Cynthia Allen, Feldenkrais and Bones for Life Teacher

“I have been taking classes and occasional private sessions with Cynthia for the past 2 years. I started a Bones for Life class soon after I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. I knew I needed to start to do something that would help strengthen my bones and my back or at least learn how to avoid making anything worse. Bones for Life sounded promising and I was ready to try anything. 
 
I enjoyed the classes and noticed small things that helped me feel better during or right after class, but it was months before anything really started registering on a deeper level. I don’t know if that’s typical but that was my experience. 

One of my first break-throughs was when I finally understood how to move up and down without arching my back. I don’t remember the lesson or how we were moving up and down except that I think we were doing it on one foot and balancing against the wall. Cynthia stopped me for a moment during the lesson to show me with her hands on my back how not to arch. It only took a moment and she went on with the lesson but suddenly I was really able to recognize the difference between arching my back and not arching my back while moving up and down.  It was a powerful experience.
 
That was the beginning of becoming far more aware of my body and how I was moving. Bones for Life and Awareness through Movement classes keep enlarging that awareness and understanding.  Coupled with several private sessions with Cynthia, I have experienced several more break-throughs in understanding about how to walk, sit, and stand in a healthy way. 
 
It has not all been smooth sailing.  Many years of old and destructive habits are challenging to overcome. Stress puts me right back in the old habits and sometimes it’s difficult to reconnect with healthier movement. I get discouraged but I also know that what I am learning is important and if I keep working at it, it will get easier to return to my “sweet spot” and to stay with it for longer periods of time.”

Edith Starbuck