Christine Barrat – Trainer

Certified as a Trainer in 2014, my practice has turned towards training practitioners, and post-training. My career path began with training as a physiotherapist (1987), providing a solid foundation in anatomy, physiology and movement analysis. Immediately afterwards, I sought a practice that addressed the whole human being, which led me to discover the Feldenkrais Method. At the crossroads of health maintenance, artistic and personal development, including prevention through awareness. I joined the Feldenkrais Training Course in Rome (1988-1992) under the direction of Carl Ginsburg.
Involved in the development of the Method within Feldenkrais France, I rubbed shoulders with many Trainers, and shared this passion for learning and transmission. Then 6 years with EuroTAB, an international working and reflection group dealing with qualitative and quantitative criteria for training, and the trainers’ curriculum, were a source of encounters, exchanges and clarification of pedagogical processes.

Since the creation of IFELD, as Assistant Trainer I have had the opportunity to observe and assist, teach and receive supervision from renowned trainers. I’m continuing on this path as a Trainer and will continue to be present at certain times in the role of Assistant Trainer, enabling me to accompany trainees more individually according to their needs.
Outside training, my practice has been based near Avignon since 1989. I believe it’s important to maintain a teaching approach to the public, with weekly classes, workshops and functional integrations. For some courses, I work with professionals in complementary fields (music, singing, psychoanalysis, dance) who know and appreciate the Feldenkrais Method.

Alongside this professional career, I have practiced music, dance, photography and various sports, including aikido and downhill skiing. For the past 10 years, I’ve been particularly interested in Argentine Tango, and have developed a curriculum for people wishing to approach this dance through self-awareness, the relationship with others and with gravity, and to improve their balance. The basics of this dance and its communication are very similar to listening and guidance in Functional Integration, and its effects on the brain are also very close to those of the Feldenkrais Method, according to recent studies.
Current advances in neuroscience and my years of teaching in a wide variety of environments have helped me to appreciate ever more the value of this work of somatic education and development of the individual in his or her environment. One of the particularities of the Feldenkrais Method is that, after years of practice, our curiosity continues to grow, so infinite is the refinement of movement, its sensation and its understanding!