Movement, Learning, and a Life Built From the Ground Up
When people meet me now, they usually meet me as a somatic educator, a Feldenkrais practitioner, and a Bones for Life trainer. I teach gentle movement lessons that help people feel steadier, breathe easier, and move through daily life with less strain.
I love the quiet moment when someone notices a new option in their body, like a shoulder that can soften, a foot that can spread, or a breath that can drop lower. Or that moment when a person realizes they are not trapped and can step into their life in a new way
I help people move with more comfort and less effort. That can sound simple, but it changes a lot. When your walking feels safer, your balance improves, or your back stops bracing all day, you have more energy for the rest of your life.
My work is hands-on and practical.
I teach movement in a way that helps you:
- reduce strain in everyday tasks like sitting, standing, reaching, and walking
- improve balance, coordination, and how you shift weight
- build clear body awareness, so you can sense what helps and what doesn’t
- feel more confident after pain, injury, or long periods of stress
The approaches I use:
Feldenkrais, Bones for Life, and Movement Intelligence
Most of what I teach comes through three main streams. Each one has its own flavor, but they share the same heart: you can learn your way into better movement.
The Feldenkrais Method is where I spend a lot of my time. I teach Awareness Through Movement lessons (gentle, guided group classes) and I also work one-on-one through Functional Integration (hands-on learning). I trained through a professional Feldenkrais program with trainers Paul Rubin and Julie Cassin-Rubin, and that education shaped my life. It gave me a way to listen to my body with honesty, not force.
Bones for Life, created by Ruthy Alon, focuses on support from the ground up. It’s about how we organize our skeleton for standing, walking, and carrying ourselves through the day. I studied directly with Ruthy and later became a Certified Bones for Life Trainer.
Movement Intelligence is the umbrella for all of Ruthy Alon’s work. It helped me teach gait, balance, and walking in a way that feels clear and doable. Over time, I became a Senior Trainer in Movement Intelligence and also a Walk for Life Pioneer Teacher.
I don’t teach these methods as “rules.” I teach them as experiments. Small changes, clear attention, and lots of permission to go slow.
Who I work with
I work with people of many ages and life seasons. Typically, people come with a physical problem to solve, but I have also had the privilege of working with musicians and athletes who wanted to improve their performance. People with trauma walk through my door– in person and online, looking to release shame and find their way back to a body they can love.
Common groups I serve include people dealing with:
- Musculoskeletal injury and pain, such as neck, shoulder, foot, and knee
- Chronic back pain
- Walking or Running challenges
- Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, and other neurological changes
- Recovery after spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury
- Hypermobility and EDS-related concerns
- A desire to age with more grace, balance, and mobility
- Performers: Musicians and actors
- Athletes: Runners, Sailors, Martial Artists
Early wins are usually simple and very real. People often tell me they feel safer in their steps, they can turn their head with less pulling, or they can stand at the kitchen counter without bracing. Some notice better sleep because their system isn’t “on alert” all night. I don’t promise cures, but I do trust the learning process, and I’ve watched it help people again and again.
Below is a timeline detailing the journey that brought me to where I am today – from my early beginnings on a farm, to my work in the medical field, which led me to a more holistic view of people and health. From there, achieving my credentials in somatic movement and education, development of a group practice, a life of teaching, and finally, the creation of the first online worldwide Feldenkrais membership, which is still alive and well today.
My story and timeline:
from rural Missouri to movement education
My path didn’t start in a studio. It began on a hog farm in rural Missouri, with a body that already knew stress and health challenges early on. I didn’t have a clear picture of what I’d become. I just kept moving toward work that felt meaningful, then kept adjusting when life pushed me to grow.
1977 to 1997: early life, healthcare work, and learning how systems affect people
In 1977, I stepped from rural Missouri into a much bigger world. I carried a history of trauma and medical issues, and I also carried grit. I somehow found my way into the medical field, even with my mixed feelings about doctors and nurses that came with medical trauma.
One significant early influence was my time with an award-winning occupational medicine and wellness team at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. That experience taught me the essentials of program development, hospital budgeting, and marketing. I toured many plants and corporations and assisted in the onboarding of those new clients. It also exposed me to hospital politics, and once I left, I knew I never wanted to be a part of that again. I went from the hospital to a local urgent care center run by Dr. John Otto, where I developed his occupational medicine program.
Management of Ambulatory Care Centers and Physician Practice Consulting
In 1984, I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and managed multiple ambulatory care centers across the Cincinnati-Dayton area. Back then, those centers were often mocked as “doc-in-the-boxes.” Now urgent care is standard, though typically more limited, which makes me smile. We offered X-rays and lab work, which is rare today in the urgent care field—getting the staff cross-trained and refining systems was key to delivering care and the bottom line. Staff had all-around training, including basic emergency interventions, to meet the needs of whatever walked through the door. And we did have the occasional challenging situation that should have gone straight to the ER.
In 1989, I joined VonLehman and Co., a regional accounting firm, and helped form their Medical Practice Consulting Division. I worked with hundreds of doctors and group practices. I also ran growth groups for office managers. And this is where my style of education and management really began to blossom. I used myth, story, and games to build confidence and skills. When I left VonLehman, I started my own Management Consulting firm. The flexibility of having my own consulting company while my mother was ill and dying from breast cancer in Missouri was essential.
This was a crucial time in my life, with the end of my first marriage, dealing with childhood trauma, physical pain, and the death of my mother. I explored my personal growth and physical healing in many ways, including energy medicine, massage, craniosacral therapy, psychotherapy, spiritual direction, and creative expression.
In 1993, I married Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) guru, Larry Wells. Our life together brought hiking, camping (I’d never camped before), and big questions about how we live well. Our talks had a way of shaking loose old assumptions. We both began to study Integral philosophy, and this consumed much of our spiritual and intellectual explorations. We also did joint consulting projects together, which was exhilarating.
In 1996, even though I’d said I’d never go back to hospital politics, I took on a major job in restructuring and growth for a laboratory billing department as several hospitals formed a large group known as the Health Alliance. That work taught me a hard truth: many people are told to “push through it,” even when their bodies are begging for a new approach. Even getting proper desks and chairs for employees was
challenging. Life for my 30+ FTEs, mostly entry-level staff, was often tough, and the skills needed to navigate it were weak. I began to apply the knowledge gained in integral philosophy, Spiral Dynamics, the Feldenkrais Method, and my own vast explorations in growing personal resilience to create a unique approach to team building and management.
By the end of that period, I wanted to change fields into something more oriented towards a holistic view that respected the person, not just the problem list.
1997 to 2014: Deeply Engaging in a Feldenkrais® training and becoming a Bones for Life leader
In 1996-97, I discovered the Feldenkrais Method® and entered a professional training program. I studied several weeks each year for four years through the Institute for the Study of Somatic Education with Paul Rubin and Julie Cassin-Rubin. Feldenkrais felt like coming home. It was a profound healing of the rift that had occurred within me. And I knew that being a practitioner of this approach was what I would do for the rest of my life.
In 1998, I began shamanic studies with Dr. Alberto Villoldo, learning the Inka Medicine Path and becoming a mesa carrier. The Feldenkrais approach felt more about the body and emotions to me, but spirituality felt deeply lacking. Villodo’s approach helped me remember that spirituality can be grounded and connected to nature in every moment.
In 2000, I opened my studio, Feldenkrais Within, in the Northside community of Cincinnati. I stayed there for 15-plus years, and I loved it. It was a place where people could show up as they were, not as they thought they “should” be.
In 2001, upon graduating as a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, I left health care management. Because I needed time to build my practice, I became a part-time Consultant for Organizational Development and Holistic Programming at Alliance Laboratory Services. In 2002, I joined Larry at Future Life Now (which he founded in 1994). I continued teaching Awareness Through Movement® classes and seeing private clients for Functional Integration®.
Then 2003 came, and it was a turning point. I traveled to study with Ruthy Alon and became a Pioneer Trainer for Bones for Life®. That same year, I helped form a non-profit, the Integrative Learning Center, with Phyllis Eveleigh and Carol Montgomery, to promote somatic work and research. I also introduced the Feldenkrais Method to the Mental Health Association in Cincinnati, which mattered to me because mental health always lives in a body.
In 2004, the Integrative Learning Center hosted Ruthy Alon for an 18-day Bones for Life training in the Greater Cincinnati area. People came from all over the world. The room felt alive with curiosity and care.
In 2005, I began a deep collaboration with Carol Montgomery on Integral Human Gait™ theory, and we offered our first workshops.
In 2006, I officially became a Certified Bones for Life Trainer in Greenfield, New Hampshire, with Ruthy.
In 2008, I started a research project with seniors at the City of Cincinnati Dunham Community Center using Bones for Life. In 2009, I presented “Bottom Up: A Pathway to Walking and Reaching” for an occupational therapy group in Southwest Ohio. That topic still fits my brain, how walking and reaching share the same roots.
In 2011, Xavier University invited me to form a teaching team, including Eileen Frechette and Kathy Krebs, OT, to bring somatic education to teachers of children with special needs. That work was joyful and humbling. Teachers carry so much, and their bodies pay for it. But we were able to open their minds and bodies to new ways for themselves and the children they impact.
In 2013, I became a Walk for Life Pioneer Teacher. In 2014, I traveled to Israel with colleagues to study with Ruthy Alon and became a Senior Trainer in Movement Intelligence. That year, I also presented on the Feldenkrais Method at the Parkinson’s Recovery Summit, which helped me keep refining how I teach walking, balance, and confidence.
Teaching, research, and community projects I’m proud of
I’ve taught in studios, clinics, community centers, conferences, and living rooms. The setting changes, but the goal stays the same: help people learn a calmer, more organized way to move. I’m proud of projects where movement education met real-life needs, not just ideal conditions.
Work with seniors, teachers, caregivers, and people living with brain and nerve changes
The seniors project in 2008 stays with me. Older adults don’t need pep talks. They need safe steps, clear pacing, and hope that doesn’t feel fake. Bones for Life gave us a structure to explore posture, walking, and steadier balance in a kind way in my senior classes. To this day, I teach at least one course a year called Posture, Power, Balance for people with Limited Mobility. This can cover not only many seniors but those with neurological insults or diseases.
In 2016, I presented on Feldenkrais and neuroplasticity at a traumatic brain injury conference. That topic matters because the brain can learn, even after big changes. The way in has to be respectful and small enough to feel safe.
I began offering quarterly sessions on somatic education for the local Alzheimer’s Association, serving people diagnosed and also loved ones and caregivers. That work is close to my heart. Caregivers often forget they have bodies until the pain gets loud. I teach in a way that helps them feel supported, not judged.
Published work and professional talks that shaped my teaching
In 2016, Carol Montgomery and I traveled to Oxford University to present our newly published paper Alternative Movement Program in Geriatric Rehabilitation: Bones for Life® Authors: Montgomery CA, Allen CM, Farber SD, Farber MO Journal of Functional Neurology, Rehabilitation and Erognomics, Vol 7. No 2 (2017): Summer 20
What a joy to gift the world and Ruthy Alon with this pilot study! I also presented two case studies at the 10th Annual N KY Traumatic Brain Injury Conference. And over the years, I’ve done several presentations to occupational therapy groups in Southwest Ohio that connected somatic learning to daily living tasks. Sharing ideas with OTs kept me honest. I love that!
How my work grew online, and what I’m building next
I didn’t start as an “online teacher.” I started as a studio teacher who loved real rooms and real people. Then life changed, and I changed with it.
Programs, memberships, and summits: learning together from anywhere
Years ago, I helped create an early online membership model for Feldenkrais learning. It was the first worldwide online Feldenkrais membership. At the time, it felt almost strange to teach a body-based method using only audio recordings. Little did I know what was coming soon–very soon. While I was only thinking about my own local clients back then, it turned out to be a strong way to reach people all over the world (think 52 countries) who had no local options.
In 2015, I created Your Learning Body, an online Feldenkrais membership. That same year, Larry Wells and I combined our NLP and Feldenkrais practices under one physical roof, and we added acupuncture, Reiki, massage therapy, counseling, and more classes. We even hosted art shows and events. It was a community, not just a group practice.
In 2017, I made my online debut for Your Better Back. It was a rough start. I had one registration. I still taught the program. Later, it became a real success, and it taught me a personal lesson: you don’t get to skip the awkward first steps. Around this time, I also started offering quarterly workshops for the local Alzheimer’s Association. This gave me the opportunity to adapt my teaching skills to assist people during some of their most challenging times and support caregivers as well.
In 2015, I created Your Learning Body, an online Feldenkrais membership. That same year, Larry Wells and I combined our NLP and Feldenkrais practices under one physical roof, and we added acupuncture, Reiki, massage therapy, counseling, and more classes. We even hosted art shows and events. It was a community, not just a group practice.
In 2017, I made my online debut for Your Better Back. It was a rough start. I had one registration. I still taught the program. Later, it became a real success, and it taught me a personal lesson: you don’t get to skip the awkward first steps. Around this time, I also started offering quarterly workshops for the local Alzheimer’s Association. This gave me the opportunity to adapt my teaching skills to assist people during some of their most challenging times and support caregivers as well.
In 2018, colleague Lavinia Plonka said yes to being a co-host for me and we held our first virtual Feldenkrais Awareness Summit with about 6,000 registrations. In 2019, the second summit drew about 7,000. In 2020, we came home from a Costa Rica retreat into the pandemic, and that year the summit grew to about 20,000. We expanded online programs too, including Bones for Life, NLP, Sounder Sleep, and Your Better Back.
In 2021, we renamed the event the Move Better, Feel Better Summit, and it reached about 30,000 registrations. In 2022, we produced “Move Better, Feel Better: 48 Hours Around the World,” with 48 teachers and 48 lessons across 48 hours. We continued it in 2023 and 2024. At the end of the 2024 summit, I shared that it would be our last one, at least for now. I love summits, and I also know when it’s time to rest a format.
As big as 2021 was in the online world – the really big thing in our lives was getting our first dog, Darby the Whoodle. To say that we have been smitten ever since would be a vast understatement.
What I’m focused on now: Progress Pods, team growth, and an app for Your Learning Body
In 2025, my focus has been on team training and cohesion. A good team isn’t just helpful; it carries the essence of the work we do through every process and interaction.
In 2025, my focus has been on team training and cohesion. A good team isn’t just helpful; it carries the essence of the work we do through every process and interaction.
We also added peer-led small groups called Progress Pods
We also added peer-led small groups called Progress Pods for people who study with us over time. They’ve become a strong support for keeping each other engaged in doing home-based lessons and finding community.
And yes, we’re starting to develop an app for Your Learning Body. My hope is simple: make somatic practice easier to return to, one lesson at a time. Integrate the process of experimenting and listening to our bodies into how we live every day.
What you can expect from me is expert teaching, clear language, and respect for your pace, your body, your psyche. I understand how difficult life can be at times and hold the vision and optimism that each of us can grow and be more tomorrow than we are today.
for people who study with us over time. They’ve become a strong support for keeping each other engaged in doing home-based lessons and finding community.
And yes, we’re starting to develop an app for Your Learning Body. My hope is simple: make somatic practice easier to return to, one lesson at a time. Integrate the process of experimenting and listening to our bodies into how we live every day.
What you can expect from me is expert teaching, clear language, and respect for your pace, your body, your psyche. I understand how difficult life can be at times and hold the vision and optimism that each of us can grow and be more tomorrow than we are today.
Conclusion
My path has moved through health care systems, consulting, and then deep into movement education and community teaching. Each chapter shaped how I work now, calm, practical, and grounded in real life.
I’m Cynthia Allen, and I still believe gentle, intelligent movement explorations can teach us big things. If you want to connect, you’re welcome to read more, join a class, or simply start noticing how your feet meet the floor today. That’s where change often begins.
To start your learning journey with Cynthia,
choose the option that best suits your needs.