Taro Iwamoto
After what felt like an endless journey through hundreds of sessions spanning physical therapy, Bikram Yoga, chiropractic treatments, and Gyrotonics, I stumbled upon something—or rather someone—truly remarkable. That someone is Taro, my Feldenkrais teacher. For years, I grappled with the aftermath of a torn ACL, an injury that ultimately led to a knee replacement. It was a challenging path, one filled with adjustments and compensations. But then I met Taro. His approach through Feldenkrais was the first that didn’t just band-aid the symptoms but delved into the root of my issues, teaching me not just what to fix, but how. Each session with Taro brought new revelations, those “a-ha” moments that anyone who has struggled with chronic pain or physical limitations dreams of. It’s not just about the exercises or the movements; it’s about relearning how your body can and should move, and Taro is a master at guiding this journey. I’m not alone in my experience. I’ve joined a growing list of individuals who have had their lives transformed by Taro’s expertise and the Feldenkrais method. It’s not an overstatement to say that working with Taro has been life-changing. The path to recovery is often long and winding, but with Taro’s guidance, it’s a journey marked by profound learning and genuine improvement. To anyone considering Feldenkrais or seeking a way out of chronic pain and limited mobility, I cannot recommend Taro enough. His knowledge, patience, and ability to connect with his students are unparalleled. Thank you, Taro, for opening a door to healing and mobility that I thought was permanently closed.
— David Lambson
This course “Understanding How YOUR BODY Moves” is one of the most valuable approaches to movement that I’ve ever experienced. I feel like Taro gave me the keys to understanding why I’ve had back pain for most of my adult life, and even better, how I can retrain myself in ways that distribute the effort of moving to the parts of my body that are meant to support it, taking the pressure off of my back muscles. For each movement we explored, we learned multiple variations that we use all the time in everyday tasks, and how to do each variation so that it took much less effort. The information was practical and hands-on, and the lessons were well-paced, with plenty of time to explore each movement, and short breaks in between to integrate the experience before moving on to the next. I also love that the course with pre-recorded lessons is allowing me to go back through the sequence and go deeper into the movements at my own pace. If you keep reinjuring yourself in the same way, if you’re stuck in a pattern of chronic pain that stretching, chiropractic, and other therapies haven’t been able to fix, or if you’re looking for a deeper understanding of how to move your body with ease and comfort, this is the course you’ve been looking for. Thank you, Taro!
— Bonnie Johnston
Never have I ever felt so comfortable in my body as I do now after completing this course with Taro Iwamoto. “Understanding How Your Body Moves” has exactly helped me to understand why I have been experiencing certain issues/struggles in my body movements all this time. The lessons and movements Taro shares, along with understanding why the movements are important to recognize, have helped to refine how I move in all kinds of physical activities in a way to feel better, more at ease and with confidence. Taro creates a fun and engaging learning environment where everyone feels safe and eager to share their experiences both during the zoom sessions and in the facebook group helping us to all learn from each other. Highly recommend this course!
— Asisthya “Sisi” Muluk
I have gotten so many gifts to my troublesome left hip and leg from this first time through this course “Understanding How YOUR BODY Moves Method” such as: better ankle awareness for easier dorsiflexion, more awareness of skeketal support for more balance gait even though still using a cane, ability to bend my knee more when walking instead of holding it stiffly, the beginning of more stability in my pelvis, more confidence walking in public, etc. A very interesting awareness has come clear and is a bit humorous to me. Several ways that I habitually used for walking support like a shopping cart in stores, or touching the wall or furniture while walking in the house, I now experience as actually hampering my skeletal support - getting me actually out of alignment and making my muscles compensate in different ways that tire me and cause me back pain! Who knew? I had no awareness of this before this course. I am excited to go through the modules again and see what happens this time as I deepen qmy practice of body awareness. Thanks to Taro’s course I feel I am beginning to finally get where I need to be. Hurray! This last but not least item of appreciation is that Taro’s attitude and communication about the body seems so knowledgeable and kind. In such a natural way, his ease and understanding of the body/brain connection has improved my relationship with my body and shown me a different way of perceiving my musculoskeletal problems, and I am relating to my body with more understanding instead of struggling with massive frustration. This has given me a more positive and hopeful outlook - which is everything. I enthusiastically trust Taro’s courses and guidance for his holistic knowledge and helpful instruction for physical improvement. I feel like I may have finally found the method and guide that is the right fit to help me get back to better mobility and strength.
— Monika McClain
The movement practice Taro shares is much more than Feldenkrais training. Taro has incorporated wisdom from his knowledge of many other disciplines and combined them in a comprehensive training of common sense, experience and easy to understand methods to help people understand their bodies and learn movements that they can incorporate into their everyday lives to assist them to live more comfortably and mindfully in their bodies. I have taken Feldenkrais classes, yoga, the Alexander Technique, chi gong and many more body movements and I learned the most about my body and seen more benefits in this course “Understanding How YOUR BODY Moves Method™” with Taro than I did doing these other forms of movements for years. I highly recommend his course to everyone who wants to feel better in their body and move more easily.
— Susan Thurber
I just completed the Comprehensive Movement Course “Understanding How YOUR BODY Moves Method”... As as Pilates instructor, we are encouraged to do Continuing Education classes. I am sooo glad that I found this course. Our first Pilates instructor Elizabeth Larkam is a Feldenkrais practitioner as well as a master Pilates instructor.. So, I was exposed to Feldenkrais for the last 25 yrs but his method of instruction was so clear, specific, great progression and fantastic connection to mind-body. His approach is FUNCTIONAL which applies to every client that we teach here at our studio. There are about 10 clients that are now following Taro on You Tube... Keep up the great work. I am personally benefiting from this course as well... Thank you Taro
— Cecilia Serra
Just wanted to let you know how things have been going since starting the course. I have noticed that when sitting I am more in neutral position than my posterior pelvic tilt and I feel centered. My hip movement is improving! When I first tried the exercises sitting on the chair, holding onto one leg and the other one with one hip off the chair I did them facing a mirror. I noticed that I wasn’t keeping my neutral spine position even before I started but that has really improved. I haven’t seen my trainer since May 8th (she was on holiday) and I noticed some things in my session today. My squat has improved - maintaining good neutral spine, no anterior pelvic tilt as I squat. When I came up from squat, and when I did burpees I noticed more pushing from the feet up and glute engagement! When I wasn’t in position my body felt it and I could correct. I am thrilled with how this is going!!!
— Sharon Hundert
His teachings on body-mind connection have changed my life! I’ve gone from suffering from chronic pain in back, neck and shoulders (plus 2 frozen shoulders, 10 years of trying osteopaths, acupuncturists, physio therapists, seen shoulder specialists and done MRI scans and 1 year of weekly physiotherapy) to being active and healthy again. If you’ve been stuck with pain and doctors keep telling you there’s nothing wrong with your spine or joints, I recommend you try his movement courses. Life changing and I’m not exaggerating. Thank you Taro for your love for this work and for your kind generosity in sharing it with us!
— Federica Stelli