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Feldenkrais Research Journal • volume 3 (2007)

Article

The Future of Research in the Feldenkrais Method

Stacy Barrows
PT, CFP, Century City Physical Therapy, Los Angeles

Abstract
This short article outlines some difficulties of communicating the benefits of the Feldenkrais Method to the
broader public, from the perspective of a physical therapist. The language of body awareness is in many
respects still being developed, so the direct link between self-awareness, movement efficiency and
functional outcomes is difficult to express. Despite many well-designed and executed clinical studies that
demonstrate the effectiveness of the Feldenkrais Method, we can talk about subjective outcomes much
better than we can quantify the results of our work.

The article suggests a self-observation assessment scale may provide a useful starting point for analysis.
As researchers refine the language of self-awareness and further demonstrate its link to self-reliance and
well-being, practitioners will be better able to talk to clients and to other professionals, and they will be
better equipped to talk to us.

Keywords
Feldenkrais Method, sensory motor learning, language of assessment, research outcomes, research
design

Copyright ©: The copyright for this paper remains with the author(s).

Please cite: (First published in the) Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 3; 2007.

Service marks: The terms Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, ATM®,
Functional Integration®, and FI® are service marked terms of the International Feldenkrais® Federation
(IFF) and Feldenkrais professional guilds and associations in many countries. In keeping with academic
conventions, they will not be service marked in the entire text as may be required in nonacademic use,
but only for the first and most prominent use of the terms. In recognition that these phrases are formal
terms referring to specific practices within the Method, and to the Method as a whole, capitalization of all
the words in each term has been retained.

Published by the International Feldenkrais® Federation (IFF) https://feldenkrais-method.org
Available online at https://feldenkraisresearchjournal.org

https://feldenkrais-method.org/
https://feldenkraisresearchjournal.org


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THE FUTURE OF RESEARCH IN THE  
FELDENKRAIS METHOD  
Stacy Barrows, P.T., C.F.P. 
Century City Physical Therapy  
First, let me clarify that I am an observer, not a researcher, and that my perspective on 
research comes from my experience as a physical therapist who uses the Feldenkrais Method 
in a clinical setting for sensory motor learning.  
 
As Feldenkrais practitioners, we are quite comfortable discussing the benefits of our work 
with clients and colleagues, but many of us find ourselves at a loss when speaking about the 
benefits of the Feldenkrais method to the larger community.  And it isn’t just us…those who 
are neither Feldenkrais practitioners nor clients of the method have equal difficulty 
understanding what the work is capable of.  The language of body awareness is in many 
respects still being developed, so the direct link between self-awareness, movement efficiency 
and functional outcomes is difficult to express.  Despite many well-designed and executed 
clinical studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of the Feldenkrais Method, we can talk 
about subjective outcomes much better than we can quantify the results of our work. 
 
I became very aware of my own limitations in communicating the benefits of this work when 
a workers’ compensation administrator asked me to describe the objective measurable 
changes that a client had made with the Feldenkrais Method.  I had reported in her medical 
chart how she was able to be more social, explaining that her reduced pain allowed her to do 
more leisure activities.  I was happy to report that the client was now meeting with her 
psychologist to discuss returning to the work-force and that she wanted to direct herself 
toward her goals for the first time in years.  She was now less afraid when her pain flared up 
and stated that she could tell when the pain would subside with rest, or if it would linger for a 
few days.  
 
Despite these profound changes in her life, I found it very difficult to discuss her 
improvement with others outside our profession, especially the workers’ compensation 
administrator.  The patient understood her own progress and so did those close to her, but her 
improvement was not measurable by conventional methods.  Conventional assessment tools 
would document her improved range of motion, greater strength or decreased level of pain on 
a 1 – 10 scale.  Unfortunately, there is no box that can be checked off on a medical form for 
“greater body awareness” or “better quality of life.” 
 
I believe that part of the difficulty of trying to communicate the intent and outcomes of our 
work to those outside our profession is that the Feldenkrais Method, unlike most other 
disciplines, is not a deficit- or task-oriented treatment approach.  It is not an end in itself or a 
“modality” (to use the language of physical therapy) with a single specific result.  For the 
practitioner, it is a way of observing others and recognizing less than optimal movement -- a 

IFF Academy 
Feldenkrais Research Journal 3 (2007) 

® 2007 by the author 
ISSN 1817-4000 



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way of helping others think about and sense their intimate relationship to gravity, their own 
body and the space they move through. For the student, it is largely a self-directed learning 
process that begins with movement awareness and aims at continual improvement in overall 
well-being.   
 
Needless to say, different people and different practitioners describe their observations in 
different ways.  And perhaps this is where research can help. 
 
To communicate effectively with those outside our profession, we need a common language 
of observation and better ways of “measuring” our results.   
When we use the descriptive language and assessment techniques of conventional medicine or 
other well-ingrained disciplines, we often draw direct attention to the negative effects of an 
injury or problem rather than positive improvements.  We risk seeing the glass half full rather 
than half empty. Moreover, we limit the outcome; why should the goal of therapy be “pain-
free movement” and not “better self-image?” 
 
Practitioners who have medical training and/or research scientists at universities could be 
tremendous resources for developing and standardizing measurement tools better suited to 
describe optimal movement and self-improvement from a Feldenkrais perspective.     
  
Perhaps they could conduct a study comparing positive body relationship analysis with 
standard self-measurements that are in widespread use: i.e. pain maps, pain analog scores, 
fatigue, perceived disability, etc. 
 
Alternative assessment scales that pose self-observations in a positive light could provide a 
starting point for analysis and the development of more useful language: 
  
Comfort Scale: 

! Where do I feel the most comfort? 
! When am I more comfortable? 
! Rate comfort on a scale of one to ten 
! Describe other words for comfort 

  
 
Stamina Scale: 

! I have the most energy when… 
! I can do most of my errands when… 

 
  
Sleep Scale: 

! I fell asleep easier when… 
! I slept through the night when… 
! I felt well rested in the morning when… 

  
Functional Scale: 

! Perceived ability 
! Because of noticing how I move, I can now 

get out of a chair…  
get out of a car… 
get out of bed… 
walk up a hill… 



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As researchers refine the language of self-awareness and further demonstrate its link to self-
reliance and well-being, practitioners will be better able to talk to clients and to other 
professionals, and they will be better equipped to talk to us.  
 
One outcome of finding new ways to discuss and encourage positive body awareness may be 
that we expand the dialogue to new groups of people and broaden the integration of 
Feldenkrais into other disciplines.  And someday, perhaps sooner than any of us think, we will 
aim at the loftier goal of promoting early body awareness through the educational system…an 
important first step on the path of life-long learning for everyone. 


