|
|
|
|
 |
|
| | Photo by Aaron Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash |
|
|
From the Editors
|
| | Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash |
We are dedicating this issue of SenseAbility to questions of inclusion and diversity in the hopes of opening up a more inclusive world of Feldenkrais® work. The authors embody these explorations of diversity and have developed their particular somatic practices out of direct experiences. Their narratives can be used to expand the repertoire of our inclusivity strategies.
Neruma Ankti talks about the concept of equality as a foundation of an Awareness through Movement lesson. "A Feldenkrais® lesson is a place where everyone can have an experience of this equality, as a core concept is that no two people are the same - that it is our differences however similar we may appear, that make us human," says Neruma. The interview with Kelly Feder takes a penetrating look at how we can use the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education to understand our limiting beliefs connected to race and color. Finally, Gail Thompson offers an anthropologist's look at working with Somali communities that would normally not get access to somatic therapies.
There are many thoughtful articles and podcasts for you to learn more about race and diversity in our Resource section. Lavinia, Yulia, and LeeAnn
|
Be the Change: A Podcast with Neruma Ankti
The following podcast was originally published in the Feldenkrais UK Guild public newsletter, Move With Ease, in Summer 2020. Click here to listen to the podcast and to see the transcription, offered by The Movement and Creativity Library, created by Feldenkrais® practitioner Tiffany Sankary.
|
Neruma Ankti is a Student Teacher, currently in the fourth year of her Feldenkrais® Practitioner Training in Sussex, UK. She is a self-taught writer and artist - a creative person is more how she would describe herself, with a passion for art, learning and teaching. She is a contributor to the Movement and Creativity Library.
|
Creating Community with Students
 |
| | Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash |
An interview with Kelly Feder
Kelly Feder is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher® and founder of the Feldenkrais Movement Academy of St. Louis. Throughout her career, Kelly has sought a diversity of teachers, completing Ruthy Alon's Bones for Life, Chava Shelhav's Child'Space, and MBS Academy's Advanced Practitioner certifications. As a YWCA Witnessing Whiteness Facilitator, Kelly has participated in many courses, including CrossRoads Anti Racism/Anti Bias trainings, Non Violent Communication and Empathy trainings and the St. Louis Racial Equity Summit, which emerged from the commission on Ferguson. Kelly writes that she "brings the unfinished, imperfect process of my own transforming self into my teaching, inviting compassion in the midst of uncertainty to linger in and learn from the complexities of the habits that limit us."
SenseAbility (SA): Kelly, tell us about the recent class that you taught titled, "MIRROR: Moving IN: Recognizing and Remembering Ourselves in Racism". Can you give us the context for your idea for the class and how you were thinking about it?
Honestly, my plan and process were not fully formed as I began. For a long time, I had been thinking about racism as a neurological habit and ways the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education could be used to expose unconscious habits around race. For so long, I was in analysis paralysis.
In my general Awareness Through Movement® (ATM®) classes I often bring up the learned social habits of pushing oneself to be a good student, the binary thinking of a "good" knee and a "bad" knee, the need to be perfect before doing something, the reliance on an authority outside oneself rather than turning the lens inward to follow one's own line of curiosity and inquiry. Today, I am exploring how to expose my habits of racism and asking how the construct of whiteness is limiting me. I didn't realize until recently that these are all characteristics of white supremacy culture that sociologists have studied and named.* So why not name them as such?
When racially charged events were happening in my city, such as Ferguson or the election of the first Black prosecuting attorney, I'd point out the either/or thinking, the "othering" or judgment or assumptions we might be making about these events and how we do these same things in our bodies.
|
Kelly Feder (Feldenkrais Movement Academy of St. Louis, LLC) has participated in multi-day workshops on Antiracism/Anti Bias training through Crossroads, Embodied Racism, Colorbrave, Unwinding Whiteness, and the St. Louis Racial Equity Summit. She participates in on-going racial caucusing to do the internal work of dismantling and recognizing my embodied white superiority and internalized racial scripts. When she was in the bay area she participated in many Non Violent Communication and Empathy courses. Kelly writes that "most helpful is my life partner, Bob, who challenges me to see my embedded racism daily."
|
Daryel, the Seattle Somali Women's Wellness Project
By Gail Thompson
|
| | Photo provided by author |
These times have highlighted the extent to which ethnic communities are segregated in our socie ty, and Feldenkrais® practitioners are rightfully concerned about serving all of our communities. As an anthropologist, I am aware of the richness in other cultures that we can experience through participation and observation. But it's difficult for all of us to make contact and serve those who are different from us. I have had the good fortune to engage with the Somali community in the Seattle area.
Some 30,000 Somali people have come to live in the Puget Sound area. Many Somali women have experienced physical trauma and emotional pain from fleeing war, relocating thousands of miles from their homeland, and caring for their families in an unfamiliar environment and a culture that isn't just new but also often insufficiently welcoming and socially isolating.
Harborview Medical Center (HMC) medical providers have reported many Somali women complaining of musculoskeletal pain and headaches that were not alleviated by prescribing medication, and adherence with physical therapy has been poor. Some patients express symptoms of depression and PTSD but are uncomfortable with psychotropic medications and psychotherapy based on the cultural stigmatization of mental health issues.
A now-retired HMC nurse collaborated with a Somali interpreter/cultural mediator to develop the Daryel program and continues to direct it. "Daryel" means wellness in Somali. Volunteers include Jewish, Christian, and nonreligious women who wish to provide holistic and culturally competent care to connect, improve, and enjoy relations with our Somali community...
|
Gail Thompson, Ph.D., is a mostly retired anthropologist, who trained in the Feldenkrais Method, graduating in 2012 and is now deepening her learning in the Feldenkrais Training Academy. Her other volunteer work includes teaching an online Awareness Through Movement Class to seniors in the Northeast Seattle Together (NEST) community.
|
The International Somatic Movement Education (ISMETA) and Therapy Association is hosting an online conference titled, "Somatic Applications for Health, Education and Social Justice" March 3-7. Even if you do not work in a field related to somatics, you might be interested in learning more about the organization or sharing the information with others. Please click here for more information.
FGNA is a member of ISMETA and supports their vision. Six Feldenkrais Guild members will present at this year's conference:
Nancy Haller Larry Goldfarb Elinor Silverstein Daniel Burkholder Sonja H. Sutherland Margit Galanter
|
|
Resources
Websites:
Podcasts:
Seeing White: 14 part series that unpacks the history of whiteness and its implications.
CodeSwitch: Fearless conversations about race https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch
TED Talks:
Movies:
|
|
Do you know someone who would enjoy this content? Click the "Forward this email" button, OR use the social media sharing buttons, just above the header image.
|
|
|
|
Header Image Credit: Photo by Daniel Tomlinson on Unsplash
|
|
FGNA's Email Privacy Policy
If you have provided your email address to FGNA or FEFNA, we may periodically send you information to promote events, products, or services related to the practice of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education, or based on the teaching of Moshe Feldenkrais that we think will be of interest to you. You can always opt to not receive promotions while maintaining your subscription to SenseAbility by contacting us at
* You may change your preferences at any time. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact. You can revoke permission to mail to your email address at any time using the SafeUnsubscribe® link found at the bottom of every email. We take your privacy seriously. Please read the Constant Contact Email Privacy Policy.
* Note: If you are a member of, or are certified by FGNA, you have agreed to receive email and postal mail communications from FGNA including: communications regarding your status, renewal deadlines, announcements and newsletters, learning opportunities, publications, and other information relevant to
Feldenkrais® practitioners and trainees.
Amazon Affiliate
The Feldenkrais Guild® of North America is an Amazon affiliate. Affiliate links may appear in this email. When you click on the link to purchase a product, FGNA may receive a portion of your transaction.
|
©2021, FGNA. All rights reserved.
The following are service marks, trademarks, collective, or certification marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America in the US: Feldenkrais Guild®, Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Functional Integration®, FI®, Awareness Through Movement®, ATM®, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher®, GCFTCM, Guild Certified Feldenkrais PractitionerCM, GCFPCM, Certified Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement TeacherCM, CFATMTCM, Feldenkrais JournalTM, Friends of FeldenkraisSM, and FGNA Feldenkrais Method Logo.
The following are service marks, trademarks, or certification marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America in Canada: Feldenkrais GuildTM, Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais® Method or Feldenkrais MethodTM, Awareness Through Movement®, ATMTM, Prise de conscience par le mouvementMD, Functional Integration®, FITM, L'intégration fonctionnelleMD, Guild Certified Feldenkrais TeacherTM , GCFTTM, Guild Certified Feldenkrais PractitionerTM, GCFPTM, Certified Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement TeacherTM, CFATMTTM, Friends of FeldenkraisSM , Feldenkrais JournalTM, and FGNA Feldenkrais Method Logo.
|
|
|
|
