February 2026
What is Somatic Education?
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Photo credit: IFF
"I believe that the unity of mind and body is an objective reality. They are not just parts somehow related to each other, but an inseparable whole while functioning. A brain without a body could not think."
— Moshe Feldenkrais, Embodied Wisdom: The Collected Papers of Moshe Feldenkrais
The Feldenkrais Method® is frequently described as a form of 'Somatic Education' - a distinction that helps set it apart from traditional exercise. But what does this term actually mean?
By exploring the history of somatic practice, we can better understand the unique contribution Feldenkrais makes to the field. The word "Soma" comes from the Greek, referring to the living, embodied experience of a human being. In 1976, philosophy professor Thomas Hanna coined the term 'Somatics' to describe the study of the mind and body as a unified, living process experienced from within.
Deeply influenced by F.M. Alexander and Moshe Feldenkrais, Hanna was a pioneer in understanding neuroplasticity. His work emphasized a core truth shared by both Hanna Somatics and the Feldenkrais Method: that every individual possesses an innate capacity for self-learning, responsibility, and self-determination.
This edition of SenseAbility clarifies the origins of Somatic Education and the Feldenkrais Method’s place within it. Through Thomas Kampe’s article on the evolution of the field, we see Moshe Feldenkrais not just as a visionary leader, but as a key contributor to a collective shift in human thought.
We also feature a rich discussion with Berlin-based practitioner Kate Sagovsky on the meaning of 'Soma.' Kate explores how each of us is a unique individual, yet also part of a wider whole—interwoven with our relationships, our communities, and both the natural and man-made environments we inhabit.
We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter.
Joe, Michelle, Eleanor, and Jane
FGNA Communications Team
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The Feldenkrais Method: A Somatic [R]evolution |
The Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education is often introduced as a way to move more easily, reduce pain, or improve posture. Yet this description only touches the surface. At its core, Feldenkrais’s work is a method of learning—a way of understanding how we organize ourselves in action, perception, and thought. It asks a deceptively simple question: How do we learn to act with more choice, ease, and awareness in our lives?
In a world shaped by speed, pressure, and constant external demands, many of us experience our bodies as tools to be managed or fixed—containers carrying our minds from task to task. Feldenkrais proposed something radically different. He understood the body not as an object, but as a living, sensing process, inseparable from thinking, feeling, and relating. His method belongs to a wider family of practices known as Somatics, but it also stands as one of the clearest and most rigorously developed expressions of that tradition.
To understand the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education is to understand a quiet cultural revolution—one that has been unfolding for more than a century, challenging how Western societies think about education, health, and human agency.
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Thomas Kampe (PhD/UK) trained as a visual artist and dancer, and has worked as a performing artist, researcher and somatic educator across the globe for over 40 years. He has participated in and directed intimate installations and large-scale participatory site responsive performances since the early 1980’s.
Between 2012 and 2022 he worked as Professor of Somatic Performance & Education at Bath Spa University, UK, where he co-directed the Creative Corporealities Research Group.
Thomas is a practitioner of The Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education and guest-editor of the IFF research Journal Vol. 6 (2019): ‘Practices of Freedom: The Feldenkrais Method and Creativity’.
He recently co-edited JDSP Vol. 13.1 &2 (2022): ‘Embodying Eco-Consciousness: Somatics, Aesthetic Practice and Social Action’.
Thomas's website: thomaskampe.wordpress.com
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Podcast Interview with Kate Sagovsky |
Somatic Education: Reclaiming Our Embodied Agency |
In this month’s podcast, we sit down with Berlin-based practitioner Kate Sagovsky to explore the profound meaning of the term "Soma." Moving beyond academic definitions, Kate shares how viewing ourselves as a unified, living process allows us to move from the "inside-out," prioritizing our internal felt sense over external "perfect" forms.
During the conversation, she highlights why slowing down to sense ourselves is actually a radical act in a "hustle" culture that often demands disembodiment.
We also dive into the fascinating field of Ecosomatics, discussing how reconnecting with our own bodies is a vital first step toward healing our relationship with the wider natural world.
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Kate Sagovsky is an international artist specializing in movement, (eco) somatics, & live performance.
She completed a BA in English Language & Literature (Oxford University) before training at postgraduate level in movement & dance (RCSSD; Laban). Having completed a four-year professional training, she is a qualified practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education & teaches regularly through STUDIO SOMA of which she is Co-Founder/Creative Director.
Sagovsky has worked as a movement specialist in many contexts, including at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company, & the National Theatre.
As Artistic Director of MOVING DUST, Sagovsky creates artworks that are hybrid in form, blurring the boundaries between theater, dance, installation, & live art. Past work has been performed to critical acclaim across the UK, including at The Soho Theatre, The Bush, The Arcola, & Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Her first book ‘Laban’s Efforts in Action: An Actor Movement Handbook’ was co-written with Vanessa Ewan & published by Bloomsbury (2019). Her current research focus is on ‘Rewilding Play’, in which she is exploring how performance forms developed through outdoors somatic movement improvisation can help to develop a new sense of eco-consciousness.
Kate's website: www.studiosoma.space
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- Knee Hug - A short Awareness Through Movement® lesson with Thomas Kampe
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'Embodying Change' : An article by Kate Sagovsky - Which explores ideas around disembodiment in relation to ecological crisis & the importance of embodied play as part of protest & change.
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