By Roger Russell, MA, PT

This year’s first online event of the IFF Research Network had a new format. Entitled the Research Café 24 network members met online on Sunday March 19 to find out who was thinking about research and in what ways. Since the first online meeting in October 2020 network members have attended online presentations focused on specific themes about the Feldenkrais Method and research. This time it was different.

One of the goals of the IFF Research Network – with more than 200 members – is to connect internationally, share resources and provide opportunities for Feldenkrais teachers to find out who has done what kind of research (see the Feldenkrais Reference Database and the Research Event Videos,) and find ways to cooperate for future projects. For the Research Café brainstorming was in the foreground.

The format of the event was simple. On Zoom the network members were randomly assigned to small breakout groups of four to five people for 20 minutes. With a moderator providing structure, each participant had several minutes to introduce themselves and give a short resume of what kind of research project would match their fascination with the Feldenkrais Method. After 20 minutes the breakout groups were reshuffled.

Suddenly, new group members were online. After a few seconds to re-orient to the new faces, voices and accents the process was repeated. Through three iterations, three small groups of new people, many from another continent, each participant had the opportunity to listen to many different perspectives, personal stories, research backgrounds and a wide variety of unexpected ideas.

Some examples: How can the Feldenkrais Method help individuals with Guillain–Barré syndrome? What about body-image, self-image, chronic pain or how the brain learns new movements? How can we find effective research methods for art or music? Breathing awareness and chronic back pain? Or, concerning methodological questions and the tension between quantitative and qualitative research methods?  Can we find ways to research pedagogical themes in Feldenkrais trainings? Can research funding be internationally organized? How can the complex interactions between the Feldenkrais teacher and client in Functional Integration be described in psychological and sociological frameworks? And, many more.

What did we learn? First, let’s do it again! The Research Café was an imaginative format to meet new people from around the world. It was delightful to find new faces and hear new stories. We needed more time to talk. Each group needs both a moderator and someone to take notes. Fundraising emerged as an important task for the IFF Research Network in the future. There was wide agreement that the Network Event Group should plan new Research Café meetings in the coming year.