A lot of people in the healing arts, when asked why they do what they do, answer, “I just want to help people.”

Growing up in NJ, I had a lot of freedom to roam freely in the local woods, run with imaginary horses and take the rowboat out onto the lake. There’s always been some wildness that I couldn’t suppress. From a young age, I grit my teeth against someone telling me how long eating my lunch should take. 

I wasn’t raised to think or act independently, and certainly not encouraged to undertake a misunderstood profession. 

In my early teens, I gathered all of that wild energy and focused it relentlessly into dance training. I imposed my will on my imperfections, created wear and tear and a ton of damage in  joints and ligaments. I added extra effort into anything I did, thinking that would make me stronger. Instead, that approach left me injured and muscle bound. 

(The object lesson was that imposing extra work does not create coordinated strength. When I connected with this misconception during my Feldenkrais training, it was a gold mine in personal growth and my future practice)

At 22 years’ old, I found myself graduating from Douglass College (Rutgers), completely burnt out and yearning to break out of these strict boundaries of my dance training. Drawing on my dance background, my healing experience receiving massages, and how much I loved anatomy, physiology and kinesiology in college, I decided that massage therapy would be a wonderful path to explore. 

I attended the Swedish Institute in New York City and passed my exam to become a Licensed Massage Therapist in 1987. 

The first few years were wonderful. I became friends with colleagues and enjoyed working with my clients. And then . . . 

I became fascinated with the way people carried tension. These patterns of tension were through their entire bodies. People would come to me about their shoulders, but the tension was in their feet, in their hands, their lower back  .  . and the most interesting thing was that they didn’t realize their tension was everywhere. They didn’t sense it was a “whole-body” event.

It became clear that something bigger and more “embodied” was going on. There was another level that I could not ignore. And believe me,  it was not a convenient calling! 

Fast forward about 8 years. I could no longer suppress this curiosity.  My husband and I attended an information lecture in New York CIty for an upcoming three and a half year Feldenkrais training. As I heard the different speakers and watched the demonstration, it was like fireworks going off and a homecoming. 

In that moment, this work became my forever home and I’ve never stopped learning and growing my skills since my graduation in 2003. 

Even in my Feldenkrais practice, I met up with situations that my Feldenkrais training did not answer. This led me to a comprehensive study of the biological effects of trauma on our nervous systems and achieving my certification as a Buteyko breathing coach. I consider myself trauma-informed and honor the boundaries of my training in that area. 

At 61 years, I am active and unencumbered by limiting pain and injury. As a former dancer, I am likely filled with arthritis. But I lift weights, do interval training, walk, run, hike, garden, play disc golf, bicycle, ice skate and roller skate. 

Every single day, I balance my sports/movement activities for the day with my Feldenkrais practice—always growing my skills of paying attention, sensing small differences and knowing where I am in space. This neurological practice leads to moving in ways that keep me free from injury, and maintains quality of life. 

But don’t worry! In case you think I’m a picture perfect model of health and commitment, here are my confessions, I like to sit. I love fried food and chips. I watch TV in the evenings and especially sports. Most days I tilt my life towards more healthy behaviors and balanced nutrition.

So there you have it, I’m not a guru on the hill. I am here in this world with you. With a wonderful practice that has given me the tools for pain-free movement, insight, stress reduction, curiosity and vitality. 

And I love sharing this with my students. The Feldenkrais  Method is an equalizer. It’s for anybody in any condition. Improvement is only as far away as deciding to step out of the box of hopelessness someone may have given you. And the minute you decide to do it, I’ll be here to greet you. 

This is how I fulfill my commitment to  “I just want to help people.” 

If you’d like to contact me, head on over to the “Work With Me” tab to set up an free initial phone consultation. 

I’d love to hear from you and I’d love to help.

Warmly,
Linda