Across Europe, health, education, and social care systems increasingly need preventive, person-centred, and cost-effective approaches that support well-being, functional autonomy, and stress regulation. The Feldenkrais Method responds to this need by improving movement efficiency, interoceptive awareness, and autonomic balance through gentle, guided learning.
Modern neuroscience shows that the Central Autonomic Network (CAN)—which regulates breathing, posture, stress responses, and emotional–cognitive processes—is highly plastic. Feldenkrais lessons use movement, attention, and sensory differentiation to support this neuroplasticity and promote healthier regulation.
The Method aligns closely with EU priorities on inclusion, well-being, healthy ageing, and lifelong learning, and fits naturally within major EU competence frameworks:
- ESCO: self-regulation, adaptability, body awareness, learning to learn
- LifeComp: personal well-being, self-regulation, embodied awareness, growth mindset
- Health Literacy: understanding bodily signals, functional autonomy, stress management
- EQF: clear Knowledge, Skills, and Responsibility/Autonomy descriptors
Feldenkrais practitioners also demonstrate competences corresponding to EQF levels 4–7, depending on context, and work autonomously with individuals and groups in health, education, and rehabilitation settings.
The Feldenkrais4Life project has attempted to develop a proposal in line with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in order to initiate a process of recognition within national frameworks as soon as possible. In conclusion, the Feldenkrais Method offers a scientifically coherent, low-cost, and scalable approach to improving autonomic regulation, functional autonomy, and well-being. Its alignment with ESCO, EQF, and EU competence frameworks makes it a strong candidate for institutional recognition and integration within European health and education systems.
