From the Editors
Moshe Feldenkrais created the Method that bears his name through an exploratory process of self-study in response to injuries to both of his knees. In other words, he was his own first client. As he developed more understanding of what he was doing, he developed two different teaching forms, a verbally guided group class that came to be known as Awareness Through Movement®, and Functional Integration, where the practitioner works with an individual client through the medium of touch to help improve their functional movement ability, their self awareness, and their overall quality of life. In this issue of SenseAbility, our contributors introduce the reader who may not have experienced one-on-one Feldenkrais® work to this unique approach.
Paris Kern, a Feldenkrais Guild of North America trainer with three decades of experience, shares stories from her private practice to explain why Functional Integration is a kind of somatic detective work. Feldenkrais practitioners Rachel Hamstra and Yuka Iwamoto each contribute articles that explore the interplay between movement, emotion, psyche and sensation that takes place in Functional Integration. We hope this month's SenseAbility will give you a window into understanding why Feldenkrais himself described his hands-on work as the "dance of two nervous systems."