Dear Students:
I have been working with Israel periodically over the last two years. Until now, I had never intensively worked with him because of his surgeries & some 
sicknesses. Recently, Israel’s labored breathing has been a major concern so I suggested that we do a series of sessions.
I explained that seeing Israel every once in awhile only allowed me to make him feel more comfortable but didn’t allow me to teach him to function better. After some thought his parents called me and scheduled Functional Integration® lessons for three consecutive weeks for him. I was excited to see how this learning opportunity would unfold for Israel who has had two hip surgeries and is diagnosed with cerebral palsy & torticollis. Following is a short description showing his growth during that time.
Week 1: Since Israel would not allow me to touch his feet or legs I concentrated on rolling him from his back to each side with my hands initiating the motion through his rib basket. I knew that this action would passively roll his legs as I moved him back and forth. By the end of the week I was able to roll him from side to side easily and I could foresee that it would be possible to eventually roll him onto his belly. I became very encouraged realizing that rolling from the supine position to prone is a very powerful way to soften the chest which will allow breathing and head turning to become easier.
Week 2: My foresight came true early and I was able to roll Israel onto his front. I was pleasantly surprised when he allowed me to touch & move his feet for the first time since I’ve met him. He became relaxed like most people do when I move their feet. This gives me great hope for his future because since his surgery he
has not be able to bend his hips. I understand that each tiny movement I do with each foot is duplicated in his hip.
By the end of this week, Israel learned another new motion and lifted his head while he was on his belly. The positive effects of this important developmental movement softened his hands and chest better than I have witnessed for him to date.
Week 3: Israel learned to move his arm from underneath his chest on his own whenever I rolled him onto his front. He became very comfortable lying on his belly making him doze off one session. When I help him turn his ribs & pelvis he can now turn his head from his left to right side while being on his stomach. His shoulder girdle is becoming more flexible from spending time moving on his front like this so his head lifting is becoming more efficient. He now invites me to touch his legs from his toes all the way to his hip joints. This will bring him new awareness that will change his self image.
What I enjoy most is watching Israel at the end of a session while he senses himself in supine. His facial expressions show signs of curiosity, wonder and surprise each time he discovers he can roll his head more freely. It must feel weightless after dealing with torticollis for so long.
All of these essential movements have given birth to other benefits and you can hear this in his Mother’s words:
“I have noticed so many changes in Israel in the last three weeks, even more controlled breathing. I think the biggest and most important change is that he is more comfortable in his own body. He is more relaxed and is smiling more. His movements are more controlled and he has more of them. He
is also more alert to his surroundings, including the people and animals around him. He is just so much more present.” ~Danielle Newswanger
If you would like support Israel and attend the Izzyman Golf Outing on Sunday, Oct. 9, click here. To donate money towards Israel’s Feldenkrais® sessions you can make a check out to Israel Newswanger and mail it to my office. Thanks for your support!
~Donna
walker due to modern society. Walking in the material world doesn’t require a person to think, sense, feel & move in the same way that nature’s world requires. Modern man’s environment hinders his growth while mother nature’s environment nurtures it.
Often, people don’t remember “not feeling pain” because for many it is their first perception of body awareness. Your brain will send you a pain signal to make you become conscious of your injured body part. Pain is a warning sign telling you to move differently to protect your spinal cord.
After talking him through these events he came to realize that the night before his departure he started dreading his return to work. When I asked John how he physically embodied “dread”, he couldn’t answer my question. This combined with his belief that he had no control over his situation made him feel hopeless. When I let him know that a great learning opportunity lay before him, his spirits lifted.
beyond your wildest dreams.
In general, standing stationary is one of the hardest things for a human body to do and with my pain it made it even more difficult. Not knowing the true nature of my injury, I was perplexed whenever I did a standing Feldenkrais® lesson. I had to rest frequently during that time because my stance quickly made me feel faint.
learning how to connect the movements of the head and pelvis to each other one vertebra at a time. Improving this connection is profoundly life changing for many people. Listen to what Dr. Feldenkrais has to say about it:
I have had the privilege to watch artistic directors & choreographers J
“You can, at any time of your life, provided I can convince you that there is nothing permanent and compulsive in your system except your belief that it is so, 
only lets it do one thing. Until you change the card, that is all the computer will do: that one thing, over and over and over. That is the state in which we function and we believe that no other cards exist, that this card is the one and only card that we can function upon. I say that the difference between human beings and machines is that 
because I was moving with the same pre-surgery movement pattern and the trauma of the operation accentuated it. Knowing this I was excited to engage upon the process of learning how to walk, dance and flip again without leg pain. The most effective way I was able to do this was by gaining awareness about the habitual way I used my eyes and by slowly changing it.
why it is important to think about what you want to happen in your life and not about what you are afraid of happening.
“No matter how closely we look, it is difficult to find a mental act that can take place without the support of some physical function.”
in the picture to the right and earn $20 off a Functional Integration session to be used this month (Dec. 2015). This offer is available to the first five people that 
childhood. As if by magic when I hit the ball for the first time recently, I was able to volley it back and forth for quite awhile including with a back hand! Now I look forward to playing tennis with this wall every time I visit it!