Welcome to Wellness in Motion

Maureen McHugh Portrait

Hello! My name is Maureen McHugh. I am a Feldenkrais Practitioner.
Thank you for visiting my site.

I teach the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education:
* in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia, USA in person, and
* worldwide — through Zoom.

What is the Feldenkrais Method?
It is a way — through movement — that I can help you feel better.
It is not therapy, but education.
It is highly customized. We start where you are and, then, progress step by step.

The beauty of Feldenkrais is how gradual it is. By progressing gently, logically, methodically, fundamentally, we are searching for the gradual shifts, practices and insights that will bring about sustained improvement.

To get into more specifics:

  • I can help you feel less pain and more comfort.
  • I can help you make progress toward your goals, such as improving your posture, balance, breathing, walking, sportsmanship and musicianship.
  • I can help you regain strength and stamina
  • I can help you learn to relax
  • I can help you improve your breathing

For whom is Feldenkrais good?
Feldenkrais is good for everyone. But most people who seek us out are having difficulties.
Feldenkrais is good for a person. It is not oriented to conditions.
We can help many persons with many different conditions.
The persons who benefit the most are those who resonate with it. You can only find out if there is such resonance by trying it.

The Feldenkrais Method connects to the mystery of our capacity to be more aware. It also draws on the power of biomechanical logic and the warmth of human connection.

What do you do in Feldenkrais?
Feldenkrais works by exploring movement patterns. All the activities of daily living — such as, walking, sitting, reaching, and rolling over in bed — are complex assemblies of smaller actions, linked together with a specific timing. This sequence is called the kinetic chain. When there is pain, commonly, something has gone wrong in the kinetic chain. By refining this sequence, you can return to a more comfortable and vital way of moving, and living.

The Feldenkrais Method takes place through Group Classes and Individual Sessions.

Is Feldenkrais covered by insurance?
Feldenkrais is not part of the medical system and, therefore, is not covered by insurance.
Just the same, some people get reimbursement through their Flexible Spending Accounts. I provide paperwork that refers to “Feldenkrais Sessions in Somatic Education.” I cannot provide billing codes or a billing ID.

What kind of people find Feldenkrais useful?
Although Feldenkrais is good for everyone, most people who seeks us out

  • are in pain
  • have been in pain for a long while
  • have already tried other, more familiar approaches, including Western and Oriental medicine
  • likely have received some benefit from the medical approaches, but not the full benefit that they are looking for
  • are strongly motivated to try another approach.

In what way is Feldenkrais another approach?
It is a training system with an unusually wide reach. It is highly customized, whether in an Individual Session adapting to the person who is there, or in a Group Class, also responding to the people who are there. Highlights include:

  • training to become more self aware
  • learning to relax
  • strategies to improve the harmonious quality of your movement
  • learning more about anatomy, as applied to movement
  • learning about patterns of coordination, which have developed over the course of evolution
  • cultivating an awareness of options in movement, and in living
  • re-inhabiting the body if through pain or trauma you have dissociated from it
  • experiencing and systematizing exercise routines that work for you

For many people this process brings big benefits, such as relief from pain, expansion of horizons, and hope and joy.

Will Feldenkrais work for you?
There is only one way to know: you have to try it. In a single session, whether individual or group, you can usually get an idea of whether it is a good fit or not.

A good way to begin is with an Individual Session. In one session I can evaluate what is going on with you and make a recommendation. In one session, you, too, will get a sense of whether the Method is a good fit.

Alternatively, you could start with a Group Class. This is also a great introduction.

Are we not yet acquainted?
Please contact me. It will be a pleasure to meet you.