Please Amend HB 81 — Brian Shircliff, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher (May 25, 2021)

Summary

Letter dated May 25, 2021, headed Please Amend HB 81, to elected representatives from Brian Shircliff, a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher in Cincinnati, OH, who states being certified by the Feldenkrais Guild of North America (FGNA) since 2019. The letter states HB 81 could affect the right to practice the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education in Ohio and asks that the bill be amended to add an exemption for people who practice movement education and adhere to the training, competency and ethical standards of their professional organization. It states the writer graduated from an accredited professional training program of 800 hours, and that Feldenkrais Practitioners are not trained in massage therapy.

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Full text

May 25, 2021


Re: Please Amend HB 81


Dear Elected Representatives,

I live in Cincinnati, OH and am a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher®.

HB 81 could affect my right to practice the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic
education (movement education) in Ohio. I ask that you amend HB 81 to add an
exemption for people who practice movement education, and meet/adhere to
the training, competency and ethical standards of their professional
organization.

I have been certified by the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America (FGNA) since
2019. I use gentle touch to guide my students' attention to their habitual ways of
moving. The touch serves to improve function by learning patterns for easier
reaching, standing up, rolling, posture and walking. People see me because they
need an approach that engages them in finding their own best practice for
activities of daily living.

I graduated from an accredited professional training program of 800 hours that I
flew back and forth to New York City over the course of four years to become
certified. As a teacher, I am required to adhere to FGNA’s Standards of Practice,
Code of Professional Conduct and Grievance Protocol, and fulfill continuing
competency requirements and renew certification annually. The Guild has
developed and enforced internationally recognized accreditation and
certification standards for the Feldenkrais Method since 1977.

The bill you are proposing is wise in many ways in preventing sex-
trafficking and prostitution. This is important!!

But your bill also lumps all movement-educators in with massage
therapists:

Massage therapists are not trained in the Feldenkrais Method. What we do
is movement reeducation.

• Feldenkrais Practitioners are not trained in massage therapy.
• I have never had a client come to me thinking they would be massaged.
• Feldenkrais Practitioners have never had the challenge of being
associated with prostitution or the work as a substitute for sexual pleasure.


I see clients of all ages as a Feldenkrais practitioner, many of them in their 70s
and 80s and even 90s who come to me to help them to walk again or to improve
their walking and daily activities. One of my clients is 87 and she had tried
everything to help her get out of pain and she tells everyone that it’s because of
my skills as a Feldenkrais practitioner that she is able to walk without pain.
Even better, she now knows a few simple things she can do movement-wise to
help her when she’s had a day that causes her pain — often when she brings in
her groceries. It’s because I was able to voice-guide her movements AND
gently touch her that she was able to figure out new ways of moving that were
pain-free.

I make my living through this practice. Before the Covid quarantining, I would
see 10-15 clients a week in person. For their safety, I have been seeing many of
them online or outside. I expect that my practice will continue to grow as the
weather warms and as the vaccines become more available.

Please amend HB 81. I would be happy to meet with you by video conference
call if that would be helpful.

I would greatly appreciate a response. Thank you for your time and
consideration of my concerns.


Sincerely,




Brian Shircliff
Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner®
5902 Kimberly Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45213
513-300-5174
brianshircliff@icloud.com


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