By Christine Graf
Licensed massage therapist and certified Feldenkrais Method practitioner Evan Rock has moved her Saratoga Awareness business to 7 Wells St. in Saratoga Springs.
Rock, a Saratoga native, founded her business in 2015 and previously operated out of a shared space at 2 Franklin Square.
She has an applied science degree in massage therapy from SUNY Morrisville and completed a four-year certification program at the Feldenkrais Institute in Manhattan.
The method employs the use of gentle movement and increased awareness to improve range of motion, flexibility, and coordination. It was developed in the 1940s by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, an Israeli engineer, physicist, and martial arts expert. The method is based on the principles of physics and biomechanics and was introduced to the United States in the 1970s.
“It’s a method of reeducating your nervous system for more efficient movement,” said Rock. “Our body gets stuck in habits of repetition, and this is introducing variety into your movement repertoire so that all movement can be more efficient. That way you are not straining the same joints over and over again.
“It decreases overuse and allows your body to do things with more strength and better balance and better posture. It’s a really amazing method, and it changed how I worked. It changed how I looked at the body and how I looked for connections in the body—the way that somebody is standing, sitting, or communicating in other non-verbal ways. You get a lot from what they are telling you verbally, but their body is telling you the rest of the story.”
The Feldenkrais Method has both a classroom and a one-on-one component. Rock taught the classroom component, Awareness Through Movement, at Saratoga Health and Wellness. Classes have been suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19.
She practices the one-on-one, hands-on Functional Integration component of the method at her office on Wells Street. Many of Rock’s Functional Integration clients are seeking relief from some type of acute or chronic pain.
“We often times start from a place of pain, but after somebody comes back to a more neutral place, there is always room to improve as well,” said Rock. “People definitely get hooked on it.”
Rock’s business is split evenly between therapeutic massage and Functional Integration. She follows rigorous COVID-19 health protocols in her office.
“When I reopened, I did so much research on what COVID was and how it was spread, not just on CDC regulations but on how I could really protect my clients from it. I developed a plan of action,” she said. “I think people feel comfortable, and they were excited to come back to see me because they had been away from body work. Not only were things aching, but their whole lives were upended.”
For more information about Saratoga Awareness visit saratogaawareness.com or call 518-368-9112.