Updates from the Feldenkrais4Life project!

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WELCOME TO THE FOURTH F4LIFE NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the fourth biannual newsletter of the Feldenkrais4Life project dedicated to the development of an ecology of health, well-being and continuous learning of the person with the Feldenkrais Method. If you want to read the newsletter in another of the four available languages (ENG, FR, DE, ITA), click here:

https://feldenkrais4life.eu/media/

HIGHLIGHTS

Final Conference

“Somatic Methods for Resilience and Sustainable Well-Being: Feldenkrais4Life highlights”
Brussels • Friday 23 January 2026 • 11:00–16:30

During the final conference, the project will present the results, outcomes, and reflections gained over the two years of activities and will engage in dialogue with special guests from international research, European policies, and Feldenkrais education on the key themes addressed by the project.

📌 Key Themes:

The Feldenkrais Method within somatic disciplines for health
Opportunities and challenges of the Feldenkrais Method in the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome and chronic pain
Multi/inter/transdisciplinary approach: integrative medicine for prevention and treatment
Professionalism and recognition of Feldenkrais practitioners

📌 DRAFT AGENDA

- 10:30–11:00 Welcome and registration

-11:00–13:00 The Feldenkrais Method in the world of somatic disciplines for health

The two-year project explored opportunities and challenges in three main areas: professional identity of practitioners; their visibility and recognition; and integration with other practices and methods. The session will present and discuss results, conclusions, insights, and reflections drawn from lessons learned.

- 13:00–14:00 Lunch break

- 14:00–16:30 Towards a transdisciplinary approach to health and well-being: connecting somatic practices in the treatment of people with fibromyalgia and chronic pain

The session will explore factors influencing the success of an integrated approach, such as a solid scientific basis, a shared common language, and effective and operational networking. The discussion will combine direct experience of the Feldenkrais Method with comparisons of different perspectives, thanks to the contribution of special guests.

- 16:30 Closing and greetings

👥 Audience:
Professionals, institutional representatives, heads of professional associations, and stakeholders in the field of somatic practices, health, and care.

Event page: Somatic Methods for Resilience and Sustainable Well-Being: Feldenkrais4Life highlights – Feldenkrais4Life

Participation is free, with mandatory registration. In-person places are limited; registration by 12 January is recommended-.

Register

#1 - Social and Health Professions in Europe

In 2024, the Feldenkrais4Life project launched an international survey, collecting 776 questionnaires from Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, and other European countries.
The research provided essential data on a health professional figure still evolving but central to new paradigms of integrative medicine. The survey investigated its role in different European countries, strengths in relationships with people and other professionals, and the real level of interdisciplinarity.

The profile that emerges is of a practitioner who is:

qualified, autonomous, with an average age of 59
interdisciplinary, also active in education, healthcare, and the arts
experiencing difficulties in networking, economic stability, and multidisciplinary collaboration
open to innovation, but poorly integrated into healthcare systems
focused on teaching and personal development
with limited involvement in associations and research

A profile rich in potential, but requiring greater professionalization and integration.

👉 Report available at https://feldenkrais4life.eu/international-survey/

During the third Pan-European meeting on 17 December, Sandra Coecke (EC Joint Research Centre) illustrated how to “decode depression” by integrating the Environome and the Feldenkrais Method, inviting participation in the new European research dedicated to data collection for inclusive and evidence-based mental health strategies.

👉 Contribute to the new EuSurvey launched by the EC Joint Research Centre:
“Let’s raise awareness and decode depression together!”

#2 - Exploring the Feldenkrais World

The cycle of online meetings dedicated to the Method and its potential in relation to chronic pain and fibromyalgia concluded on 17 December with the third international event:
“Somatic Methods in Health and Care Processes: Opportunities and Challenges – Lessons Learned from the Feldenkrais4Life Project”.

On this occasion, results from the pilot training actions offered by the project to groups of Feldenkrais teachers and physicians in the two partner countries, Italy and Germany, were presented.
The meeting included international guests representing research and professional education supporting the envisioned model of integrative medicine.
MIBES Academy, IFF Research Journal, and the EC Joint Research Centre contributed through recorded interviews and direct participation in the discussion.

👉 Recording of the third Pan-European event, 17 December 2025

https://youtu.be/lLVcD3zn1l0?si=IwCcZspm5W0IhJ1K

👉 Interview recording with EC JRC, Sandra Coecke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI3BtpOsMCM

👉 Interview recording with MIBES Academy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxSdjDeQTUU

👉 Interview recording with IFF Research Group – Cliff Smyth

https://youtu.be/D8Q-2yzG-7Q?si=fIoSE2BZEyt1heok

#3 - Giving Visibility to the Profession

The transition toward an Integrated Health paradigm requires action on multiple levels:

a change in practitioners’ mindset,
training oriented toward transdisciplinarity,
strengthening evidence-based research,
greater visibility of complementary medicine and somatic disciplines.

The project worked in this direction by initiating the positioning of the Feldenkrais teacher within economic classification systems and national qualification frameworks.

These are complex, long-term processes requiring analytical skills, institutional dialogue capacity, and knowledge of regulatory tools.
The Feldenkrais profession, like other somatic and alternative professions, is still immature in this respect, but through the project it was able to engage with these dynamics, identify associative alliances, and develop awareness around the issue of recognition.

This pathway is essential to increase visibility within the health ecosystem; however, as highlighted by Sandra Coecke (EC JRC) during the 17 December meeting, it is even more important to make these professionals truly involved in the design, implementation, and transdisciplinary integration of care contexts.

Read More

#4 - Chronic Pain, Fibromyalgia, and Feldenkrais

The Italian and German pilots of the Feldenkrais4Life project demonstrated that joint training involving physicians, Feldenkrais teachers, and people with fibromyalgia can foster a more integrated approach to chronic pain.
Both pathways showed improvements in symptom management, body awareness, and self-efficacy among participants, while also highlighting significant critical issues related to organizational complexity, difficulties in interdisciplinary integration, and limited institutional recognition in some contexts.
The experience provides useful elements for reflecting on how to develop more structured and sustainable training models over time

Read More

#5 - News and events

Final Conference “Somatic Methods for Resilience and Sustainable Well-Being: Feldenkrais4Life highlights”

📅 Friday 23 January 2026
🕚 11:00–16:30 CET
📍 In person and online - Brussels

Event page: Somatic Methods for Resilience and Sustainable Well-Being: Feldenkrais4Life highlights – Feldenkrais4Life

📌 Participation is free, with mandatory registration. In-person places are limited; registration by 12 January is recommended.

Register

The project is nearing completion, but its activities will continue.
Stay tuned with us!

Feldenkrais4Life Team

Italian and English versions by AIIMF
French version by IFF
German version by FVD

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www.feldenkrais4life.eu

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