Allison Rapp discusses her new book Nurture that teaches practitioners how to connect to their ideal clients and grow their practice using email. Interviewed by Yulia Kriskovets in January, 2022.
Alison describes her journey:
In June 1975 I began my journey with the Feldenkrais Method, training with Moshe Feldenkrais in the first North American program. I was 25 and intent on making a living by helping people through touch—so it was clear from the moment I registered for the training that I was committed to working as a practitioner. I even remember daydreaming about my future clients as I lay on the floor exploring a whole new inner world during our ATM lessons.
At some point, during those years I signed on to help make “Feldenkrais” a household word and for the next several decades I felt like I failed miserably, even my practice was flourishing.
I was the first North American woman to become a trainer; that was in 1991 and the more I travelled to teach, the clearer it became that we were telling people they could practice, but the conditions they needed to flourish didn’t exist.
I moved to a small town and by 2009, my own practice was in a deep hole. It was time to bite the bullet—I became a beginner again, to learn how to get clients.
Business courses opened my eyes in a completely new way: for the first time, I realized that success is about specific knowledge, acquiring and using specific skills, and committing myself to do specifically what it takes to get the practice I want. By the time I had figured it out for myself, I knew how to help other practitioners… and that’s when I took another turn into a new adventure.
For many years I devoted full time to teaching practitioners how to get a practice that earns them a living. In the process they become transformational leaders by embracing business as yet another vehicle through which they can embody the Feldenkrais Method.
Allison wound down her practice and website in 2025.