Defining the Feldenkrais Method®?
January 2025
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“I am keen to understand our ways of functioning so that we can learn to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.” - Moshe Feldenkrais
Happy new year Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education fans!
We thought we should start of the year with a fresh attempt at defining what the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education is.
This serves two purposes, the first is to bring this amazing resource to new audiences and make real differences in the quality of peoples lives. The second is as a fun 'mini challenge' to the Feldenkrais® movement practitioner community, to see if we can collectively become more effective at providing short descriptions of what the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education is and how it works.
This isn't an easy feet because of the variety of applications of the method, you have practitioners working working with young children and the elderly, others helping musicians with fine motor dexterity, or helping weight lifters with good skeletal alignment. Those helping office workers with persistent back pain or RSI or helping athletes recover after injury. We have practitioners working with people with various disabilities, with Parkinson's disease or stroke recovery. You name it and a Feldenkrais Method of movement practitioner has probably helped someone with it.
So as you can see, when the application of the method is that broad, is isn't always easy to condense 'what it is' and 'how it works' into a few simple sentences.
In this month's Senseability we reached out to practitioners from around the world to share their 100 word descriptions with us. It's a fantastic short collection and we think it will have something for everyone. It also serves to highlight that we are all unique as humans, in terms of how and what we have learned and how we express it. This is something that we think Moshe Feldenkrais would have been proud of.
In this edition we have a wonderful interview with Paris Kern. As a trainer and long time Feldenkrais movement practitioner she has had plenty of opportunity to refine how she talks about the method and that really comes through in her delivery. She speaks clearly and concisely and makes the most of the opportunity to describe what the method is.
Lastly we have a short video submitted to us by a practitioner who was concerned with the lack of clear and concise descriptions of the method, so he spend a year working with animators, musicians and his fellow practitioners to create a short 'what is the Feldenkrais Method' animated video.
If you are a Feldenkrais movement practitioner and you would like to contribute to the newsletter in 2025 please get in contact with us here: fgnacommunications1@gmail.com
Feldenkrais Communication Team
Jane, Michelle, Seth and Joe
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What is the Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Education? |
An interview with Paris Kern
In this month's Senseability podcast interview Paris Kern explains that the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education is best understood through direct experience, and even if we can come up with the best description possible, it still wouldn't completely make sense to someone without them actually trying an Awareness Through Movement® lesson or a Functional Integration® session. She then leans on her wealth of experience to provide a beautifully clear and accessible answer to 'What is the Feldenkrais Method?' question.
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Paris Kern has been a Feldenkrais movement Practitioner since 1992, and has attained the highest professional certification as a designated Feldenkrais movement Teacher trainer. Paris also travels to train the next generations of Feldenkrais movement practitioners, teach workshops in The Sounder Sleep System™, Your Body Sings and Riding with the Whole Self.
Since 2020 she has pioneered teaching the Sounder Sleep System online creating teacher training programs Hong Kong, North and South America, Europe and Mainland China Paris is a steady and inspiring presence, who brings a compassionate and light hearted manner to her work.
She has the ability to simplify complex theories and principles of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education. Through stories and demonstrations, she de-mystifies challenging concepts and brings a common sense approach to her work.
Her website is www.pariskern.com
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Asking Practitioners.. 'What is the Feldenkrais Method®?' |
An collection of short descriptions of the Feldenkrais Method of movement provided by practitioners from around the world!
In this month’s Senseability newsletter we reached out to practitioners from around the world to share their 100 word descriptions of ‘What the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education is?’ with us.
It’s a fantastic short collection and we think it has something for everyone. It also serves to highlight that while we all went through the same 4 year professional training process, we are all unique, in terms of our life experiences, what we have learned over time and how we express it. This is something that we think Moshe Feldenkrais would have been proud of, diversity in the expression of the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education.
If you are inspired by any of the descriptions, please reach out to the practitioner for more information. We have included their website details, and where they are based.
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What is the Feldenkrais Method® - Animated Video |
An animated video about the Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Education
From Mattis Appelquist-Dalton, one of the creators of the video:
Over the years, many practitioners and students shared with us that they felt the need for a simple, engaging tool – a short, 5-minute video to introduce the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education to prospective students and collaborators. Over the course of six months, we worked with two animators, a composer, a script consultant, and received invaluable input from trainers and practitioners. The result is and fun, and I hope, compelling video that conveys the essence of the method.
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