Check out Paul's YouTube video to learn how to optimize fitness, the Feldenkrais way! Move with more fluidity, ease, and power by including variations and 3D movement.
Breakout Yoga
Join us for Breakout Yoga on Tuesdays at 5:30 pm EST! Developed by Paul McAndrew, PT, GCFP, Breakout Yoga is a class that integrates principles of the Feldenkrais Method® and yoga in a creative and challenging way. Breakout Yoga brings intelligent, challenging variations to classic poses, teaching you how to move with more power, flow, and ease. Emphasis will be on the exploration of related shapes and transitions between postures.
Zoom meeting link: Breakout Yoga Tuesdays 5:30pm
Cost: Donation-based;
Suggested range $10-$20.
Everyone welcome, regardless of ability to pay.
Make donations via PayPal to pauljmcandrew@gmail.com
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Mime Walking
This lesson will reduce neck and shoulder tension, improve your awareness and coordination of your hips, and help you with any pain or stiffness that may be limiting your ability to walk. Try doing the laying down portion before taking a walk to wake up your nervous system and reduce tension.
Calming The Nervous System
A gentle lesson for anyone whose nervous system is in sympathetic, stress mode. This is a practice to tune into the body's parasympathetic nervous system. We often teach clients this lesson on the first day if they're in a lot of pain, have difficulty finding a position that is comfortable, or if they are clearly anxious or upset.
Feldenkrais Testimonial: Relieving Back Pain and Learning to Move Easily with a Fused Spine
Lisa opens up about her journey through traditional physical therapy and why she sought the Feldenkrais Method. After spinal fusion from L2-S1 and a right hip replacement with 3 revisions, Lisa wanted to return to dancing and moving the way she had before without pain. Traditional PTs told her that because she could perform all her exercises well and with strength, they had nothing more to offer her. That's when she found Paul at The Wellness Station and began learning a new approach, a new way to heal, and she returned to dancing and living the life she wanted.
She and Paul demonstrate one of the first lessons she learned, The Pelvic Clock. This lesson reduced her pain and her reliance on pain medication significantly.
Easy Turning
This lesson will guide you in learning how to turn your head without causing excess strain or tension on your neck and back. This is a great lesson for anyone that works at a desk or drives for a living. If you notice less range of motion or stiffness in your neck, you'll be amazed at how this basic lesson can really highlight what your habitual movement patterns are and how to change them!
This is a longer video with a lot of variations, don’t hesitate to just do one for a few days and gradually add more complexity over a longer period of time so your brain can take the time it needs to process and learn. As always, rest often and do the least amount of effort possible.
Jar and Cover
If you feel stiff or "stuck" in your upper back (or hips!) this is a really wonderful and simple lesson for you! We teach this lesson to almost all of our clients because it helps them learn a fundamental movement pattern that can benefit anyone with neck or back pain and even balance issues. If you’re concerned about your “posture” and don’t want to end up “hunched over” as many of our clients say, this is a great way to wake up your thoracic spine and prevent stiffening and rigidity throughout your back.
This lesson gives your brain the opportunity to really allow each vertebrae in your spine to move and rotate more freely while you walk in particular. It will also improve your efficiency and ease with bending and reaching tasks.
Piano Keys
This lesson is particularly powerful and beneficial for people with low back and hip pain. It helps reduce the tension and restrictions we may develop over time in this area because of stiff movement patterns, too much sitting, or guarding from pain. Often, clients will be amazed at how open and free their hips feel after doing this simple lesson for a few minutes! This will help you walk with more fluidity and you will learn how to release and move each vertebrae in your spine.
The Pelvic Clock
This video provides valuable, fundamental education about the anatomy of your spine and how it can move most efficiently (and beautifully!). With this knowledge, we hope you can explore this simple, seated lesson that helps you learn how to move your back with less tension. We often give this lesson on someone’s first day of PT because it's very easy to integrate into your daily life (sitting in a chair anywhere!) and it can address and help reduce pain in the hips, neck, and low back.