Dawn Wittenberg
Years of experience as a personal trainer and massage therapist taught me to see the human body and movement at the muscular level. My understanding of functional and dysfunctional movement deepened exponentially under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Hills's while working as a physical therapy assistant at the Institute for Orthopedics and Chiropractic (IOC) in Edina. Dr. Hills taught me to look deeper to see and understand movement through the lens of joint mechanics and the skeletal system. Building on this foundation, he further expanded my understanding of movement by applying the principles of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) and functional movement as they apply primarily, but not solely, to gait.
My nearly 4 years of working at IOC were pivotal in my journey and development of the Functional Emotional Movement (FEM) method. Having studied with and learned from several orthopedic and manual therapy greats in his over 40-year career, Dr. Hills, a licensed physical therapist and chiropractor, is unquestionably one of today’s orthopedic greats. His knowledge and understanding of movement, functional and dysfunctional, are unparalleled, earning him and his clinic the reputation as the place where the “unfixable” find the help they need. Due to his reputation, numerous doctors and orthopedic specialists across the cities refer their patients to IOC. Thankfully for me and anyone fortunate enough to work with and learn from him, Dr. Hills is also a remarkable teacher. What I learned from him paved the path to the discoveries that led to the development of FEM.
Not only did Dr. Hills greatly expand my understanding of orthopedics, but he also taught me, by example, to wisely challenge convention. Ever the dabbler and experiential learner, I began integrating what I had learned about the functional movement of the pelvis and spine into my meditation practice. I found that if I moved my body into a position of functional limitation and then relaxed and meditated, my pain and discomfort decreased and my freedom of movement increased. I also experienced deep emotional healing, although I didn’t immediately correlate it to the functional approach of my developing mindfulness practice. As a clinician, I saw the orthopedic benefits as an opportunity to help my patients and decided to put it into practice. While these techniques helped my patients improve function and decrease pain, I also found, repeatedly, that patients would experience emotional connections much like I did. This was the "aha" moment that brought to my awareness the physiological BodyMind bridge that I had stumbled upon.
Growing up in an alcoholic, unpredictable and volatile environment scarred me deeply and I coped with carrying that pain in the best way I knew how, alcohol. It was April 1st, 2019 that I changed my relationship with alcohol which, in turn, allowed me to begin changing my relationship with myself. I was two years into my sober journey when I started practicing mindfulness and was propelled through a remarkable growth spurt. At the time, I solely credited the learning to the guidance of my new, amazing therapist, Julie Schmit, LMFT and to it being the next stage of my recovery journey. While working with Julie was (and is) vital to my healing and growth, I eventually came to understand the influence my orthopedic mindfulness practice was having on my progress. For many months I continued practicing and experimenting with what would eventually develop into the the FEM method. During this time, I went through a notable growth spurt of healing and self-awareness that touched on childhood trauma and attachment wounds, deeply believed false "truths," new perspectives of relational awareness and relational healing both past and present.
The FEM method is built using all the skills I've accumulated through my meandering career journey. While my training as a physical therapy assistant is keenly felt through the systematic approach and applied orthopedic and rehabilitative principles, my personal training background is reflected in the movement classes as well as the business structure. I believe that the FEM method has a remarkable capacity as a tool for healing and offering it in the class format allows me to reach more people, build and foster relationships and community, and makes receiving this work much more accessible and affordable for everyone.
I like to think of the FEM method as a map and tool kit you can use to help guide you on your physical and emotional healing journey. It is my great privilege to present this method to you. I hope it helps you as much as it's helped me!
My nearly 4 years of working at IOC were pivotal in my journey and development of the Functional Emotional Movement (FEM) method. Having studied with and learned from several orthopedic and manual therapy greats in his over 40-year career, Dr. Hills, a licensed physical therapist and chiropractor, is unquestionably one of today’s orthopedic greats. His knowledge and understanding of movement, functional and dysfunctional, are unparalleled, earning him and his clinic the reputation as the place where the “unfixable” find the help they need. Due to his reputation, numerous doctors and orthopedic specialists across the cities refer their patients to IOC. Thankfully for me and anyone fortunate enough to work with and learn from him, Dr. Hills is also a remarkable teacher. What I learned from him paved the path to the discoveries that led to the development of FEM.
Not only did Dr. Hills greatly expand my understanding of orthopedics, but he also taught me, by example, to wisely challenge convention. Ever the dabbler and experiential learner, I began integrating what I had learned about the functional movement of the pelvis and spine into my meditation practice. I found that if I moved my body into a position of functional limitation and then relaxed and meditated, my pain and discomfort decreased and my freedom of movement increased. I also experienced deep emotional healing, although I didn’t immediately correlate it to the functional approach of my developing mindfulness practice. As a clinician, I saw the orthopedic benefits as an opportunity to help my patients and decided to put it into practice. While these techniques helped my patients improve function and decrease pain, I also found, repeatedly, that patients would experience emotional connections much like I did. This was the "aha" moment that brought to my awareness the physiological BodyMind bridge that I had stumbled upon.
Growing up in an alcoholic, unpredictable and volatile environment scarred me deeply and I coped with carrying that pain in the best way I knew how, alcohol. It was April 1st, 2019 that I changed my relationship with alcohol which, in turn, allowed me to begin changing my relationship with myself. I was two years into my sober journey when I started practicing mindfulness and was propelled through a remarkable growth spurt. At the time, I solely credited the learning to the guidance of my new, amazing therapist, Julie Schmit, LMFT and to it being the next stage of my recovery journey. While working with Julie was (and is) vital to my healing and growth, I eventually came to understand the influence my orthopedic mindfulness practice was having on my progress. For many months I continued practicing and experimenting with what would eventually develop into the the FEM method. During this time, I went through a notable growth spurt of healing and self-awareness that touched on childhood trauma and attachment wounds, deeply believed false "truths," new perspectives of relational awareness and relational healing both past and present.
The FEM method is built using all the skills I've accumulated through my meandering career journey. While my training as a physical therapy assistant is keenly felt through the systematic approach and applied orthopedic and rehabilitative principles, my personal training background is reflected in the movement classes as well as the business structure. I believe that the FEM method has a remarkable capacity as a tool for healing and offering it in the class format allows me to reach more people, build and foster relationships and community, and makes receiving this work much more accessible and affordable for everyone.
I like to think of the FEM method as a map and tool kit you can use to help guide you on your physical and emotional healing journey. It is my great privilege to present this method to you. I hope it helps you as much as it's helped me!