# Feldenkrais Method Source: https://spiritfold.com/Feldenkrais_Method Published by the Australian Spiritual Alliance on Spiritfold, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. The **Feldenkrais Method** is a way of learning, or relearning, easier and more effective ways of moving and breathing, through lessons guided by words or by precise touch. Its overall aim is to increase self-awareness and, through that, to improve how a person functions.[1] It was developed by Moshe Feldenkrais in the mid-20th century, and its students include performers and athletes as well as people living with, or recovering from, illness and injury.[1] ## Description Feldenkrais is presented by its practitioners as a universal method for improving human life through better movement, sensation, posture and breathing. They use touch, movement, guided imagery and mindful body awareness.[1] ### Two kinds of lesson Feldenkrais practitioners give two types of lesson:[1] - **Awareness Through Movement®**: a planned sequence of movement explorations guided by the practitioner's voice, usually taught to a group or class. Sessions last 30 to 60 minutes.[1] - **Functional Integration®**: individual sessions in which the practitioner guides the person's body through easy movements and uses precise touch to bring awareness into the body. The person lies or sits, comfortably clothed, on a low padded table.[1] ### How practitioners explain it According to the International Feldenkrais Federation, the method draws on principles of physics and biomechanics and on an understanding of learning and human development gained through experience. It grew partly from Moshe Feldenkrais's own observation that he performed better when he paid closer attention to what he was doing.[1] The key idea for a newcomer is that Feldenkrais is described as a learning process, not a massage or bodywork technique. Through lessons, a person learns movements they may have forgotten or stopped using, and how the whole body works together in movement. Practitioners believe this learning helps people live more fully, efficiently and comfortably.[1] These are practitioners' explanations, not tested findings. ### What the evidence says The evidence for Feldenkrais's effects is very limited. The Australian Government's 2015 review found no clear scientific evidence that Feldenkrais was effective. A 2024 systematic review for the government's Natural Therapies Review found 10 small trials, of people with chronic musculoskeletal conditions (such as low back or neck and shoulder pain) and of people with conditions affecting mobility or at risk of falls, such as older adults and people with multiple sclerosis. The evidence was very uncertain about whether Feldenkrais improves pain, function, falls or quality of life in these groups. There were no studies of other conditions for which people seek Feldenkrais, such as other chronic pain, or stress, anxiety and mood disorders.[1][2] ## Scope ### What it includes - Group classes guided by voice (Awareness Through Movement)[1] - Individual hands-on lessons (Functional Integration)[1] ### What it is not - Feldenkrais is described as a learning process, not a massage or bodywork technique, even though one kind of lesson uses touch.[1] - It is not a regulated health profession (see Regulation below).[1] ## Traditions and lineage The method was developed by Moshe Feldenkrais in the mid-20th century.[1] Its two forms, Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration, grew from two ideas: how a person uses their body, sensing effort and ease, and how responding to feedback improves the way an action is performed.[1] ## Context ### Within Spiritualism Spiritfold has found no published source linking the Feldenkrais Method with Spiritualism. ### In Australian Spiritualism Spiritfold has found no published source linking the Feldenkrais Method with Spiritualism in Australia. ### A Spiritualist perspective Paying closer attention to what you are doing could almost be the first lesson in any Spiritualist development circle. The Feldenkrais Method grew from that same simple observation, applied to movement and breathing. It has nothing to do with Spiritualism, yet a teacher of mediumship would recognise the value of the self-awareness it encourages. Spiritualism asks its students to be grounded, balanced and honest with themselves, and some find that a disciplined awareness of the body helps them settle before meditation or sitting in the power. That is a matter of personal choice, not Spiritualist teaching. Feldenkrais is its own discipline, taught by trained practitioners, and it should be approached as such, so that no student mistakes a movement lesson for spiritual development. As with any practice of this kind, it works alongside medical care, never in place of it. ## Feldenkrais Method in Australia ### Training and associations The Australian Feldenkrais Guild (AFG) is a non-profit membership organisation that promotes the method in Australia, oversees training standards and represents its members in dealings with Feldenkrais guilds around the world. According to the AFG, certified practitioners must complete an accredited training program, which normally takes three to four years and includes 800 hours of training, delivered in several face-to-face blocks each year with home practice in between.[1] The Australasian Training and Accreditation Board, a standing committee of the AFG, accredits professional training programs and trainers in the Asia-Pacific region, under standards agreed internationally. The AFG has a Code of Professional Conduct and Standards of Practice.[1] ### Regulation The practice and teaching of the Feldenkrais Method are not regulated under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, so practitioners don't have to be registered.[1] This is why the Guild's certification and code of conduct matter: they are the standards a student can check a practitioner against.[1] ### Private health insurance Since 1 April 2019, Feldenkrais has been one of 16 natural therapies that private health insurers can't cover.[3] The Natural Therapies Review 2024 looked at the evidence again. Its Chair, Professor Michael Kidd, recommended that seven therapies become eligible again, but did not recommend Feldenkrais.[2] ## Safety and good practice The 2024 systematic review didn't assess safety.[1] That means Spiritfold cannot yet point to independent safety information on the method; it does not mean the question has been settled. ## Related modalities - [Alexander Technique](https://spiritfold.com/Alexander_Technique) - [Pilates](https://spiritfold.com/Pilates) - [Yoga](https://spiritfold.com/Yoga) - [Tai chi](https://spiritfold.com/Tai_chi) ## References 1. Cochrane Australia. *Systematic review of evidence on the clinical effectiveness of Feldenkrais*. Report prepared for the Natural Therapies Review, 4 November 2024. Published by the Australian Government Department of Health as ["Natural Therapies Review 2024 – Feldenkrais evidence evaluation"](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/natural-therapies-review-2024-feldenkrais-evidence-evaluation) (accessed 11 October 2026). 2. Kidd, Michael. Letter to the Minister for Health and Aged Care, 16 February 2025, with *Natural Therapies Review 2024 – Report and recommendations*. Australian Government Department of Health, [published 27 March 2025](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/natural-therapies-review-2024-report-and-recommendations) (accessed 11 October 2026). 3. ["Natural Therapies Review 2024"](https://www.health.gov.au/topics/private-health-insurance/reforms/natural-therapies-review). Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Last updated 1 June 2026 (accessed 11 October 2026). ## Further reading - Cochrane Australia. [*Systematic review of evidence on the clinical effectiveness of Feldenkrais*](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/natural-therapies-review-2024-feldenkrais-evidence-evaluation). Australian Government Department of Health, 2024. - Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. ["Natural Therapies Review 2024"](https://www.health.gov.au/topics/private-health-insurance/reforms/natural-therapies-review). Australian Government.