The Experience of Being Embodied

Qualitative Research And Somatic Education - A Perspective Based On The Feldenkrais Method®

Abstract

Somatic Education is the name of a new disciplinary field which focuses on the living body, on the biological basis of consciousness and awareness, and on movement as experienced in space. The Feldenkrais Method and all other methods for somatic education share the need for qualitative research: to formulate their theories and define the scientific basis of their concepts; to measure the effects of their practices; to understand and improve the training process for practitioners and teachers. The paradoxical nature of verbally conducted research dealing with a non-verbal research object such as the body also needs to be clarified. Any researcher concerned with the quality of somatic education must bring to the research process an awareness of her/his own body. This is both a characteristic feature and an undeniable necessity for such research.

This article is also available in French and Spanish.