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In the early years of the State of Israel (since 1948), education in the Arab sector suffered from discrimination and neglect, and it is only recently (since 2015) that programs have begun reducing these gaps. The aim of the present study was to examine the existence or non-existence of gaps in ability to learn and an in sensations after performing Feldenkrais method exercises. The Feldenkrais method seeks to improve individual ability, through movement. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the responses of 21 students from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and 18 students from Kaye Academic College of Education, who practiced the method in 14 Feldenkrais lessons, showed no gaps in learning ability, and small gaps in sensations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In psychotherapy, physical exercise has gained recognition and extensive research attention, displaying promise in various mental health conditions. Practices such as yoga, tai chi, and the Feldenkrais Method® (FM) have also emerged as effective mental health interventions. Objectives: This systematic literature review (SLR) explores the applicability of FM, a somatic practice, in psychiatric care and emotional regulation, as it emphasizes the interplay between bodily sensations, action patterns, and cognitive processes. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across selected databases from 2000 to 2022, identifying 14 articles, including randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, narrative papers, and SLRs. Thematic analysis was conducted. Results: The findings indicate global FM adoption, primarily in studies related to pain conditions, musculoskeletal disorders, and neurological disorders. Various measures were used, covering quality of life, psychological dimensions, self-image, self-efficacy, mindfulness, and interoception. However, direct application of FM in psychiatric care remains limited, with few studies addressing psychological issues. This review calls for more comprehensive investigations of FM’s potential in psychiatric contexts, advocating precise measures and a dimensional approach to assessing psychological outcomes. Conclusion: Further research is needed to explore the application of FM in psychiatric care. While existing research suggests potential benefits, especially in enhancing body awareness and emotional regulation, robust studies are necessary to establish its effectiveness in treating specific mental health conditions. This review serves as the foundation for future research into the potential role of FM in enhancing psychiatric care and emotional well-being.

We propose inviting the body into the university writing process through somatic pedagogical practices. This study investigates an effort to write from our body and through our body in a course where students used the body as a site of creation. Challenging mind-body dualism and the erasure of bodily ways of knowing, students participated in Feldenkrais exercises to enhance awareness through movement by heightening habitual perception. Subsequently, students’ writing revealed increased admittance of uncertainty and reflexive engagement. They reflected on their own positionalities while considering the perspectives of hypothetical others, invoking augmented senses of social responsibility. In essence, they transferred physically experienced agency through functional movement to personal agency within hierarchical systems of power. This study suggests that somatic pedagogical interventions have the potential to activate reflexivity, foregrounding causal relations that begin with self-guided, felt realities in the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how difficulties are used as learning tools in the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education (FM), drawing on Moshe Feldenkrais's theory and teachings, my experience as a practitioner since 2007 and my use of FM in postgraduate academic teaching. Performer training, particularly Eugenio Barba's work, offers a wider context of embodied practice. FM challenges the parameters of difficulty, framing it as inherently productive. Key difficulties used productively in FM are the non-habitual, constraints, differentiation, diffuse attention and disorientation. To demonstrate the connection between physical and intellectual difficulties, I draw on Sara Ahmed's queer phenomenological approach to orientation and Maxine Sheets-Johnstone's argument for the 'primacy of movement'. I offer new ways of thinking about difficulty as emergent rather than intrinsic, expanding outwards from clearly embodied practices towards intellectual ones. To anchor this, I refer to an experiment in Israel aiming to integrate 'organic' and 'scholastic' learning through FM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Learning to move slowly and attentively offers alternatives to how a fast-paced world induces us to act. The Feldenkrais Method's® awareness-through-movement (ATM)® lessons encourage students to notice what they actually do and how, rather than cathecting on what they should accomplish and how well. Within the constraint of a lesson, one shifts focus from "movement" as noun to "moving" as verb. Students learn that options about how to move—slowly, quickly, lightly, jerkily, smoothly, delicately, precisely, roughly, loosely, energetically, lazily, and more—correspond to choices. Such freedom of choice entangles us in grand philosophical matters as well as in mundane grammatical rules. Insofar as freedom within constraints characterizes how we move and act, including how we write and speak, the seemingly adverbial choices we make reveal who we are: not only in what we do, but in the manner in which as subjects we relate to predicates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Feldenkrais Method® is a form of awareness through movement (ATM) aimed at improving spatial and kinesthetic awareness through verbally guided movements, in order to learn more effective actions. The present study, a proof-of-concept, observational, non-controlled prospective study, aims at exploring the effectiveness of ATM for fibromyalgia syndrome (FM), measuring the effect by means of multi-dimensional questionnaires, administered at baseline and after 4 months of ATM activity. One hundred twenty-eight FM patients (mean age 54 years old, 2% males) participated in the study. A statistically significant improvement was found in FM-specific measures (Polysymptomatic Distress Scale, PDS) (p = 0.003) and the Pain Catastrophization Scale (PCS) (p = 0.020); coherently, the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) showed a trend in improvement after the intervention, although this improvement was not statistically significant. The logistic regression analysis found a correlation between PDS, fatigue and anxiety measures; PCS, years from diagnosis and anxiety. ATM could improve FM-specific measures and pain-related catastrophizing. Further studies are needed to identify FM subgroups in order to find personalized targets that can be used to guide treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Somatic education in professional instrumental teaching is an emerging field in Spanish conservatoire culture. Although we find that the Alexander Technique was included in some European institutions since the middle of the XXth Century, this was not the case in the Spanish context. By means of a qualitative study, through document analysis and fifteen in-depth interviews with somatic teachers, the statutory frameworks of professional Piano studies and teaching plans related to somatic education in Spanish conservatoires, the principles that support them and the current practices that are undertaken in professional piano studies were analyzed. We found that there are eclectic approaches and practices in correlation with the background of the teachers in charge of the courses. Four main orientations can be described: somatic education per se; ergonomics and postural technique; body communication, training and technique; and mental and concentration control techniques. Further research to explore the interrelationships between somatic approaches and instrumental teaching would greatly benefit the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Feldenkrais Method® (FM) is a form of somatic education aiming to increase brain-body communication, reportedly via interoceptive mechanisms. Although empirically proven to improve perceived interoceptive ability and psychological well-being in adults, feasibility in adolescents remains unclear. We therefore used a combined randomized control-group pretest-posttest design with qualitative interviews to explore the feasibility of an eight-week FM intervention to enhance interoceptive processes and psychological well-being in a population of adolescent female recreational ballet dancers. Participants' (N = 12, Mage = 14.25 ± 1.29) interoceptive accuracy, perceived interoceptive ability, and psychological well-being were measured pre- and post-intervention, followed by individual interviews. Interview responses demonstrated high enjoyment, increased perceived embodied criticality, and reduced social comparison, supported by a significant increase in self-reported attention regulation (p =.042) in the intervention group. These preliminary findings support the feasibility of FM in this population and thus warrant further research using well-powered randomized controlled trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In psychotherapy, physical exercise has gained recognition and extensive research attention, displaying promise in various mental health conditions. Practices such as yoga, tai chi, and the Feldenkrais Method® (FM) have also emerged as effective mental health interventions. This systematic literature review (SLR) explores the applicability of FM, a somatic practice, in psychiatric care and emotional regulation, as it emphasizes the interplay between bodily sensations, action patterns, and cognitive processes. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across selected databases from 2000 to 2022, identifying 14 articles, including randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, narrative papers, and SLRs. Thematic analysis was conducted. The findings indicate global FM adoption, primarily in studies related to pain conditions, musculoskeletal disorders, and neurological disorders. Various measures were used, covering quality of life, psychological dimensions, self-image, self-efficacy, mindfulness, and interoception. However, direct application of FM in psychiatric care remains limited, with few studies addressing psychological issues. This review calls for more comprehensive investigations of FM's potential in psychiatric contexts, advocating precise measures and a dimensional approach to assessing psychological outcomes. Further research is needed to explore the application of FM in psychiatric care. While existing research suggests potential benefits, especially in enhancing body awareness and emotional regulation, robust studies are necessary to establish its effectiveness in treating specific mental health conditions. This review serves as the foundation for future research into the potential role of FM in enhancing psychiatric care and emotional well-being. • Feldenkrais Method (FM) is widely used for pain, muscular, and neurological issues. • Studies used psychological scales (e.g. quality of life, interoception). • The direct application of FM in psychiatric care is limited. • There is a need for more thorough research into FM's potential in psychiatry. • Use of precise measurements and a dimensional approach is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though methods of somatic education such as the Feldenkrais Method are becoming more widely recognized as complementary approaches in vocal and choral pedagogy, there is little research that examines the experiences of singers who participate in such mind–body approaches. With the intent of exploring pedagogical implications of somatic education in music education, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of undergraduate vocal music education majors enrolled in an elective, 7-week Feldenkrais course. Specifically, how do singers describe in their participation in Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons, and how do these experiences inform their understanding of how they sing? Data were gathered from questionnaires, weekly journals, and semi-structured interviews. Phenomenological data analysis following Moustakas's approach revealed three themes reported as textural and structural descriptions: (a) improved quality of movement, (b) heightened awareness of singing, and (c) enhanced practice. The overall essence of participants' experience may be summarized as a process of self-discovery that provided individualized benefits for singing. Discussion includes pedagogical implications of somatic teaching and learning in PreK through university contexts as well as suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embodied practices have not yet been widely studied in the field of creative writing, although writing is a core medium of emotional understanding. This article aims to develop connection between creative writing and a certain somatic approach, Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement practice, by seeking interlapping areas of interest and concepts, such as attention, and voice. This setting of writing and somatic practice into dynamic interplay aims to create an understanding of how the body's embodied knowledge, ability to sense, learn, and change can affect writing. The possible contact points of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement method and creative writing practice have potential to improve writers' relationship to their practice and medium, and additionally, the discussion presented in this article enwidens our understanding of creative writing. Some Feldenkrais body mapping techniques, like using constraints and freedom and differentiation and combination, can be further applied in writing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns physicality and the tendency to operate within bounds of familiar repertoires of embodiment. It questions the degree to which habitual ways in which we pose, repose, and action our bodies are authentic as opposed to constructed artifacts of our enculturation. With reference to notions of 'neutrality' as raised in Lecoq training and the Feldenkrais Method, this paper aims – though suggested autoethnographic exploratory practice – to bring awareness to habitual ways in which each of us embody gender. It highlights means by which educators can direct the focus of those with whom we work toward recognizing and deconstructing aspects of embodied gender behaviors that may be inherently, but not obviously, inequitable. Attending to these issues within spheres of education has the scope to safeguard the social and emotional well-being of those not inclined to embody in accordance with hegemonic gender norms and to broaden attitudes toward embodied expressive possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Principles of Applying the Feldenkrais Method in Saxophone Playing deals with practical use of the Feldenkrais method in carrying out instrumental activities with saxophone. The thesis is focused on description of the Feldenkrais method, its development and forms. It depicts biography of method's founder Moshé Feldenkrais. The thesis describes methodology and technique of playing the saxophone with emphasis on connection between physiological playing apparatus of a player and the saxophone as an instrument itself. We analyze use of the Feldenkrais method in instrumental activities of saxophone playing in the thesis. We found out that particular lectures of the Feldenkrais method are very beneficial and effective in longterm and repeated action. We suggest that saxophone players apply the Feldenkrais method in their practice because of its psychosomatic approach to physical body and reorganization of procedures of realizing own physical body based on individual self-exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the interview with Erin Geesaman Rabke, co-owner of Embodiment Matters. Topics include the many people come tome in my role as a Feldenkrais practitioner when they have some pain or injury and conventional therapies are not working like chronic pain, stress, injury, and all types of different problems, and the many people live in the stress of imagining or experiencing themselves as a separate self, who has a body.

Objective: To investigate the effect of the Feldenkrais method versus core stability exercises on pain, disability, quality of life and interoceptive awareness in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain. Design: A single-blinded, randomised, controlled trial. Setting: Outpatient, sports medicine clinic of Mazandaran medical university. Participants: Sixty patients with chronic non-specific low back pain randomised equally into the Feldenkrais method versus core stability exercises groups. Intervention: Intervention group received Feldenkrais method consisting of training theoretical content and supervised exercise therapy two sessions per week for five weeks. Control group received educational programme and home-based core stability exercises for five weeks. Outcome measures: All patients were examined by World Health Organization's Quality of life Questionnaire, McGill Pain Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Questionnaire and Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness Questionnaire. All outcomes were measured at baseline and the end of the intervention Results: There were statistically significant differences between groups for quality of life (P = 0.006, from 45.51 to 60.49), interoceptive awareness (P > 0.001, from 2.74 to 4.06) and disability (P = 0.021, from 27.17 to 14.5) in favour of the Feldenkrais method. McGill pain score significantly decreased in both the Feldenkrais (from 15.33 to 3.63) and control groups (from 13.17 to 4.17), but there were no between-groups differences (P = 0.16). Conclusion: Feldenkrais method intervention gave increased benefits in improving quality of life, improving interoceptive awareness and reducing disability index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While outcomes of embodied awareness practices in terms of improved posture and flexibility, movement efficiency, and well-being are often reported, systematic investigations of such training effects and of the actual nature, extent, and neurofunctional correlates of learning mechanisms thought to lie at the core of such practices are very limited. The present study focused on the Feldenkrais method (FM), one of the most established embodied awareness practices, and aimed at investigating the neurofunctional outcomes of the somatic learning process at the core of the method by testing the modulations induced by a standardized FM protocol on the complexity of practicers’ body structural map and on the activity of their sensorimotor network during different movement-related tasks (i.e., gestures observation, execution, and imagery). Twenty-five participants were randomly divided into an experimental group—which completed a 28-session FM protocol based on guided group practice—and a control group, and underwent pre-/post-training psychometric and electrophysiological assessment. Data analysis highlighted, at the end of the FM protocol, a significant increase of EEG markers of cortical activation (task-related mu desynchronization) in precentral regions during action observation and in central regions during action execution and imagery. Also, posterior regions of the sensorimotor network showed systematic activation during all the action-related tasks.

The contemporary choreographic movement of the 21st century may be viewed as a true patchwork of performance techniques and styles; a build-up of movements taken from established techniques, with elements of drama, ballet, improvisation and other connected disciplines. These challenges may be met only by a multi-technical and multi-stylistic approach in the training of future actors and choreographers. The transition from the everyday body to the theater body is the result of a process based on self-knowledge, documentation and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between neural oscillations and functional integration is widely recognized in the study of human cognition. Large-scale synchronization of neural activity has also been proposed as the neural basis of consciousness. Intriguingly, a growing number of studies in social cognitive neuroscience reveal that phase synchronization similarly appears across brains during meaningful social interaction. Moreover, this inter-brain synchronization has been associated with subjective reports of social connectedness, engagement, and cooperativeness, as well as experiences of social cohesion and 'self-other merging'. These findings challenge the standard view of human consciousness as essentially first-person singular and private. We therefore revisit the recent controversy over the possibility of extended consciousness and argue that evidence of inter-brain synchronization in the fastest frequency bands overcomes the hitherto most convincing sceptical position. If this proposal is on the right track, our understanding of human consciousness would be profoundly transformed, and we propose a method to test this proposal experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Getting Grounded Gracefully© program, based on the Awareness Through Movement lessons of the Feldenkrais method, was designed to improve balance and function in older people. Fifty-five participants (mean age 75, 85% women) were randomized to an intervention (twice-weekly group classes over 8 wk) or a control group (continued with their usual activity) after being assessed at baseline and then reassessed 8 wk later. Significant improvement was identified for the intervention group relative to the control group using ANOVA between-groups repeated-measures analysis for the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale score (p = .003) and gait speed (p =.028), and a strong trend was evident in the timed up-and-go (p = .056). High class attendance (88%) and survey feedback indicate that the program was viewed positively by participants and might therefore be acceptable to other older people. Further investigation of the Getting Grounded Gracefully program is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results from recent research have demonstrated positive effects of somatic approaches, such as the Feldenkrais Method, somaesthetics, and body mapping in the field of music. However, the direct impact of such approaches on instrumental sound has not been studied so far. The present pilot study was thus designed to investigate the influence of non-judgmental body awareness on the sound of high string instruments. Eleven students of the music universities of Neuchâtel and Lausanne were requested to sense specific parts of their body while playing one long note. The analysis of audio recordings and interviews conducted post hoc show a positive correlation between the subjective experience of ease participants reported, and objective sound volume or stability. The largest effects were observed when participants were aware of their pelvis, rib cage or head region. Increases of sound volume or stability were often accompanied by non-voluntary changes in body-weight distribution, indicating that body awareness had a direct influence on the musculoskeletal system. In view of the reportedly high numbers of playing-related health problems in professional orchestra players, more research should be carried out to examine in detail possible effects of body awareness on instrumental sound and on psychological and physical well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This action research brought together a group of Feldenkrais teachers and two groups of primarily female students living with fibromyalgia. The aim of the study was to work together to develop ways to allow the students to transfer knowledge acquired during weekly Feldenkrais lessons into their everyday lives. Based on the analysis of the empirical data collected, the research team developed a theoretical model of transfer of learning that calls attention to the importance of the student–teacher dynamic in the transfer of learning process. While this process may be different for each person, we argue that it occurs in three identifiable stages: (1) learning about the Feldenkrais method in the classroom; (2) applying the content and/or pedagogy of the Feldenkrais classes in everyday life; and (3) integrating knowledge gained through Feldenkrais classes into various spheres of one's life. Despite the positive testimonies obtained throughout this action research, the authors of this article emphasize that the Feldenkrais method should not be seen as a panacea. Emphasis on the first-person experience, which is the basis of the Feldenkrais method, may run the risk of depoliticizing the broader social forces that contribute to the production and reproduction of fibromyalgia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musicians’ ability to refine their physical movements directly affects their ability to communicate musically with an audience. A focus on the body is thus an important element of music instruction. The Feldenkrais Method (FM) is a method of somatic education that focuses on teaching the body to move in new ways and with greater efficiency and enjoyment. This article discusses how applying the principles of FM to musical instruction can build students’ physical and mental capacity to express themselves in music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Feldenkrais method is quite well-known and used in relation to dance, music, and acting, it is rather uncommon to associate it with animation theatre. The puppeteer's art is a profession that requires motor skills and sustained physical effort, which demands that the animating actor has an extended consciousness of oneself and of the space. Therefore, the Feldenkrais method can be a useful instrument in the puppeteer's education and training, as the placing of the body in a relaxed stance, one which helps in the management of pain and effort, facilitates the conscious and creative learning of animation techniques, with an emphasis on the coordination and fluidity of movement. These are learning principles of the art of animation that are successfully used by Nicolas Gousseff, an artist that was formed at ESNAM (École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette de la Charleville-Mézières), and who has specialized in handheld puppets and using the actor's body as a performative space for this type of animation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]