We are in danger of losing this critical part of Feldenkrais' repertoire. These days, more rollers are found in physical rehabilitation and exercise settings than in Feldenkrais lessons or classes. All too often, we use them only to provide support and comfort. While this is valuable, if that's the only way we use them, we will lose their potential as transformative teaching tools.
When Dr. Feldenkrais started using rollers in Functional Integration®
lessons, they were made of wood. Later, when plastics were developed, he began using rollers made of a more user-friendly material. He decided to use rollers made of the material we now use, Ethafoam, a closed-cell polyethylene foam, because it is lightweight, strong, and resilient. Unlike wooden rollers, those made of this foam provide some give, and unlike Styrofoam, they retain their shape over time.
Over the years, Feldenkrais invented and taught many lessons using rollers. In some cases, he would ask a student to lie lengthwise, from head to pelvis, on a roller. In other lessons, the student sat in a chair with the roller upright between the spine and the back of the chair. He would give lessons with a roller positioned crosswise behind the student's neck, upper back, pelvis, or feet. In some lessons, he would ask a student to sit on a roller, step onto a roller from standing, or transition from sitting to standing on one or two rollers. Finally, there's a lesson where the student is floating on "a sea of rollers."
Adding one or more rollers to a Functional Integration® lesson fundamentally alters students' readiness to learn and change. Lying or sitting on a roller rather than on the flat surface of a table or chair affects the student’s potential for movement, making comfort and balance difficult. The roller transforms a static situation into a mobile one, actively engaging the student. In other lessons, the roller serves as an external reference, helping students make sense of what they’re sensing in often surprising and always meaningful ways. The roller can also serve as an obstacle around which the student must modify their motion and reevaluate their capabilities. Finally, as a multiplier of motion, the roller amplifies and clarifies actions that would otherwise be missed entirely.
In February 2026, Larry Goldfarb, CFT, MSME, Ph.D., teaches two of these remarkable, transformative lessons in an exclusive small-group advanced training in Santa Cruz, California. To ensure personal attention, individualized feedback, and bespoke coaching, participation is limited to eight Feldenkrais teachers.
One of the FIs is rarely, if ever, taught in teacher training programs, and the other is in danger of being lost entirely from the known repertoire of FIs:
- Sitting at a Column, where a roller is placed between the student's back and a chair.
With a large roller behind the student’s back, the teacher explores the movement of the head, arms, and legs, supports compulsive contraction, and helps the student find the skeletal support needed for effortless sitting. This lesson provides a much-needed bridge between what a student has been learning while lying on the table and what occurs when they stand upright. In addition, it is suitable for students who can't lie down or are uncomfortable sitting. - The Neck Pillow, where a roller is behind the neck of a student who is lying supine.
Throughout this FI, although the teacher touches only the roller and the student’s head, neck, and shoulders, the lesson affects the overall tonus by altering the neuromuscular global organization. The lesson unfolds as the teacher carefully follows and clarifies the transmission of force from the student’s head and neck through the spine and chest, and ultimately to the pelvis. Exploring the precise connections of the cervical spine through the trunk reveals and relieves habitual patterns of contraction, uncovering markedly improved ways of shifting and breathing.
As with every postgraduate program offer, you can count on Larry’s clarity, thoroughness, kindness, and patience. His approach to teaching enables you to understand how and why the lesson works, refine your hands-on sensitivity and skill, and make significant improvements in your self-use. You will become familiar with the full structure of each lesson, from engaging your students at the beginning to creating conditions for lasting learning by the end.
