Private Sessions
In a Functional Integration session, you lie clothed on a padded table while the practitioner uses gentle touch and slow movement to show you how you currently organize yourself, then offers new options for moving. It is one-on-one, shaped around you, and uses no force. Nicolette de Saint-Amour gives sessions in person in San Diego.
What Is Functional Integration?
Functional Integration is the one-on-one format of the Feldenkrais Method. The other format is Awareness Through Movement, a group lesson guided by voice. In Functional Integration, touch is the main way the practitioner communicates with you.
It is not massage. It is not manipulation. The practitioner is not working on a muscle or correcting a joint. The touch is a question, and your nervous system is the one that answers it.
What Happens in a Functional Integration Session
A session has a loose shape, and it is built around you.
It usually begins with a conversation. You say what brought you in, whether that is stiffness, an old injury, a movement you want to refine, or simple curiosity.
Then you lie on a padded table, fully clothed. Parts of a lesson may be done sitting or standing instead, and the practitioner may use props to make a movement more comfortable or clearer.
From there, the practitioner moves you slowly and gently: an arm, a leg, the head, the ribs, always in small ranges. The practitioner is reading how you organize yourself. Where you hold. Where you move as one piece. Where you do not move at all. Then the same touch offers a different way of doing the same movement, so you can feel a difference.
Nothing is forced. You are not asked to relax, to breathe in a certain way, or to do anything at all. Your job is to notice. If something is uncomfortable, you say so, and the practitioner changes what they are doing.
A session usually ends with you coming up to sitting, then standing, and walking a little to notice what has changed.
What a Functional Integration Session Feels Like
Quiet. Most of the work happens in your attention, not in your muscles.
What students notice varies. Some feel heavier on the table, or lighter when they stand up. Some feel very still inside. Some notice nothing in the room and feel a difference only when they walk out. These reports are experiential, and they differ from person to person and from session to session.
In my practice, I think of touch as a form of listening. I am not correcting anyone. I am offering the nervous system a clearer picture of how it organizes itself, and then a few new possibilities to try.
Why a One-on-One Lesson
A group lesson speaks to the room. A Functional Integration session speaks to you. The practitioner shapes the lesson around your body, your history, and what you want to be able to do.
That makes it a good fit for people with a specific concern, people preparing for a performance or a return to a sport, and people who learn better through touch than through words.
Who Functional Integration Is For
People come with stiffness, with back or neck discomfort, with a habit they cannot shake, or after an injury. Dancers, musicians, and other performers come to refine how they move. Older adults come for steadiness. Some come with no complaint, only a question about how they move.
The work is somatic education. It is not medical treatment, and it does not replace care from a physician or physical therapist. It may help you move with more choice and awareness, and students often report less tension. If you have a medical condition or a recent injury, check with your healthcare provider first.
How Many Functional Integration Sessions Do You Need?
It varies. Some people notice a change after one session. Learning that lasts usually builds over several. There is no fixed course and no number that suits everyone.
A reasonable approach is to book one session, see what you notice, and decide from there. If you already know you want to continue, Niki offers a five-session series in person.
What to Wear to a Functional Integration Session
Wear clothes you can lie down in comfortably. You stay clothed throughout. Soft, loose layers work well.
Book Functional Integration in San Diego
Niki gives Functional Integration sessions at Framework Somatics, her studio in downtown San Diego. You can book a single session or a five-session series. Book a session.
If you live outside San Diego, Niki also offers virtual private sessions, a hybrid of Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration explored over video. You can book one session or a three-session series. Live group classes and a library of lessons are available through the Postural Apprenticeship membership.
Ready for a one-on-one lesson?
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to undress for a Functional Integration session?
No. You stay clothed throughout the session.
Does Functional Integration hurt?
No. The touch is gentle and no force is used. If anything feels uncomfortable, tell the practitioner and they will change what they are doing.
How many Functional Integration sessions do I need?
It varies. Some people notice a change after one session, and learning that lasts usually builds over several. There is no fixed number.
Can I do Functional Integration online?
Hands-on Functional Integration is given in person. Niki also offers virtual private sessions, a hybrid of Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration explored over video.
Is Functional Integration a medical treatment?
No. It is somatic education and does not replace care from a physician or physical therapist. If you have a medical condition or an injury, check with your healthcare provider first.
About the authorNicolette de Saint-Amour, GCFP, is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, Lecturer of Somatics at San Diego State University, and founder of Framework Somatics, her private practice in East Village, downtown San Diego, where she works individually with clients through Functional Integration® and somatic education. She brings over a decade of experience in somatic education and body reading, and teaches Awareness Through Movement online through Postural Apprenticeship.