Viviana Diaz, GCFP, LMT

I went for a massage for the usual reasons (tight shoulders and neck) and expected that I would get the usual massage that I’ve experienced with other massage therapists. I was wrong.
As Viviana worked on my shoulders and neck, I found myself relaxing more and more deeply, letting go of stress, and spontaneously exhaling as if the breath started in my toes. I have not experienced this degree of relaxation with any other massage therapist.
She skillfully worked where I needed to release and moved me in ways that helped me regain a wider range of motion. I left the massage feeling not only relaxed but «rightened». My body was more aligned and I could breathe more easily.
I highly recommend Viviana. She has expertly and compassionately fused different modalities to help her clients feel better.

I’m not one to write reviews, much less a review of this kind, but I was compelled to do so after my last session with Viviana. I have visited Viviana a number of times in the past for her Feldenkrais experience, and she had always proved herself to be an extremely intuitive practitioner. This last session exceeded all expectation. She worked at lenghth along my entire spine and I have to say I never felt anything like that before. Thank you Vivana, for the gift of lightness, recalled body memory, and ease of movement.

I had been suffering with back pain for a year and a half before I was threated by Viviana Diaz, a Feldenkrais Practioner, in Berkeley. A friend of mine recommended Feldenkrais as a way for relief. Feldenkrais is the practice of body motion capable of creating or recreating semmetry of motion when that motion is impaired by pain, as in my case. Believe me, I had tried chiropractic, accupuncture, physical therapy mostly to no to moderate success, respectively.
Viviana Diaz is caring, gentle, listens well, and very competent. I was treated at her home in a very spacious studio that is well equipped with table, towels, pillows, etc. I had read up on Feldenkrais methods a little before I saw her for the first of six session in March and April of this year. What I didn’t expect was by the second session she had identified a major cause of my pain and we worked to correct the problem and over the sessions my pain had diminished considerably.
I received instruction and exercises that I continue to perform daily to this day. About a month after I was treated by her I was pain free. Somebody wrote she is a miracle worker, to which I must agree. She is supported by her husband, Frank Wildman, one of the original Feldenkrais Practioners in Berkeley. I often thank my friend for encouraging me and it was my good fortune that I called upon and was treated by Viviana. I only wish all the professional I see were as good.

I’ve been going to Viviana for massage therapy twice monthly for over a year and I keep going back because her touch is blissful. She listens carefully to whatever it is I need each time I see her and she varies her pressure and style of touch accordingly depending on what i need. At times her massages are slow, deep, still, long — always quiet, always sensitive.
I know she’s also a Feldenkrais Practitioner and sometimes integrates some of those techniques into my massage. Whatever techniques she uses I leave feeling taller, feeling as if my long muscles have been ‘ironed out’.
Sometimes I feel super relaxed and sometimes invigorated. Also, her studio is spacious, clean and soothing, which i really appreciate.

Viviana is an extraordinarily gifted Feldenkrais practitioner and a true treasure to find in the Bay Area.
She exudes a calm, steady presence, mixed with a deep passion and knowledge of her craft. Her warmth and ease sets the tone for your healing to begin… even before assessment and touch.
I sought out Viviana for a chronic shoulder injury which was flaring mightily for several weeks. I could not put any pressure on it and found my sleep interrupted nightly.
Viviana assessed my level of movement and ease, had me lean and reach, walk and turn. Then the healing began with Viviana leading my body through gentle movements of the arm, shoulder and rib cage.
If you are not familiar with Feldenkrais, imagine your system bathing in a brain/​body re-set…also known as «Neuro-​Muscular Re-​education», which uses gentle and specific motion to unlock stuck patterns and set up more fluid and open pathways. It is amazing, and it is science.
In literally one session I was restored to pain-​free movement, including lying down on the challenged shoulder, and four months later I am still feeling great!
I thank Viviana for «re-​setting» me with Feldenkrais, and recommend her highly. She’s the best!