Body & Brain Health through Movement

We all want to feel vital, potent and effective in our lives! Movement is Life is dedicated to creating health and well-being by employing a variety of direct, subtle and pleasing physical movements which, in turn, engage the brain. Practitioners help people feel better and become healthier in their bodies …and minds!… by increasing the possibilities for facility and ease in thinking and movement.

At Movement is Life, we work with the healthy, the delayed and the injured: infants, toddlers, children, teens, adults and seniors. We work with all those who wish to remain active and engaged in life; with those recovering from illness or trauma; with high performers such as athletes, musicians, dancers or actors who wish to have long and injury-free careers; with people who want to live as fully as possible! We help create greater freedom of movement and comfort, and take people beyond the point where they currently are, in their physical and mental abilities.

The ease and gentleness of the method invites people of all ages and abilities to partake of this extraordinary path toward wellness and health. In addition, people may experience a refined self-image and heightened sensory acuity when taking these lessons over time.

What do we offer?

Movement is Life offers private, semi–private and group lessons in:

The Feldenkrais Method®

The Anat Baniel Method^sm

The Anat Baniel Method for Children ^sm

The Anat Baniel Method for Vitality & Anti-Aging^sm

The Anat Baniel Method for High Performers^sm

Advanced Feldenkrais® lessons based on The Scoliosis Project, Zürich Switzerland, 2008

Call 773.338.7883 or e-mail to learn more or make an appointment!

Claire is a Neuromovement Practitioner, a certified Anat Baniel Method℠ Practitioner (2002), Feldenkrais® Practitioner (FGNA - 2003), with advanced certification in ABM for Infants & Children, ABM for High Performers and ABM Vitality & Anti-Aging. Claire also has graduated with advanced certification from The Scoliosis Project 2008 in Zurich, Switzerland, taught by Feldenkrais virtuosos, Eilat Almagore and Anat Krivine. Additional studies, beyond ABM, include advanced coursework with master trainers such as Mia Segal, Larry Goldfarb, Chava Shelhav and Svetlana Masgutova. Claire also counts ABM Senior Trainer, Marcy Lindheimer, as her treasured mentor and friend. Claire has taught ABM lessons for clients and students in Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Missouri, Kansas, California, New York and Texas. In addition, Claire has assisted Anat Baniel with her public speaking engagements in the Chicago area and also has spoken herself about ABM at a number of meetings, conventions and conferences in the Midwest.

Since 2003, Claire has built one of the largest ABM children’s practices in the Midwest (US) and works in Chicago with special needs infants and children, as well as healthy infants and children. Claire’s practice also includes adults, seniors, athletes, musicians and artistic performers of all kinds to achieve enhanced performance. Claire’s work also helps people who have chronic or situational pain issues: scoliosis, back pain, neck & shoulder pain, for examples. And, finally, she is also a proud member of the staff of Mindful Movement in Highland Park, IL, working closely with fellow ABM colleague and friend, Suzi Marks.

Claire became aware of Anat Baniel and her remarkable work with children 25 years ago when a dear friend had a baby boy born with global brain damage. His parents were handed a devastating medical diagnosis with an even more horrific prognosis for their boy. Shortly thereafter, that baby started intensive lessons with Anat Baniel and subsequently achieved what no one would have even hoped for. Claire followed the progress of this child over the years and fueled her interest in the method by taking adult Feldenkrais® classes and private lessons from Anat Baniel and Marcy Lindheimer when they came to Chicago on a regular basis.

Later, Claire used this same method to successfully recover from a severe brain injury sustained after a terrible car accident in 1996. She was astounded by the remarkable effectiveness of this method on her recovery from the accident, given that she was not a child but in her early 40’s. Within three years of the accident, Claire chose to “reinvent herself” and switch careers to become an Anat Baniel Method℠ & Feldenkrais practitioner. Claire graduated from Anat’s first-ever ABM Practitioner Training Program and her first ABM Advanced Trainings. Following her graduation, Claire assisted Anat for 8 years in her Practitioner and Advanced Trainings, being one of the initial members of the ABM Assistant Training Program.

She is passionate about the possibilities of what this neuromovement work can do to transform the lives of people, of all ages. And because she, herself, personally experienced the healing power of this method, she has dedicated herself to bring about greater awareness of this method, which had been relatively unknown, to the larger public.

Call or e-mail for an appointment :
Claire Conley ABMP, GCFP
West Rogers Park area
(Also called West Ridge Neighborhood)
Chicago, IL 60645

Bus: 773.802.2580
Fax: 773.338.7885
Cell: 773.802.2580
Send an email
Visit the MIL website - coming soon at movementislife.com

Also practicing on the Chicago North Shore at :

Mindful Movement
Old Elm Shopping Plaza
502 Old Elm Road
Highland Park, IL 60035

Infants • Children • Teens

• Healthy Children who need a boost in their ability to learn and move.
• Active, sports-minded youth looking for improved performance.
• Children with Developmental Delays or Special Needs, including:

• Cerebral Palsy
• Brain Damage
• Birth Injuries
• Brachial Plexus Injury
• Focal Dystonia
• Learning Delays
• ADD/ADHD
• Scoliosis
• Stuttering
• Sensory Issues
• Genetic disorders

Adults • Seniors • Athletes • Performing Artists

• Healthy Adults who wish to remain vital and active in all stages of their lives, with increased energy & stamina
• Athletes, Sport Enthusiasts & Weekend Warriors who want to be more effective
• Actors, Musicians, Dancers dealing with injuries, repetitive motion pain or wish to upgrade to the next level of performance
• Adults with Pain Management Issues, including Arthritis & Repetitive Stress Syndrome
• Adults who have Scoliosis and wish to avoid surgery & live pain-free
• Those who have suffered a Stroke or are dealing with other Neurological Disorders
• Chronic or occasional Shoulder, Neck, Joint and Back pain, Scoliosis pain
• Seniors with balance, strength, bone-health or mobility issues
• All people who wish enhanced mental clarity, memory and concentration

Over many years studying the work of Moshe Feldenkrais and Anat Baniel, I have come to understand and believe that THE BRAIN AND BODY FUNCTION AS ONE. In addition, I know that brain health and development is fundamentally linked with physical movement.

Through an educational approach to the nervous system, ABM uses a wide variety of gentle and precise movements which powerfully engages the whole person in activities that create awareness, attention and, ultimately, alternatives in movement. These movement lessons translate into the creation of new neural pathways and options in both thinking and movement for the student.

The Anat Baniel^sm and Feldenkrais® Methods HELP THE BRAIN TO DO ITS JOB BETTER! The results can be dramatic, including increased functionality, decreased limitations, new learning and abilities, diminished discomfort and often the elimination of pain.

For example:
“I've lived with back pain my entire life, I was diagnosed with a severe case of scoliosis when I was 16.
Due to my active life & lifestyle I knew I couldn't have the surgery, but didn't want to live in pain the rest of my life, either. I decided to try anything and came to Claire knowing I had nothing to lose. I was so surprised at the results: I could drive without pain, I was taller, and my back felt more flexible and relaxed than I could remember. Ever since going to Claire I have never returned to my original pain level I had lived with for 16 years. I highly recommend this method to anyone suffering from discomfort and pain from scoliosis. Thanks to Claire and her easy, gentle lessons needing surgery is no longer a concern.“
--Christine Hohe, college student and competitive horsewoman

If you want to know more about this method, don't miss reading Anat Baniel's remarkable book:

KIDS BEYOND LIMITS:
The Anat Baniel Method for Awakening the Brain
and Transforming the Life of Your Child with Special Needs

This book clearly talks about the underpinnings of the method and the essential practices that make this method work. Plus, Anat is a remarkable story teller who gives life to this method through the real-life examples she chooses to share with the readers.

Whether you are an adult with a bad back, a senior with balance problems or a parent of a child with special needs, this book outlines a way to renewed health, vitality and, indeed, a new mapping of the brain.

"Movement is Life. Life is a process. Improve the quality of the process and you improve the quality of life itself."
--- Moshe Feldenkrais


"What I'm after isn't flexible bodies, but flexible brains. What I'm after is to restore each person to their human dignity."
--- Moshe Feldenkrais