Feldenkrais Practitioner (Rachel Hamstra)

Rachel is incredible and truly magical. It’s my major oversight that in my 6+ years in seeing Rachel for her work, that I’m only now writing her a stellar review. Every time I go, I feel I learn so much about my body and her practice - my health and intuition have greatly grown. I recommend Rachel to everyone who would like to get to the bottom of a bodily concern or who has a curiosity and interest in learning about the interconnectedness of their body and mind. I’m very glad Rachel and I crossed paths - I am a better person for it.

Rachel is amazing! I went to see her because I kept rolling my ankles and in working together, we were actually able to address some whole body issues that were causing a bunch of other issues. Highly highly recommend!

Client testimony: I've had 5 car accidents (lots of whiplash) in the last 7years, dislocated rib, some hypermobility, strained tendond/ligaments in knees/wrists, pulled lumbar spine ligament, a hyperactive nervous system from ptsd and concussion. Basically everything hurt to some degree. My pain had become debilitating but since i started working with Rachel last fall the pain i was taking 1-3 hot baths/showers a day to manage is either gone most the time or manageable. Some of the pain has changed but with her help i understand why and i have an idea of what habits i need to change to keep moving towards pain free. Not there yet but i actually have hope and feel like i actually am getting better. Highly recommend. Particularly if you have a persistent, chronic, or repetitive pain/injury.

I have been working with Rachel for a year. I have had lower back pain for about 20 years and I have tried every type of body work available: muscle energy, Soma, Rolfing, Traeger, Deep tissue massage, physical therapy, pilates, yoga, anti-inflammatory diet, and finally Feldenkrais. I have worked with three Feldenkrais practitioners and Rachel is the tops. I have complex postural and movement patterns from a variety of injuries over the years. Rachel and I work in cooperation to solve these problems. I spend a lot of my time noticing patterns in my body. I try to notice patterns at work, at the gym, and around the house doing chores. When I notice something gives me pain or my body moves in an awkward or unbalanced way I bring this information to Rachel. Rachel is very thoughtful as we work through this process. She breaks down the movements and notices the differences, then she puts me on the table and with her subtle gentle movements she is able to teach my body new and more efficient patterns of movement. I get very simple homework to do until our next visit (2 X monthly). I can feel my body change over the next two weeks. I do this in conjunction with another therapist who specializes in hip stabilization (I go here every week). These two therapists’ work has helped me to reduce my pain in all my activities throughout the year. I am very active and I need my body to perform and recovery quickly. Rachel is knowledgable and intuitive. I highly recommend her for any body issues related to movement and posture.