July 2025
Becoming a Feldenkrais® Teacher
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Becoming a Feldenkrais Teacher
In last month's edition we covered the very beginning of someone's journey with the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education, metaphorically holding their hand as they took their first steps. This month we want to cover the other side of the spectrum.
If you have taken many classes and have become curious about how the lessons work, or you have had an impactful Functional Integration® lesson from a qualified Feldenkrais practitioner, and would like to learn this fascinating art form, then this edition is for you!
If you are interested in taking your learning further and are considering enrolling in a professional Feldenkrais training program, then we have the perfect edition lined up.
We have two insightful and informative podcast interviews with Feldenkrais trainers from both sides of the Atlantic: Alan Questel, who has a new training staring in Santa Fe, US, in 2026, and Scott Clark who teaches in the UK, and has a new training starting in Bath in 2026.
We also have a lovely personal account of her training journey by Feldenkrais practitioner Margaret Kaye, who is based in Australia, proving that regardless of where you are in the world there is a way for you to access the many benefits of training in the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education.
We hope you enjoy this new edition of the SenseAbility newsletter.
Joe, Michelle and Jane
FGNA Communications team
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Developing Competence, Becoming Confident |
An interview with Alan Questel about becoming a Feldenkrais® practitioner
In this interview SenseAbility editor Joe Webster speaks with Alan Questel, an experienced Feldenkrais teacher and trainer. Alan has thought deeply about the training process and has some great ways of explaining what people should expect when they enrol in a professional Feldenkrais training.
Alan starts with the discussing what skills you need to develop to be a professional Feldenkrais teacher; he uses the model of the five stages of learning from novice towards expertise. He identifies competence (the middle stage) as the main area that the training process is focused towards. He says that trainee practitioners are guided in their understanding of Awareness Through Movement® lessons, deepening their knowledge through experience and analysis, which allows them to work dynamically with the material and the various needs of their students.
He goes on to discuss the opportunity students are given to immerse themselves in the gentle, respectful and rewarding sensory movement experiences of the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education over the course of the 4 year training. During that time they learn how to move more comfortably through life, and Alan believes they may even learn to like (or even love) themselves again.
If you are interested, he discusses that process in greater depth in his book: Practice Intentional Acts of Kindness... and Like Yourself More
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Alan Questel is known for his clarity, creativity and down to earth style of teaching. He brings a depth of understanding, humor and a gentle human perspective to the learning of the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education and creates lively conditions for learning.
Trained by Dr. Feldenkrais (Amherst 1983), Alan has lectured and taught at hospitals, colleges and Feldenkrais® professional training programs throughout the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan, Taiwan and Canada, teaching people from all walks of life.
He became an Assistant Trainer in 1986 and earned his certification as a Trainer in 1994. He has taught in over 40 Feldenkrais professional training programs worldwide. He is currently Educational Director in Brussels, Belgium; Aurillac, France, Taipei, Taiwan and Santa Fe, New Mexico where he makes his home.
Alan sees the Feldenkrais Method as a means for individual maturation, and aspires towards making this appreciable and concrete for his students both in training programs and in his practice.
Alan has produced 22 audio sets of public workshops in the Feldenkrais Method and author of Practice Intentional Acts of Kindness…and Like Yourself More; and Creating Creativity-Embodying the Creative Process.
Alan's websites:
www.uncommonsensing.com
www.feldenkraisinsantafe.com
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A profound and immersive exploration of the experience of life |
An Interview with Scott Clark
In this interview SenseAbility editor Joe Webster speaks with Scott Clark, a Feldenkrais® teacher and trainer based in the UK. Scott originates from New Mexico, US, he has a background in mathematics and dance, and is currently teaching in multiple Feldenkrais trainings all around the world.
In the interview Scott discusses how he thinks the professional training process has changed since his training in 1987, and why he believes that this is a great time to be interested in becoming a Feldenkrais teacher.
Scott thinks that the professional training provides a deeply rewarding personal experience, as well as providing a comprehensive education in the practice of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education. In his own experience the training restored his feeling of joy while dancing which had been dulled due to the repetitive nature of dance training. He discusses how the Feldenkrais training process can be profoundly lifechanging and gives each student an opportunity to immerse themself in the physical experience of being alive.
Scott has a new training starting in 2026 in the UK, in Bath, with fellow trainer Shelagh O'Neil.
Bath Professional Training - 2026
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For the last fifty years Scott has been working with movement, both for his own self-exploration and as a way of communicating with others. He started by studying dance as an art form, and by teaching and performing, but then one of his first colleagues helped him to realize that the real dance — and the real art form — consists in how we live each day.
Often this is an impossible ideal: to allow ordinary things to be comfortable and cheerful is hard enough, without mentioning beauty, growth, and transcendence. Fortunately the dance community was a crossroads for many 'alternative' approaches, and Scott studied Alexander, Rolfing, Laban and many other methods before encountering the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education forty-two years ago.
The Feldenkrais Method of somatic education was the keystone that helped everything else make sense, and Scott enrolled eagerly in the first UK training in 1987. Since then he has been working with dancers and musicians, with people with severe pain or disability, but especially with ordinary people who want to live and grow.
He gives individual lessons in New Cross, southeast London and teaches occasional workshops near London Bridge.
Scott's work also includes supervision of other Feldenkrais® Practitioners, and teaching in Feldenkrais professional training programs in the UK, Europe and the United States.
Scott's website:
www.feldenkraislondon.com
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I was pivoting forward in my new career at 23 years old, as a policy and consultation officer in the community sector, when my hand began to hurt. Then my arm, my neck, and so on. Handwriting, telephoning on a landline, and being hypervigilant due to my passion for my work, meant I sat at my desk for endless hours. In retrospect that was not the issue, but at that stage of the last century, people had only just heard of ergonomics. And Repetitive Strain Injury was only in factories, apparently. (This condition is now called Occupational Overuse Syndrome due to the recognition that it is not only repetitive movement that causes the inflammation, pain, and muscle failure.)
My work dreams about helping to make the world a better place through my work were slashed. I was told my injury was so severe I would never work again.
I couldn’t do the usual things in life, like drive my car, or pick up cutlery. Public transport was too painful due to the bumps and thumps. I had to sip soup from a straw to feed myself, as both arms were so painful. I had full time disability carers, and friends and family on a food roster. Oddly enough I was going out dancing with my friends regularly, as one does. I wore full length compression gloves to protect myself, and people oddly thought I was dressing up to look elegant. I would sometimes feel reduced pain after dancing all night.
After trying multiple modalities I’d run out of options trying to live a pain free life. That’s when my friend persuaded me to immerse myself into Feldenkrais... (Continued)
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Margaret Kaye has been teaching the Feldenkrais Method® of Movement for over 20 years. Margaret is a certified Feldenkrais® practitioner, assistant trainer, and member of the Australian Feldenkrais Guild. She has run an active practice since graduation from the Melbourne Feldenkrais Professional Training Program in 1991.
Due to an 'Occupational Overuse' injury Margaret was unable to work for several years. This is now a specialty area, amongst others. Margaret also specializes in working with performers, such as actors, musicians and athletes.
She has conducted lessons in various tertiary educational institutions including: the Australian Institute of Music (AIM), both with actors in Dramatic Arts and musicians in the Body Awareness for Musicians class in Classic Performance; and the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA).
Margaret's website:
www.feldenkrais.net.au
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- Threads and Gentle Fingers: An ATM® lesson by Alan Questel.
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In this lesson you will explore moving gently from your front and your back while developing a fuller engagement and distribution of action throughout the rest of your self.
- Counting out seconds: A short sitting ATM lesson by Scott Clark.
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This lesson explores a way to tune your attention. It’s done while sitting, so find a chair or stool with a more or less flat, level seat, and sit with your feet in good contact with the floor.
- Sleep Easy: An ATM lesson to help you sleep more soundly, taught by Margaret Kaye.
- This tiny Awareness Through Movement® lesson is designed to help you rest and sleep. It invites you to use your eyes, your breath and to visualize your skeleton to change your busy thoughts and to calm yourself.
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