Testimonials & Discussion

I am a physical performer and quiet used to move and to be manipulated ( mostly deep tissue massage). I met Arona with a sore lower back. During the next 90 minutes Arona manipulated my whole body,
Strangely bearly giving attention to the source of my pain: the lower back. But it felt very good. Arona continued to "play" around the source of pain, sometimes mentioning her observations.

After our session I was invited to move around the room. Standing up and starting to move I realized: my pain in the lower back has vanished. I felt easy and light, I had the urge to
move to jump, and so I did. It was astonishing how all our bones and muscles are connect to each other, and that a local pain might be a symptom of a miss function somewhere else in the body.
Thanks Arona!

I had the pleasure of participating in some of Arona's Tango-Kinetics workshops and also had a private Feldenkreis session with her. It is obvious that she has dedicated her time and energy to master the Feldenkreis method and the broader topics of mind/body connection. She has developed a novel way to apply this body of knowledge in the context of dancing tango - a clear personal passion of hers. I found Arona very effective in helping dancers expand their awareness in the pursuit of effortless and liberated movements. Not to mention, her workshops are fun!

My body did not ship with the repair manual it so desperately needs. Arona has sensitivity to the body so deep that her brain becomes that missing manual. At one session her fingertips enact the essential chapters on alignment; at other sessions they artfully work through the chapters on sustained healing. If you experience pain unresponsive to your or your physician's best efforts at relief, I heartily recommend working with Arona. Her judgement is superlative, not just fancifully intuitive. This is why she transcends the haystack of bodyworkers.

- Rik G., Entrepeneur-Inventor (Berkeley, CA)

I learn a lot about how right and left sides are different. I learned a lot about how my body is organized and engaged in different situations. I learned to self observe my own body. The first impressions after standing up from the table [after a private session] were a sense of grounded-ness, a sense of presence and inner peacefulness. [And] A sense of happiness. After sessions, my dancing felt more grounded and relax, but at the same time more engaged and connected therefore it reflected on my dancing with my partner ...

- Rosa C, Professional Dance Instructor & Performer (San Francisco, CA)

I am a tango dancer and not only for enjoyment, which is enormous, of course, but for therapy as well. Yes it has been clinically proven that tango has therapeutic effects on people with PD (Parkinson's Disease). In my case it has the added benefit that the slight but annoying shaking of my right hand miraculously disappears the instant I embrace my partner and start dancing. For me Arona has been not only a wonderful dance partner but an astute, patient, observant, meticulous, and effective Feldenkrais practitioner dedicated to understanding the nuances of my particular situation and to find ways to slow down the progression of my disease. I highly recommend Arona's private Feldenkrais sessions!

- Marius P. , Rock Climber, Parkinsonian Patient (Alameda, CA)

[I felt] free in movement, hard to describe, maybe like taking off a piece of clothing that wasn't fitting so well but I didn't notice it was restrictive.

- Ian R., Technologist & Dancer (San Francisco, CA)

Session 1: I can tell you that I was feeling so good...I felt straight, without any extra tension in my hips. As if my hips were normally blocked and suddenly they had freedom.

Session 2: I found myself yesterday eating much more straight than usual. It was a nice surprise to see my shoulders in their place without even thinking about them.

- Marianna A., Professional Dance Teacher (San Francisco, CA)

The balance/axis/connection/groundedness is dramatically improved across my entire life and self. ... Those tiny moments of panic (when something I've never done before is led, or when I mess up) are gone from the dance. [As my dance partner said], "the playground just got twice as big."

My whole shoulder girdle is softer and lighter. My movements have more curve and flow. I feel slightly serpentine... sometimes semi-liquid or honey-like. Feels like I was moving kind of in large-ish blocks before, and I'm now more articulated and layered, that movement flows through or along my body more ... This feels like experiential education at its most basic and powerful.

Self-confidence and self-image continue to improve, I'm really enjoying this. I feel like my whole emotional baseline has shifted for the better in the last few weeks, and will stay better. Still have ups and downs, but the overall median is better. My mind & heart used to often feel like a rather unruly pack of lemurs that sometimes co-operated and sometimes not, with lots of different voices, needs and wants that often conflicted. Now I mostly feel like one animal with a range of thoughts, feelings and experiences. This is much nicer, and less tiring.

- Jill, Dancer (San Francisco, CA)

Thank you for introducing me to this work. It is quite amazing and I think you have a natural talent for this type of work.

- Paige, Director, Not-for-Profit (Oakland, CA)

Arona is really good at what she does. She combines strong technical knowledge and experience with curiosity and a deep intuitive sense, in beautiful balance. In working with her, I have never felt judged or "treated". It's been a very empowering experience of guidance and growing partnership in learning more about myself, what I am capable of, and expanding the range of choices I have across all aspects of my life.

You don't have to have something "wrong" with you to benefit from this, although I can see how it would be helpful for a wide range of issues. I went to her wanting to dance better, to improve my body awareness, balance, sense of axis and groundedness. From the first session, I got this and so much more. My dancing improved dramatically, literally overnight. So did my awareness, balance and ability to feel grounded, across my entire life and self. This probably sounds kinda new-agey, but it's very real and concrete.

Best of all, I have much more self-confidence, and it's not some blindly optimistic "I can do anything!", but the kind that comes from a much better awareness of my own capacity. Also, the illusion of separation between the physical, intellectual, and emotional is so much less. I struggled for years trying to balance these aspects, to sort of translate learning in one area to the others. Now it doesn't feel like that. I am much more comfortable, feel more ME.

Some other things that I've gotten out of the Functional Integration sessions with Arona:

- Physically, my movement is much less blocky; it's more fluid and articulated, has more curve and flow.
- Finer grained awareness, across multiple levels: physical, emotional, intellectual, etc.
- I'm much more relaxed, and can choose to be relaxed, including my neck and shoulders which carried a LOT of tension for many years.
- Feels like my "flow" is souped-up.
- I think more clearly and creatively, I'm better at problem-solving, more able to figure things out, and don't get as caught up in feeling bad about things.
- Patterns and habits across many parts of my life sort of loosened up and became more optional; I became more aware of them, and also curious and playful with them.
- I'm generally happier, my mood baseline has shifted more towards the positive. I have a much more curious and playful approach to things,

The really wonderful thing about this work is that it didn't feel like work. It felt like natural, easy transitions that just happened. This is serious personal development that feels easy, playful and fun. I recommend it very highly!

I really enjoyed Arona's emotion in motion workshop. I took away many things I had not thought of before. For me, to connect emotionally during the embrace of dance is of utmost importance. So I took every opportunity she gave us during the many different excercises to apply it to my own dancing. Those parts alone were worth it for me.

I highly value a teacher who challenges and pushes me and brings forth areas and angles I hadn't thought of before. That's one of Arona's greatest gifts.

I highly recommend classes/workshops/privates with her. She is a wonderful teacher in every sense of the word.


	Somatic healing and movement awareness classes and private sessions through The Feldenkrais Method® and Body Mind Centering®. ~ Inspiring the Learning Brain ~ Awakening your innate body intelligence Lessons for dance, therapy and superior health.