Move and Bloom

"I just participated in a Zoom NeuroMovement session with Anna Maria and put some playful thinking into my movements. At 65+ years of age I've been incorporating various body care and movement studies (yoga, structural integration, NeuroMovement) into my life's newest adventure: "How do I stay mobile, safe and move intelligently as my body ages?" Ana's sessions invite me to slow down enough and try smaller movements allowing time for discovery of ways my bones and other body parts can work together to ease stress and chronic pain. New information I can utilize in my adventure! I love it!"

"Our family has explored multiple modalities through the years to help support the development of our children. We have found that the most beneficial approaches are the ones that look at the whole child vs a specific behavior or pattern. So, when I noticed that my youngest son was having a hard time moving his body at the piano, and his teacher was unaware of and unable to help him with this, I began searching for a Feldenkrais, or Feldenkrais-inspired, practitioner who might be able help him. This is how I found Ana Maria. During our initial zoom consultation, I came to realize just how beneficial Ana Maria's work might also be for our oldest son who is on the spectrum, so my husband and I scheduled intensives for both of our boys. Our oldest son just completed his first intensive two days ago and we have noted many positive and interesting things from this week. After his first day, he seemed to be more aware of some of the things that he was feeling in his own body and was able to articulate those feelings to us. Recognizing and accurately naming his feelings is something that has always been a significant challenge for him, so this was big. Another big one is that consistently resisting sleep, and fighting the feeling of being tired since just three weeks of age, has made him one sleep-deprived child. This week, for the first time in 12 years, he has been able to recognize the feeling of being tired, name it, and turn his mind off to go to sleep in the evenings. Upon waking he has expressed that he feels rested and has shared that he likes sleeping. His mood, attention, and listening have reflected this as well. One of his teachers was surprised by his stillness during their zoom lesson yesterday. He assumed that the stillness meant that he wasn't listening, when in fact his still body was making it possible for him to actively listen for the first time in their nearly four years of zoom lessons together. Yesterday, I overheard him humming along perfectly to obscure instrumental pieces that will often play in the background during our school day. He has never expressed an interest in, or seemingly noted in any way the music that plays during our day unless it's a piece that he or his brother are working on at the piano and he has never been a child to hum or sing music outside of the music that he is studying and even that is rare. I had always assumed that he never really heard the music that plays during our day, but this showed me that he does/can. Another thing of note is that there was a sudden shift in his drawings. He and his brother are always creating beautiful marker drawings on copy paper, filling the entirety of the page with one drawing. On the last day of his intensive, this changed. Instead of filling the page with one large drawing, he was creating two or three smaller images on a page, and drawing a frame or border around each of them. While going through the intensive, Ana Maria asked that he take a break from piano and climbing, and when he returned to these activities yesterday we noted small changes. At the piano, his touch seemed more delicate, and on the wall, his body appeared more coordinated. It has been a busy week for his brain and body, and I am looking forward to witnessing what other little things we may see shift as he continues to harness the new movements and skills that he has learned. He has never expressed excitement about the multiple modalities that we have tried with him through the years, but he was excited to see Ana Maria at each appointment this week, expressed sadness as we left his final appointment, and is looking forward to his next intensive with her. We highly recommend her!"

"After years of neglecting an inherited back condition that is layered on top of traumatic injury and chronic pain, I came to Ana Maria looking for a new approach. I've had several sessions and I can already see my movements starting to shift. I am erasing muscle memory and allowing my brain to reconnect with my body in order to enable the healthiest possible movements. It's going to be a long journey, but I'm very hopeful from what we've started so far!"

"I have thoroughly enjoyed Ana Maria's NeuroMovement classes. The movements are subtle and slow, yet after a class I feel a profound improvement in how I feel in my body. Just months after spinal surgery Ana Maria suggested I pause in my rehab - no massage, no PT, no chiropractic - and come to her for 4 consecutive sessions on the table. Again, the work was so subtle that I could not imagine how this would help my pain. But after one week I felt amazing. What happens in her classes and on her table is hard to describe but I have witnessed the. deep impact of her her work. I highly recommend Ana Maria and NeuroMovement!"

"I have only seen Ana Maria twice thus far but it has been a treat! She helps me feel so comfortable in her space and specifically during the session. After our first meeting I reflected on how long it had been since I felt like someone was taking care of ME. She does a great job of inquiring about my life and considers all of the aspects that may be impacting my body, including my mind. It feels like a very holistic treatment approach which aligns well with my own thinkin. I have more sessions scheduled and am greatly looking forward to returning."