May 2024

In Touch is a quarterly e-newsletter about developing one's competence as a Feldenkrais® teacher. Issues will contain articles about teaching the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education, running your own business, and more.

Photo by Eleni Koureas

One of the most important innovations of the pedagogy of Moshe Feldenkrais was his emphasis on the importance of individual autonomy on the path to realizing more universal qualities of human potential. He repeatedly urged his students and clients to listen to their own internal sense of what felt 'right' rather than trying to reproduce the actions of external models.

Speaking at Amherst in 1980, he said,

"Once we can learn a movement, we know it well - in every direction, in every detail We are now free to write our own handwriting.”

As practitioners of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education - with its vast archive of Awareness Through Movement® lessons and its incredibly broad range of applications and potential audiences - we too have to decide on our own unique paths. This is often a process of trial and error. In addition, as we build a Feldenkrais® practice, reach out to find clients, and choose the lessons we teach and the vocabulary we use to articulate our ideas, we draw on our entire life experience, not just the curriculum of a single Feldenkrais® professional training.

In this edition of In Touch, three of our colleagues share the stories of their own unique paths through the Feldenkrais® universe, both in terms of how they discovered their unique style of teaching and some of the ways that they have helped their clients to find their own 'handwriting.'

Anastasi Siotas is a trainer candidate who has been a Feldenkrais® practitioner since 1997 and is particularly known for expertise with anatomy. He spoke with editor Seth Dellinger about how his teaching was shaped by his background as a scientist and a dancer and the influence of teachers both inside and outside of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education, including Ruthy Alon, the creator of Bones for Life, and the renowned dancer and teacher of kinesthetic anatomy, Irene Dowd. He also talks why he believes that the new Feldenkrais® training in New York City he is organizing will support trainees 'handwriting' most effectively as an entirely in-person experience despite the growing prevalence of online education.

Tiffany Sankary, an assistant trainer who first discovered the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education in 2002, came from a background as an artist. In the course of her development as a Feldenkrais® practitioner, she explored a variety of other learning modalities and has built an online community, Movement & Creativity, where she mixes and matches a variety of offerings for her clients. Tiffany was also interviewed by Seth Dellinger for this edition. 

Tim Sobie, who was already a professional physical therapist before he became a Feldenkrais® practitioner in 1996 contributes an article to In Touch, detailing his journey of reconciling his work with patients/clients at the intersection of two completely different philosophies of working with human movement. In his process of translating a Feldenkrais® of somatic education approach into a language that could be understood - and rigorously tested - by an audience more familiar with a traditional medical model, he found himself enacting a process quite similar to the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education itself.

Following the success of the first In Touch Live in February, we're pleased to invite Anastasi, Tiffany and Tim for a live event in July to dialogue with you about your experiences of finding your own 'handwriting' as a Feldenkrais® practitioner. Stay tuned for the date!

Meanwhile, we hope this edition of In Touch gets you thinking about your own path with the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education. How did you get to where you are today and where are you headed to next?!

Joe, Jane, Michelle & Seth

Trainer Candidate Anastasi Siotas talks to In Touch editor Seth Dellinger about his own developmental process as Feldenkrais practitioner as well as the learning experience he intends to offer participants in his upcoming Feldenkrais® training in New York City which will be a 100% in person experience.

About Anastasi:

Anastasi Siotas is a Greek-Australian well known for his expertise in Anatomy, gained through studies, research, and teaching in diverse fields such as marine plant cell biology, modern dance, and biotensegrity. He has been working as a Feldenkrais® practitioner in New York City since 1997 and has assisted in Feldenkrais® training programs in Manhattan continuously since 1998. 

Anastasi trained in movement analysis at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies NYC and has been on their faculty teaching Kinesthetic Anatomy since 2008. His unique approach to the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education has been well-received in the USA, Australia, China, Japan, Austria, Holland, and Greece. 

Assistant Trainer Tiffany Sankary talks to In Touch editor Seth Dellinger about how the journey towards deeper self-knowing that began with her discovery of the Feldenkrais Method continued to open up as she discovered other learning modalities such as Organic Intelligence® and the Jeremy Krauss approach, and how she put the pieces of her unique Feldenkrais® puzzle together.

About Tiffany:

Tiffany Sankary is an artist, Feldenkrais® Practitioner/ Assistant Trainer, Organic Intelligence® Coach, Jeremy Krauss Approach teacher (JKA Solvents and Glue), and mother of two. She created MovementandCreativity.com, an online community and multimedia resource exploring the intersection of movement, creativity, well-being, vitality and learning. 

Tiffany is the illustrator and editor of Feldenkrais® Illustrated: The Art of Learning, a visual guide to the philosophy and writings of Moshe Feldenkrais. She is currently working on a new book and is the organizer of the 2025 JKA Solvents and Glue Teacher Training.

Photo by Lanju Fotographie

All in all, our Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education can be experienced and delivered by engaging in an immersive and continuous study of contrasts.

From the very beginning, you likely encountered fixed holding patterns being contrasted by fluid releasing patterns as a novel and refreshing source of both deeper rest and effective action - being magically afforded through Awareness Through Movement® lessons.

During a repeat body scan, you likely witnessed the quality of a more flat and continuous spine laying at rest - being contrasted by maybe an over-arched or compressive spine only moments before. 

There are many degrees of contrasting phenomenological and exploratory dimensions being encountered and reflected upon while practicing the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education. These can include standing vs. laying, inner vs. outer, sensory vs. motor, verbal vs. nonverbal . . . 

About Tim:

Tim Sobie is both a physical therapist (OUHSC 86’) and a senior practitioner in The Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education (FPTP Oregon 96’). He completed his Master of Science degree in Behavioral Medicine in 1999 and his doctoral dissertation Ph.D. in clinical psychophysiology at Saybrook University in 2016 by comparing an original, body schema & neuroplasticity-based Feldenkrais® approach against usual physical therapy protocols for chronic low back pain – demonstrating superior results. Having maintained a specialty practice career ownership for 30+ years in Tacoma & Olympia WA, USA, Tim is now researching Augmented & Mixed Reality applications to our work. Learn more at timsobie.com. 

RESOURCES: 

- Click here to try a free audio Awareness Through Movement® lesson taught by Anastasi Siotas

- Watch a video collage: 'Finding Our Own Handwriting', created by Tiffany Sankary, featuring footage of  Moshe Feldenkrais Teaching in Amherst, 1981

- Click here to experience Hip Hip Hooray, JKA Solvents and Glue standing practice with Tiffany Sankary

- Tiffany would like to give you a coupon for a 30% discount on her Movement & Creativity Library Membership through May 31st. Experience her recent integrative workshop (mentioned in the interview) as well as a searchable archive of Movement & Creativity resources that support physical, emotional, creative well-being.

- Click the links below for additional resources from Tim Sobie: 

a) Plantar Fasciitis case study

b) Changing Dimensions in Health Care:
Teaching as Distinguished from Treating

c) Levels of Learning

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: JOIN US FOR IN TOUCH LIVE!

Join In Touch Live! an interactive conversation with Anastasi, Tiffany and Tim on Tuesday, July 9 at 7:30pm to dialogue about the process of "finding your own handwriting" as a Feldenkrais® practitioner!