muscles. We discover new movement spaces by moving you from various positions within the movement space you give, and through the communication that arises between those movements and your brain. More space will gradually emerge. So, I move you and for home, I give you additional movements to incorporate that space into your movement patterns.
I know the price of a functional integration lesson might feel high, but I see it as an investment, an investment in yourself. Or rather, a gift to yourself! What you learn in the lesson benefits the rest of your life. Often when I meet people who have taken Functional Integration lessons with me in the past, they always say, “I still work with what I learned from you back then” or something similar. Want to read more abount the lessons? Click here.
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