



























FRJ 7 Editorial


 

Feldenkrais Research Journal • volume 7 (2025) 
 
Editorial 
 
 

Diverse Applications, Many Approaches: 
Editorial, Feldenkrais Research Journal, Volume 7 

 
Cliff Smyth 
Editor, Feldenkrais Research Journal 
 
Contact: feldenkraisresearchjournal@gmail.com 
 

Abstract 
One of the biggest challenges of researching the Feldenkrais Method is the diversity of the ways it is 
applied: in the arts – for the development of insight, skill and expressive capacities; for health in chronic 
conditions and rehabilitation; and for learning that incorporates bodily experience in and with movement. 
And more. 

The articles in this volume capture some of that breadth and the creative ways that researchers have 
found to study, document, measure, and report on what they have found. Individual research studies that 
explore the practice of the Method in situations as diverse as: enhanced movement and awareness for 
experienced pianists; the development of self-awareness and self-regulation among teenage women 
during the Covid-19 pandemic; addressing workplace stress for new teachers in a remote posting; and for 
urinary incontinence – a major but often hidden health and life challenge. 

In addition, there is one piece of hypothesis and theory of ideas underlying Feldenkrais Method as a 
bodily self-learning practice, and a reflection on Feldenkrais Method for learning the practice of acting. 

Finally, this volume includes important reviews of research into the Method to date. 

Keywords 
Feldenkrais, Feldenkrais Method, research, new research, research reviews, systematic review, scoping 
review, motor learning, motor coordination, translation, experienced pianists, music improvisation, 
workplace stress, urinary incontinence, learning embodiment, theatre training 

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

Please cite: (First published in the) Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7; 2025. 

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 

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

 
 

mailto:feldenkraisresearchjournal@gmail.com
https://feldenkrais-method.org/
https://feldenkraisresearchjournal.org


 

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.  

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 2 
 



 

Editorial 
 
 

Diverse Applications, Many Approaches: 
Editorial, Feldenkrais Research Journal, Volume 7 

 
Cliff Smyth 
Editor, Feldenkrais Research Journal 

 
In this Volume 

Welcome to this volume of the FRJ on the theme of Researching Diverse Applications. 

One of the biggest challenges of researching the Feldenkrais Method is the diversity of the ways 
it is applied: in the arts – for the development of insight, skill and expressive capacities; for 
health in chronic conditions and rehabilitation; and for learning that incorporates bodily 
experience in and with movement. And more. 

The articles in this volume capture some of that breadth and the creative ways that researchers 
have found to study, document, measure, and report on what they have found. Individual 
research studies that explore the practice of the Method in situations as diverse as: enhanced 
movement and awareness for experienced pianists; the development of self-awareness and 
self-regulation among teenage women during the Covid-19 pandemic; addressing workplace 
stress for new teachers in a remote posting; and for urinary incontinence – a major but often 
hidden health and life challenge. 

In addition, there is one piece of hypothesis and theory of ideas underlying Feldenkrais Method 
as a bodily self-learning practice, and a reflection on Feldenkrais Method for learning the 
practice of acting. 

Finally, this volume includes important reviews of research into the Method to date. This 
includes a reprint of a 2015 systematic review of 20 empirical trials, and the first publication of a 
scoping review of 41 studies of the Feldenkrais Method for motor function – movement and 
balance. 

This diversity of application points to the centrality of practice to any understanding of the 
Feldenkrais Method. The theoretical bases, and possible modes or mechanisms of action or 
change, are myriad, complex, and often intricately connected with the range of human learning 
and potential. Both can be seen to be grounded in the common practices which the Method 
utilizes. Addressing this range of applications and questions of the relationship between 
practice, ideas, and outcomes is part of the role of a journal for a professional field such as 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 3 
 



 

this one. 

A challenge remains – and perhaps will remain for a long time, of how to study the direct 
outcomes and benefits of the practice, and the processes of the practice of Feldenkrais Method, 
and what it can mean in human life and development. The studies and reviews here include 
many of the ways that have been devised so far for identifying possible outcomes. They can 
serve as pointers for what may be research tools and strategies going forward that might be 
developed and reproduced, while also pointing to gaps that deserve attention.  

Also reflecting diversity, is the fact that this volume is also much engaged with translation. 
Translating and publishing important research is a challenge and a commitment for a small 
international professional community. All the articles in this Volume have been translated into 
Spanish by the Journal’s Spanish language translation group. This is a major achievement for 
the Journal and an important development of the growth/knowledge of the Method and 
practitioner community in Spanish speaking countries. Also, the hypothesis and theory and 
reflection on practice articles were translated from the French by the authors, and finally there is 
a new translation into English and Spanish of the study of music improvisation in German from 
Volume 6. 

As has been the case in some earlier volumes of this Journal, this Volume includes a number of 
reprints of articles originally published elsewhere. Many studies of the Feldenkrais Method are 
published in journals that are behind pay firewalls, not so easy to find, or were published some 
time ago, and therefore are not so easy to find. Republishing – especially with translations as 
well, has the virtue of gathering published research in this Journal and so helps achieve our 
educational goals. 

Translation 

All articles in this volume have been translated into Spanish, or in one case, edited by the 
Feldenkrais Research Journal Spanish Translation Group. This is an exemplary project 
involving Feldenkrais Practitioners in several different countries. With a small amount of funding 
from the International Feldenkrais Federation, use of the new digital translation tools, and much 
volunteer work, the Spanish Translation Group have made a major contribution to the Journal 
and to the Feldenkrais Method. The group developed its own processes for making and 
checking the translations, discussing the language and ideas in the studies. Not only did they 
make the studies available to Spanish speakers, they have become a study group of 
practitioners engaging with the understanding of the Method and research for their professional 
communities. For example, they developed a glossary of terms not necessarily in common use 
in Spanish to best bring forward meanings in a consistent way – including across the diverse 
usage found in the Spanish speaking world. They are also organizing online events to introduce 
their practitioner communities to research ideas and information – live translating video 
materials created in English. As Editor I offer them much appreciation for their important 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 4 
 



 

contribution to the journal and their efforts to make research available to their communities. 

In addition, a study of Feldenkrais Method and musical improvisation, available only in German 
in Volume 6, has now been translated into English and Spanish for this volume, while the new 
scoping review of the research trials will appear in English, German, French, and Spanish.  

Part 2 of this Editorial, to be published shortly, will identify and introduce some of the research 
studies, and articles seeking to conceptualize and understand Feldenkrais Method and its 
contributions to various practices, which have been published in recent times. 

In this Volume: Original Research 

This volume includes several reports of original research. As with many studies of the Method, 
they are often in the form of case reports or are pilot or proof-of-concept studies. They have the 
value of showing new ways and contexts in which people may benefit from Feldenkrais Method. 
They also explore new ways in which the Method can be documented and outcomes measured. 

Movement and Awareness for Experienced Pianists: There is a growing literature about the 
use of Feldenkrais Method for developing skill and performance ability among pianists (see for 
example, Alan Fraser in Volume 6 of this Journal). In this Volume, Janice ChenJu Chiang 
contributes through her case report with its interesting study design and forms of collecting data 
in this study with experienced pianists. Supporting learning for artists who have already 
developed reasonably effective ways of moving and performing presents an interesting 
challenge. This study identified a range of perceived benefits for the participants enhancing 
many aspects of their practice and playing, and their bodily experience.  

Apart from the series of Awareness Through Movement lessons provided in the program, 
“participant-chosen movement explorations” were included. That is, participants were 
encouraged to identify and use a movement and awareness sequence from a lesson or lessons 
which interested them, and to use that for their home practice. This is a learning strategy often 
adopted spontaneously by experienced students in Feldenkrais Method classes, or is 
recommended by their teacher-practitioner. In this context, it represents an innovation in 
research design which reflects real-life practice of the Method. Data gathering in this study 
encouraged self-observation by the participants in diaries. In another innovative element of the 
study design, Chiang invited participants to be recorded performing the same piece of music at 
the beginning and the end of the study. Participants were asked to identify aspects of their 
practice they would like to address, providing a basis for the participants to observe and 
comment on any perceived changes in their bodily organization and performance at the end of 
the study.  

Feldenkrais Method and Mindfulness for Workplace Stress and Displacement: This 
innovative study involved schoolteachers dealing with workplace stress and burnout, particularly 
involving early service teachers, many of whom have moved to the relatively remote location of 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 5 
 

https://feldenkraisresearchjournal.org/index.php/journal/article/view/32


 

the Northern Territory of Australia. The authors, Sue Erica Smith, Emma Schuberg Barnes, Jon 
Mason, and Julia Broome sought to “gain insight into the visceral tensions embodied in 
re-location, location, and the complex (and at times) alarming challenges faced by a beginning 
teacher in a middle school”. This research used narrative inquiry and participatory action 
research to explore participants’ responses to a program involving mindfulness meditation 
integrated with movement awareness in the form of the Feldenkrais Method. The authors and 
participants together sought to explore how such practices might help the new teachers cope 
more effectively within themselves, in their new situation, and in the classroom. 

This paper has many virtues. One is that discussion of the literature, woven through the paper, 
provides a thorough overview of the rapidly expanding material on mindfulness and bodily 
awareness, including the emerging paradigm of mindful movement, and their relationship to 
coping, well-being, and social development. In addition, the findings of the paper are presented 
in an innovative interleaving of reflexive texts from the participants and the 
facilitator-researchers. This includes an exemplifying narrative from one participant, descriptions 
of the intervention and research process, with reflections on the ideas, practices, and emerging 
outcomes from the project. It is an interesting exploration of how practices like the Feldenkrais 
Method can be integral to processes of personal and social development. It is also the first 
study of Feldenkrais Method in relation to the experience of place – which the 
phenomenological literature would suggest may be an outcome of practices which involve 
movement and the development of bodily self-awareness. 

Movement Quality and Music Making Practice: We are pleased to publish in this Volume in 
English and Spanish this innovative study from Corinna Eikmeier, which originally appeared in 
German in Volume 6 of this Journal. Working with students in a music conservatory, she set out 
to explore movement in music making – particularly in movement involved in improvisation, and 
how Feldenkrais Method might be introduced into these processes, asking: Are there 
relationships between the structure of improvisation in music and Feldenkrais practice? Are 
there relationships also between movement in improvisation and possibilities for interpreting and 
playing classical music? 

Eikmeier made use of a qualitative, heuristic approach, drawing on ideas from Gerhard Kleining 
and others (Kleining, 2001; Kleining and Witt, 2000), with additional principles from artistic 
research. It was an iterative, staged approach that involved openness to the definition and 
redefinition of the subject of the research, and the deliberate introduction of different 
perspectives. In addition, qualitative experiments were used which invite identifying essences of 
the subject, adding elements that can intensify the experience, substitutions and deliberate 
transformations. Data collection involved (a) expert interviews, (b) reflection on improvisational 
aspects of Feldenkrais Method practice, (c) defining phenomena such as the ‘improvisational 
mode of action’, using a researcher journal, (d) identification of key learning principles or 
strategies from the Feldenkrais Method (e.g., balance, neutral position, quality of breathing, 
reversibility), and (e) documentation and analysis of the outcomes of the various experimental, 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 6 
 

https://feldenkraisresearchjournal.org/index.php/journal/article/view/15
https://feldenkraisresearchjournal.org/index.php/journal/article/view/15


 

experiential labs which were conducted. Eikmeier’s analysis generated several significant 
insights into the dissolution of familiar bodily organization and boundaries between players that 
can provide a new basis for readiness for action in music making. 

Feldenkrais Method and Wellbeing for Adolescent Dancers During the Covid-19 
Pandemic: During the recent global pandemic many Feldenkrais classes, workshops, and 
programs had to move to an online format for the first time. This presented many challenges 
and new opportunities for the teaching of the Method, and opportunities to use the Method to 
address the many challenges to people’s well-being in that time. Adolescents were particularly 
impacted by the lockdowns. Could Feldenkrais Method contribute to self-awareness, learning 
and self-regulation processes for this group? This study involved 20 young women involved in 
online skills-oriented dance classes, 10 of whom in addition experienced 10 weekly Awareness 
Through Movement lessons. Measures of motivation did not produce significant results, but 
there were measured tendencies toward greater interoceptive awareness and self-regulation 
among the intervention group. The pandemic itself may have been a confounding factor as the 
study identified that the young women in both groups also reported experiencing increased 
self-focus and felt-tension. 

Authors, Claudia Mölders and Liliana Araújo, used a mixed measures research design, which 
included using established measures of motivation and bodily awareness. In addition, at various 
stages of the project, verbal and written reports of the participants’ experiences were captured, 
along with participant drawings. These were analyzed thematically. This study is one of the first 
studies of Feldenkrais Method to use the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive 
Awareness (MAIA) (Mehling et al, 2012; Mehling et al., 2018) which includes scales for the 
experience of body awareness, and has been used in many recent studies of interventions 
using awareness and movement. This study points to the value of using established measures 
and open qualitative data collection to document and understand the relevance and impact of 
Feldenkrais-based interventions in relation to specific and complex aspects of human 
development and experience. 

Group Exercise for Improvement in Urinary Incontinence: Deborah Bowes’ case report is on 
the use of a group program using Awareness Through Movement for women with mild to 
moderate incontinence. It is the first study published in English on the use of Feldenkrais 
Method for urinary incontinence. The measures of the extent and impact of incontinence 
indicated a reduction in frequency of episodes of incontinence and on the impact on quality of 
life for most participants.  

As with many successful interventions using movement and awareness to address health 
concerns, the program also included health education and social support. Descriptions of the 
Awareness Through Movement lessons and topics for health education and group discussion 
are included in the article. The outcomes of the measures for urinary incontinence along with 
the comments from participants suggest that further research is warranted, perhaps using more 
recent impact measures, and also the gathering of further qualitative data was recommended. 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 7 
 



 

As often is the case, the comments from participants point to wider benefits of the intervention, 
as well as to larger impacts of Feldenkrais-based programs in participants’ lives. 

In this Volume: Hypothesis and Theory/Reflections on Practice 

Learning to embody: In her article, based on a talk prepared for educators, Stephanie Ménasé 
makes the case for the Feldenkrais Method as an embodied process of learning and relearning, 
which draws on fundamental characteristics of the human nervous system. She highlights how 
both characteristics of movements and specific learning strategies in both Awareness Through 
Movement and Functional Integration may stimulate useful differentiation and variation on 
neurological, sensory, functional, and experiential levels. She gives examples of the principles in 
action for people with bodily-based learning challenges. She draws on writings about the 
Method (Feldenkrais, Reese) and influences on its development (Schilder, Wertheimer), as well 
as neuroscience (Buzsáki), phenomenology (Merleau-Ponty), and their intersection (Varela, 
Thompson, and Rosch). As such, it is a condensed introduction to key aspects of the Method 
and its connection to a wider net of ideas that deserve further exploration. 

Tools for the practice of acting: Drawing on her experience in acting and training actors, 
Julie-Kazuko Rahir undertook a “research project entitled ‘Theatre and Feldenkrais: Which tools 
from the Feldenkrais Method are most pertinent to an actor’s work?’” The paper presents eight 
tools for training actors. She began consulting the literature and well-known teachers in the field. 
Indeed, the article features an extensive list of resources on acting and the Feldenkrais Method 
in the French language, including links to articles and interviews. Working with actors in 
workshops in Western Switzerland, Lyon, and Montréal, and with support from the Swiss 
Feldenkrais Guild, she and her collaborators used arts research processes to explore if and how 
key Feldenkrais Method teaching-learning strategies may enhance the learning of the practice 
of acting. Drawing on many well identified strategies (e.g., variation, reversibility), she explicates 
and provides examples of specific ways and nuances of how they may be understood and used 
in actor training – giving examples and drawing on observations from theorists and practitioners 
in the field. 

In this Volume: Literature Reviews 

This volume of the Feldenkrais Research Journal features, for the first time, reviews of 
completed research into the Feldenkrais Method. 

The effectiveness of the Feldenkrais Method: A systematic review of the evidence: This 
systematic review from Hillier and Worley was first published in 2015, with financial assistance 
from the International Feldenkrais Federation. This was the first review of completed research 
trials which used the Cochrane Review Collaborative’s processes and standards for evaluating 
the quality of medical research. The first reviews of research into the Feldenkrais Method relied 
on the small number of available studies, and also made use of measures of trustworthiness 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 8 
 



 

and efficacy that, for example, are not appropriate for a method where the intervention cannot 
be blinded to participants. This review analyzed a robust 20 trials.  

The authors note “meta-analyses were able to be performed with 7 [seven] studies, finding in 
favour of the FM for improving balance in ageing populations…” and “[s]ingle studies reported 
significant positive effects for reduced perceived effort and increased comfort, body image 
perception, and dexterity.” They concluded, “Further research is required; however, in the 
meantime, clinicians and professionals may promote the use of FM in populations interested in 
efficient physical performance and self-efficacy”. Read the paper for the rich detail of their 
methodology and findings. 

We are glad to be able to reproduce this review, as, even when papers are not behind online 
firewalls or come out from behind them eventually, earlier published studies are sometimes 
missed in Internet searches which favor more recent publications. Locating this paper here in 
the Feldenkrais Research Journal, and also publishing it in Spanish, helps this important review 
be accessible to a wider audience on an ongoing basis. 

The Effects of the Feldenkrais Method in the Area of Motor Functioning: A Scoping 
Literature Review: This new review, completed by Nicola Zollinger in 2025, found 41 research 
trials into the application of the Feldenkrais Method to movement or motor aspects of human 
functioning, including motor learning and coordination, functional movement patterns, balance, 
range of motion, muscle tone, breathing, and posture. Participants included, for example, 
healthy or non-clinical populations, and older adults, as well as many with health specific 
conditions that affect human function and well-being. Characteristics of all the studies are 
presented, including populations, ages, eligibility, study duration and levels of intensity of the 
intervention, as well as models for identifying risk of bias and levels of evidence used in medical 
science. Each of the 41 studies is then briefly summarized, including main findings and 
identification of the risk of bias. 

While a systematic review (such as Hillier and Worley, reprinted in this volume) has the aim of 
identifying the quality of study on select criteria, and even to synthesize the statistical findings, 
sometimes details about studies are hard to discern, and some studies do not make the 
inclusion criteria at all. The advantage of a scoping review such as this, is that it includes all the 
studies on the topic that can be located, giving a broad view of the pattern and range of 
research attempted. A kind of catalogue of what was done so far in these 41 large and small, 
more effective and less effective, trials of Feldenkrais Method for motor function. Through the 
descriptions of each study, a reader may readily find a study of interest. For current and future 
researchers, these descriptions make it easy to identify the main characteristics of a study. 
Another very helpful inclusion is Appendix 2, which provides a complete list of measures used in 
these 41 trials. 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 9 
 



 

To conclude, Zollinger provides a summary of the findings in a discussion section, and provides 
reflections on possible mechanisms of action for the Feldenkrais Method in this area of 
application, and recommendations for future research based on this review.  

We are pleased to publish Zollinger’s huge and thorough research, which was partly supported 
by the Swiss Feldenkrais Guild, and will be published here in four languages.  

Making a Contribution 

This Volume of the Journal makes an important contribution to the continuing expansion of 
research and thinking about the Feldenkrais Method. Through these new and reprinted research 
studies, and through the two reviews of research done so far, one can get a sense of the 
breadth of the application of the Feldenkrais Method. Beyond this, the articles and reviews 
reveal many creative approaches to identifying benefits and possible modes of action of the 
practice. Looking over the arc of practice, research, and consideration of the Feldenkrais 
Method in this volume – and published elsewhere in recent years, we are able to discern some 
patterns and levels contribution of Feldenkrais Method practice to human learning and 
expanding abilities, and to the enhancement of human being and well-being. There remains so 
much to be investigated, gaps in knowledge to be filled, practices to be described and analyzed, 
and much more, but I am glad for the contribution of this Journal through the work of many that 
is represented here. 

Thanks 

This volume of the FRJ had been a multiyear endeavor begun in the shadow of the Covid-19 
pandemic, which has impacted work on a project like this as people have reviewed priorities. 
Notwithstanding many challenges, many people contributed and deserve thanks for their work, 
diligence, intelligence, and commitment, including: 

● all the authors who did the huge work of the research and writing you find here 
● all the reviewers of articles, who, because of the nature of peer-reviewing have to 

remain nameless, but who are essential to the functioning of the journal 
● The Feldenkrais Research Journal Spanish Translation Group: María del Carmen 

Cortés, Lucía Porta, María Clara Reussi, Consuelo Maldonado Toral, and Rosa María 
Sánchez Cantú, who brought their skill, care, and commitment to the translation of this 
whole Volume 

● Karol Connors who acted as a Co-Editor for one of the articles: I appreciate her 
attention to quality and detail in the assessment and preparation of the paper for 
publications 

● JoAnne Page, who is the Administrative Editor of the FRJ – doing the essential work 
of keeping the flow of editorial and publishing going, supporting me as Editor, and also is 
our Text Editor doing proofreading, citation checking, and Harvard formatting 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 10 
 



 

● Jessica Taylor Foster, our Designer who formats articles for publication, and who 
created the beautiful montage of images that heads this volume 

● Members of the Editorial Team who are available for consultation, ideas, and are many 
of the regular reviewers of articles 

● The member organizations of the International Feldenkrais Federation, who provide 
funding toward the costs of this journal, and the IFF Board members and staff who 
support our work.  

Thank you for reading. Please contact us with information about research you are doing, 
publication of research in other forums, and if you are interested in publication here. 

Cliff Smyth 
Editor 

 

References 

Kleining, G. (2001) Openness as a characteristic of exploratory research. In Hoock, C., and 
Böhm, J. M. (eds.) Methodology of qualitative social research. Kontrapunkt, 1, Münster 
Kontrapunkt, 27-36 

Kleining G., and Witt, H. (2000) Qualitative Heuristic Research as a Discovery Methodology for 
Psychology and the Social Sciences: Rediscovering the method for introspection as an 
example. Forum Qualitative Sozialforshung, 1 (1) 

Mehling, W.E., Price, C., Daubenmier, J. J., Acree, M., Bartmess, E., and Stewart, A. (2012) The 
multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness (MAIA). PloS One, 7 (11), 
e48230.  

Mehling, W. E., Acree, M., Stewart, A., Silas, J., and Jones, A. (2018) The multidimensional 
assessment of interoceptive awareness, version 2 (MAIA-2). PloS One, 13 (12), 
e0208034. 

 

 
Editorial • Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 7 (2025) 11 
 


	​Editorial 
	​ 
	Diverse Applications, Many Approaches:​Editorial, Feldenkrais Research Journal, Volume 7 
	Abstract 
	Keywords 

	Editorial 
	​ 
	Diverse Applications, Many Approaches:​Editorial, Feldenkrais Research Journal, Volume 7 
	​In this Volume 
	Translation 
	In this Volume: Original Research 
	In this Volume: Hypothesis and Theory/Reflections on Practice 
	In this Volume: Literature Reviews 
	Making a Contribution 
	Thanks 
	 
	References 


