Classes
A Feldenkrais class is a lesson of about an hour. You lie on the floor or sit in a chair while the teacher guides you by voice through slow, small movements, so you can perceive how you organize yourself and widen your options for moving. Nicolette de Saint-Amour teaches in person in San Diego and online on Sundays.
What Happens in a Feldenkrais Class
The class is called Awareness Through Movement. It is taught entirely by voice.
You are not shown a pose and asked to match it. The teacher describes a movement, and you find your own version of it. When you copy a demonstration, your attention goes to the teacher. When you follow a description, your attention stays with your own sensation, which is where the learning happens.
A lesson has a shape. It opens with a scan: you lie still and notice how you meet the floor. A sequence of small movements follows, done slowly, with rests between them. A second scan closes the lesson, and you compare what you feel now with what you felt at the start.
The rests are not a break from the work. They are part of it.
What a Feldenkrais Class Feels Like for a First-Timer
Slower than almost anything else you have taken. People arrive expecting a workout pace and find something closer to a laboratory.
The movements are often small. Some are small enough that the person beside you appears to be doing nothing. There is no music cueing you to push, no counting, no instruction to go deeper. If a movement is uncomfortable, you make it smaller, or you imagine it. Both count.
Afterward, most people first notice how different the two sides of the body feel. Then they notice a change in standing: taller, or more even, without having tried to stand that way. These reports are experiential, and they vary from person to person.
In my classes, I often ask students to compare one side of the body with the other before and after a sequence. I am not asking them to fix anything. I am asking them to notice what has changed, because noticing is where learning starts.
Why Feldenkrais Lessons Are Slow
Speed hides detail. When you move quickly, you move the way you always move, and habit does the work. Slowing down lets you perceive distinctions in how you organize yourself: where you brace, what moves together, what stays still. Those distinctions are information, and more information gives you more choices for how to move.
Slow, quiet attention also gives your nervous system time to register what is happening. Students often report feeling calmer after a lesson. That is a common experience, not a promised result. A Feldenkrais class is somatic education. It is not a treatment for anxiety or any other condition.
Who Comes to Feldenkrais Classes
A wide range of ages and abilities share the room. People with stiffness or old injuries. People who sit at a desk all day. Dancers, musicians, and other performers who need a dependable body. Older adults working on balance and steadiness. People with no complaint at all who are curious about how they move.
You do not need to be flexible, fit, or experienced. Lessons can be done lying down or seated, and you decide the size of every movement. If you can get to the floor and back up, or sit in a chair for an hour, you can take the class.
What to Wear and Bring
Wear clothes you can move and lie down in comfortably. Layers help, since lying still can feel cool.
Arrive a few minutes early for your first class.
Class Schedule: Online on Sundays and In Person in San Diego
Online, live Awareness Through Movement classes run on four Sundays each month at 9:30 AM Pacific Time. You need a floor, a quiet hour, and a screen you do not have to watch. Recordings go into the class library by Monday.
You can drop in for $28 a class, buy a four-class package for $108, or join the Postural Apprenticeship membership, which starts at $50 a month and includes the live classes and the full library. A $25 a month scholarship option is available.
In person, classes are taught in San Diego. For days, times, and location, contact Niki.
Taking Feldenkrais Classes Online
Awareness Through Movement is guided by voice, so it works on a screen. There is nothing to watch, so nothing is lost. The Sunday classes are live, and if you miss one, the recording is waiting in the library. The Postural Apprenticeship membership gives you lessons to do at home, at your own pace.
Private Feldenkrais Sessions in San Diego
Some people prefer individual attention. Functional Integration is the one-on-one format, given in person at Framework Somatics in downtown San Diego. The practitioner works with gentle touch and movement while you lie clothed on a padded table, and each session is built around you. Niki also offers virtual private sessions.
Group classes teach you to notice. Private sessions meet what you have already noticed.
How to Book Your First Class
Check the current schedule and reserve a spot. If you are unsure whether a class suits your situation, write to Niki before you book.Ready to try a class?
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need experience with Feldenkrais to take a class?
No. Each lesson stands on its own, and new students are welcome in any class.
What should I wear to a Feldenkrais class?
Clothes you can move and lie down in comfortably. Layers help, since you spend much of the class lying still.
How long is a Feldenkrais class?
About an hour.
Is Feldenkrais suitable if I have pain or an injury?
Lessons are gentle and self-paced, and you choose the size of every movement. If you have an injury or a medical condition, check with your healthcare provider before starting.
Can I take Feldenkrais classes online?
Yes. Live Awareness Through Movement classes run online on four Sundays each month at 9:30 AM Pacific Time. They are taught by voice, so nothing is lost on a screen. The Postural Apprenticeship membership also includes a library of recorded lessons.
About the authorNicolette de Saint-Amour, GCFP, is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, Lecturer of Somatics at San Diego State University, and founder of Framework Somatics, her private practice in East Village, downtown San Diego, where she works individually with clients through Functional Integration® and somatic education. She brings over a decade of experience in somatic education and body reading, and teaches Awareness Through Movement online through Postural Apprenticeship.