SANTA FE 5 - STAFF - 2026-2029
EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR
ALAN S. QUESTEL, GCFP*
Santa Fe, NM USA
Alan, as the Educational Director of The Feldenkrais® Professional Training in Santa Fe, is responsible for the pedagogic integrity of the training program. He will develop the curriculum, manage the educational staff and maintain an overview of each trainee's learning.
Alan S. Questel is known for his clarity, creativity and down to earth style of teaching. He brings a depth of understanding, humor and a gentle human perspective to the learning of the Method and creates lively conditions for learning.
Trained by Dr. Feldenkrais (Amherst 1983), Alan has lectured and taught at hospitals, colleges and FELDENKRAIS® Professional Training Programs throughout the U.S., Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Brazil and Colombia teaching people from all walks of life.
He has taught at Princeton University, S.U.N.Y. College at Purchase, the New York Open Center, the New Actors Workshop, NYC, The Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, CA and at Mother Teresa’s Shishu Bhavan in Calcutta, India.
An actor before becoming interested in the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®, Alan worked and toured with Jerzy Grotowski (My Dinner With Andre) and Paul Sills (Second City, Chicago and Story Theatre).
He became an Assistant Trainer in 1986 and earned his accreditation as a Trainer in 1994. He has taught in over 40 FELDENKRAIS® Professional Training Programs in worldwide.
One of his great interests is the embodiment of creativity and he has developed a body of work for performers utilizing the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®. Alan sees the FELDENKRAIS METHOD® as a means for individual maturation, and aspires towards making this appreciable and concrete for his students both in training programs and in his practice.
Alan has directed and co-directed 17 training programs in Bronxville, New York; Marin and Sonoma Counties, California; Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth, Australia; Phoenix, Arizona; Malmo, Sweden; Cali, Columbia; Santa Fe, New Mexico and is currently Educational Director in trainings in Santa Fe, NM.
Alan is also the creator of the DVD program ‘Pregnant Pauses-Movement for Moms’ and has produced 17 CD sets of public workshops in the FELDENKRAIS METHOD®. He makes his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
*GCFP-Guild Certified FELDENKRAIS® PractitionerCM
TRAINERS
DEBORAH BOWES, GCFP*, PT
San Francisco, CA USA
Deborah Bowes is a Feldenkrais Trainer and a Physical Therapist. She’s a graduate of Columbia University in Physical Therapy, has a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Shenandoah University, and a B.S. in Biology and Physical Education from Rhode Island College. Other related in depth studies and practice include Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Kung, yoga, sensory awareness, meditation, and dance.
She co-founded the Feldenkrais® Center for Movement Education in San Francisco in 1988, and for the past 25 years, has offered Feldenkrais Method® classes, workshops and individualized lessons to adults and children, as well as mentorship for Feldenkrais® practitioners. Her presentations and in-service trainings include diverse groups such as the American Physical Therapy Association, Worker’s Compensation Nurses and Case Managers, UCSF Medical Students, Kaiser Dermatology Department, Catholic Social Services, Sonoma Valley Hospital, UC Davis Pain Management Conference, Buen Dia Family School, Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists, and St. Francis Hospital Women Physicians group.
She has authored and recorded specialized Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® programs addressing chronic pain and pelvic floor issues. She is interested in the application of Feldenkrais Method® to improve overall health and well-being in both the practitioner and client. She is currently working at Stanford Hospital working with people with complex and persistent medical conditions, as well as in her private practice.
*GCFP-Guild Certified FELDENKRAIS® PractitionerCM
CANDY CONINO
Candy Conino came to the Feldenkrais Method as a physical therapist. She has been a Feldenkrais practitioner since 1996 teaching in training programs since 2003. Candy has a private practice in North Carolina. She works in person and online, predominantly with people who have complex pain and movement disorders. She also teaches “Enough Anatomy,” a six-module, 75-hour experiential anatomy program for somatic practitioners. Since 2007, Candy’s passion and focus have been on designing potent learning environments for building the confidence and competence of somatic practitioners around the world. She has a robust mentoring practice and delights in working with individuals and small groups. She continues to develop unique processes to make professional growth gratifying and transformative.
KATHY JAMES
Kathy James draws upon diverse disciplines, including the Feldenkrais Method, Biology, Ontology of Language, Aikido and various other movement arts, offering a unique perspective about how to bring about meaningful change. She studied with Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais in 1980 and graduated from his last US Training in 1983. She has taught in many accredited Professional Feldenkrais Training Programs, leads workshops throughout the US and mentoring programs for Feldenkrais Practitioners and trainees. She holds a fourth degree black belt in Aikido and trained as a professional dancer for many years. Kathy lives in Petaluma, CA where she maintains a private practice and online classes.
YVO MENTENS
Yvo took his first Feldenkrais class more than 30 years ago. He graduated from the 2009 professional training in Paris with Myriam Pfeffer. He studied with some of Moshe Feldenkrais’ first assistants and alumni from the Amherst and San Francisco trainings. He is the co-founder of Feldenkrais Education and teaches internationally in different professional training programs. Yvo served as an active member of the European Feldenkrais organization ETC, and as a vice-president of the International Feldenkrais Federation IFF.
Yvo worked in varied professional environments from prisons to dojo’s and from therapeutic settings to universities in multiple countries. He holds master degrees in Criminology and Sociology and is a certified Pain Reprocessing Therapist. Previously, Yvo was a TV anchor on national Belgian television and worked internationally as an actor and theater director. He was a professor of physical theatre, comedy and Feldenkrais at the renowned Paris National Conservatory of dramatic art and taught at the Stanislavsky Conservatory in Moscow.
He is known for his humor, empowering pedagogy and for the safe, inclusive and engaging learning environment he creates - a space where everyone can develop their own unique potential.
ARLYN ZONES, GCFP*, MA (Theatre Arts)
San Francisco, CA US
Arlyn Zones (M.A. Theatre Arts) studied physical approaches to character work and mime before discovering and training in the Feldenkrais Method®. She has been involved in the Feldenkrais Method since 1977 and graduated in 1983 from the last training that Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais conducted during his lifetime. Arlyn has taught in over a hundred Feldenkrais trainings worldwide. She has directed several of her own programs in Europe and North America.
Over the last 40 years Arlyn has taught hundreds of workshops for health professionals, pediatric therapists, performing artists, and the general public. She has also taught special workshops on the theme of Feldenkrais and Voice.
She has taught numerous Advanced Trainings for Feldenkrais Practitioners on numerous subjects including how to work with children with special challenges. She has been active in mentoring many of the most senior assistants in the Feldenkrais community.
Arlyn lives in San Francisco, California where she has maintained a private practice for the past 40 years. She works with infants, children and adults who are seeking help for a wide range of physical and neurological difficulties. She also works with performing artists. She has brought the Feldenkrais Method into clinics, hospitals and schools for children with learning differences.
