The Feldenkrais Method is a body-based approach that uses movement to improve well-being. In this sheet, you will discover what the Feldenkrais method is, its principles, its history, its benefits, the course of a session and the training courses to practice it.

The Feldenkrais Method is a holistic body approach based on awareness through movement and functional integration. It aims to improve dysfunctions and reveal its potential. As antigymnastic, the Alexander Technique and others, the method is part of a family of approaches commonly referred to as “soft gymnastics” and more appropriately termed somatic education. The method, recognized as being safe, does not require any particular effort and can help children as well as adults and the elderly.

The main principles

The method is based on two main components: Awareness Through Movement (PCM) and Functional Integration (IF). The IF sessions are done individually and use touch, while the PCM sessions are done in groups and aim to help the individual focus his attention on his internal sensations and get to know himself better.

According to Feldenkrais, incomplete or impaired motor function leaves marks on all biological functions, such as breathing or digestion, and even on how to make love or behave in society. In Feldenkrais, it is not a question of “correcting” someone, but of engaging them in a process of discovery allowing them to regain their own functionality. Indeed, most adults do not use “their mechanics” in the best way. The optimal functioning of this mechanism relies, to a large extent, on the mobility between the different segments of the body. The Feldenkrais method focuses precisely on the relative mobility between these different segments. She uses some simple self-education strategies to improve this mobility. It is used by people struggling with pain or motor dysfunction, but also people who want to better use their body.

Not strictly speaking a therapy, the Feldenkrais method is not indicated to treat a specific health problem, but can serve as a complementary approach (alongside treatment) for several conditions.

Help with functional rehabilitation.

Case studies have shown that the Feldenkrais method would be a potentially useful addition in rehabilitation or recovery from injury or surgery2. Although Feldenkrais sessions appear to be safe in most cases, individuals with chronic conditions, recent injuries, or recovering from surgery should discuss with their attending physician before initiating a Feldenkrais treatment program.

Improve the psychological state of an individual suffering from multiple sclerosis

The results of a randomized clinical study of 20 subjects with multiple sclerosis demonstrated an improvement in the rate of depression and anxiety in patients who performed the Feldenkrais3 method for eight weeks. On the other hand, the practice of the method would not have any benefits on the symptoms and the functional capacity of the patients.

Improve the bodily perception of individuals suffering from eating disorders

A randomized clinical study in patients with eating disorders compared a group of patients using the Feldenkrais method to a control group receiving usual treatment. The former have better tamed the areas of their body perceived as “problematic”. They also noted greater bodily ease, which also resulted in an improvement in the perception and acceptance of their body. However, it is not clear that eating habits have changed.

Improve the quality of life of individuals with musculoskeletal disorders

A randomized clinical study was performed in 78 patients with musculoskeletal disorders. The results show that the Feldenkrais method would have greater benefits than conventional therapy in improving the quality of life of patients5. However, there are no results to indicate whether the Feldenkrais method is superior or equal to other forms of therapy used routinely for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders.

Improve physical well-being

This method would improve flexibility and mobility (neck, shoulders, back, hips, legs), reduce pain and discomfort caused by neuromuscular problems, increase the efficiency of movements and develop better sensory perception (ability to listen to oneself in relation to the environment).

The specialist

The specialist in the Feldenkrais method is above all a teacher. He can work as a liberal, as an employee or as a volunteer within an association.

Course of a session

Depending on the type of problem or need, it can be practiced in individual or group sessions.

In an individual session, the subject sits on a large coffee table while the practitioner guides him manually in a set of precise movements. Some of the exercises can also be done in a sitting or standing posture. Slowly, the practitioner gently lifts, supports and moves the head, torso, arms, legs – differently from usual gestures, and sometimes incongruously.

After having perceived a spasm or the tension of a muscle, for example, the practitioner suggests to the organism, through his touch, a healthier way of moving. In Feldenkrais language, this manual rehabilitation is called Functional Integration (FI). When desirable and possible, the session can also take place in a heated swimming pool.

In group sessions, the teacher directs very varied sequences or combinations of movements, often unusual, which lead individuals to become aware of their rigidity and to discover other ways of moving. These are directed and precise “gestural explorations”, which engage both thought and imagination and sensoriality.

Some sequences are based on functional activities, others on little exploited joint possibilities; some gestures are tiny and others large; some sequences are short and simple, others more complex. The idea of ​​the game is often present; attention is always required. This form of group Feldenkrais is called Awareness Through Movement (PCM).

Become a practitioner

Spread over three or four years, the training comprises 800 hours of lessons grouped together in workshops lasting a few days. Accreditation is awarded by training organizations and its renewal requires participation in continuing education or post-training seminars.

Training is given periodically in different cities. Check with the practitioner association in your country, or see the contact details of the various training institutes and the dates of the seminars on the Feldenkrais Guild of North America website. The organization also provides information on training elsewhere in the world (see Sites of interest).

The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) offers, as part of its graduate degree specializing in somatic education, a 30-credit course with a Feldenkrais Method profile6.

Contraindications of the Feldenkrais method

There are no contraindications to the Feldenkrais method except obviously if you suffer from various fractures.

Born in Russia in 1904, Moshe Feldenkrais studied in France where he became a physicist and engineer – as well as one of the first Europeans to obtain a black belt in judo (1936). Seriously injured in the knee during a soccer game, he learns that surgery has only a 50% chance of success and could as well condemn him to the wheelchair. He then combined his knowledge of mechanical engineering and martial arts with the study of biology, cybernetics and psychomotor development, until he was able to walk again.

Then settled in Israel, the man continues to perfect his knowledge to finally develop the method that bears his name. In 1970, he began to travel around the world to train practitioners. He was head of the Feldenkrais Institute in Tel Aviv until his death in 1984. Today, there are around 5 certified practitioners in the West.

• Feldenkrais Moshe. Energy and well-being through movement, Dangles, France, 1993.
• Feldenkrais Moshe. The power of the ego – Techniques to be well in your body, well in your sexuality, Robert Laffont, coll. Responses, France, 1990.
• Feldenkrais Moshe. The Doris case – Adventures in the cerebral jungle, Espace du Temps Present, France, 1977.
• Goldfarb Lawrence. Articulating Change – The Feldenkrais Method for the Study of Movement, Espace du Temps Present, France, 1998.
• Feldenkrais Method [Accessed July 17, 2017]. https://joestoller.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/about-feldenkrais-french-michelle-phifer.pdf
• Feldenkrais Method [Accessed July 17, 2017]. http://www.ozan-aksoyek.net/wp-content/uploads/feldenkrais-encyclopedie_medico_chirurgicale.pdf
• Space of Present Time. Feldenkrais in the present, Space of Present Time. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. www.feldenkrais-au-present.com
• Feldenkrais Guild of North America. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. www.feldenkrais.com
• The WMSDs… does that mean anything to you ?, Le massager (review of the Fédération québécoise des massothérapeutes), vol. 17, no 3, November 2000.
• National Library of Medicine (Ed). PubMed, NCBI. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• Novey Donald W. (Dir). Clinician’s Complete Reference to Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Mosby, États-Unis, 2000.
• WholeHealthMD.com (Ed). Therapies – Feldenkrais, wholehealthmd.com. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. www.wholehealthmd.com

Notes

1. IFF Practitioner Website, International Feldenkrais Federation. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. http://feldenkrais-method.org

2. Jain S, Janssen K, DeCelle S. Alexander technique and Feldenkrais method: a critical overview. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2004 Nov;15(4):811-25, vi. Review.

3. Johnson SK, Frederick J, Kaufman M, Mountjoy B. A controlled investigation of bodywork in multiple sclerosis. J Altern Complement Med. 1999 Jun;5(3):237-43.

4. Laumer U, Bauer M, Fichter M, Milz H. Therapeutic effects of the Feldenkrais method «awareness through movement» in patients with eating disorders. Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 1997 May;47(5):170-80.

5. Malmgren-Olsson EB, Branholm IB. A comparison between three physiotherapy approaches with regard to health-related factors in patients with non-specific musculoskeletal disorders. Disabil Rehabil. 2002 Apr 15;24(6):308-17.

6. See Graduate Diploma in Somatic Education, UQAM www.programmes.uqam.ca and Profil Method Feldenkrais [Accessed February 20, 2009]. http://fr.yvanjoly.com

• Feldenkrais Moshe. Energy and well-being through movement, Dangles, France, 1993.
• Feldenkrais Moshe. The power of the ego – Techniques to be well in your body, well in your sexuality, Robert Laffont, coll. Responses, France, 1990.
• Feldenkrais Moshe. The Doris case – Adventures in the cerebral jungle, Espace du Temps Present, France, 1977.
• Goldfarb Lawrence. Articulating Change – The Feldenkrais Method for the Study of Movement, Espace du Temps Present, France, 1998.
• Feldenkrais Method [Accessed July 17, 2017]. https://joestoller.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/about-feldenkrais-french-michelle-phifer.pdf
• Feldenkrais Method [Accessed July 17, 2017]. http://www.ozan-aksoyek.net/wp-content/uploads/feldenkrais-encyclopedie_medico_chirurgicale.pdf
• Space of Present Time. Feldenkrais in the present, Space of Present Time. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. www.feldenkrais-au-present.com
• Feldenkrais Guild of North America. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. www.feldenkrais.com
• The WMSDs… does that mean anything to you ?, Le massager (review of the Fédération québécoise des massothérapeutes), vol. 17, no 3, November 2000.
• National Library of Medicine (Ed). PubMed, NCBI. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• Novey Donald W. (Dir). Clinician’s Complete Reference to Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Mosby, États-Unis, 2000.
• WholeHealthMD.com (Ed). Therapies – Feldenkrais, wholehealthmd.com. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. www.wholehealthmd.com

1. IFF Practitioner Website, International Feldenkrais Federation. [Accessed February 20, 2009]. http://feldenkrais-method.org

2. Jain S, Janssen K, DeCelle S. Alexander technique and Feldenkrais method: a critical overview. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2004 Nov;15(4):811-25, vi. Review.

3. Johnson SK, Frederick J, Kaufman M, Mountjoy B. A controlled investigation of bodywork in multiple sclerosis. J Altern Complement Med. 1999 Jun;5(3):237-43.

4. Laumer U, Bauer M, Fichter M, Milz H. Therapeutic effects of the Feldenkrais method «awareness through movement» in patients with eating disorders. Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 1997 May;47(5):170-80.

5. Malmgren-Olsson EB, Branholm IB. A comparison between three physiotherapy approaches with regard to health-related factors in patients with non-specific musculoskeletal disorders. Disabil Rehabil. 2002 Apr 15;24(6):308-17.

6. See Graduate Diploma in Somatic Education, UQAM www.programmes.uqam.ca and Profil Method Feldenkrais [Accessed February 20, 2009]. http://fr.yvanjoly.com