Feldenkrais lessons use carefully constructed sequences of
unusual movements to focus your awareness on how you organize
movement. The lessons are better viewed as mental exercises for
the body rather than physical exercises in the usual sense.
Improving the quality of your movements is the paramount goal.
Pain, effort, and hurrying are all counter-productive, and will
reduce or even reverse the benefits of doing the lessons.
The following guidelines are offered to improve both your
enjoyment and your safety; please read and follow them!
Health Caution: These lessons demand about the same level of
fitness, range of motion, and stamina as a beginning yoga class.
Some instructions may be ambiguous despite diligent efforts to
the contrary, and be subject to harmful misinterpretation. So
use your intelligence! You should experience no pain or
discomfort whatsoever when doing the lessons correctly! If you
have any medical problem or condition which might be aggravated
by movement or exercise, consult a medical professional before
doing these lessons!
1. Prepare a comfortable space. Lessons are usually done on a
carpet or on one or two folded blankets on the floor. You want a
rather firm padded surface that somewhat softens the feeling of
your bones against the floor, but which still allows you to feel
clearly your contact with the floor. You should have enough room
to slide your arms and legs in any direction without hitting
anything.
2. Repeat each movement slowly and mindfully. The movements in
these lessons are not physical exercises, to be repeated rapidly
or unconsciously. Repeat each movement slowly, generally no
faster than one cycle of movement per normal cycle of relaxed
breath. Feel your movements. Feel how your intention becomes
action. If you take a rocket from point A to point B, you can’t
learn much on the way. But if you walk or crawl, you’ll learn to
make a wealth of new distinctions. Learning is the key to change.
3. Don’t strain. Although the movements in these lessons are not
difficult, there will be some movements you cannot do easily at
first. You may be tempted to try harder, to substitute strength
and effort for skill and subtlety. Gently resist the familiar
temptation to work harder. Rather, search mindfully for ways to
make the movements easier, lighter, and more enjoyable. This is
very important.
4. Look for the pleasant sensations. During and after each
lesson, you will notice various pleasant changes as your body
reorganizes. These may include feelings of relaxation or of
letting go, of lightness, or spaciousness, or connectedness; of
feeling warmer, or taller, or more whole in some sense; or any
other pleasing sensation. Every new and enjoyable experience
becomes an arrow pointing toward a more potent future. Your body
wants to feel good! These little distinctions will inevitably
and unconsciously lead you to change your life to be more
comfortable physically, emotionally, and socially.
5. Observe differences. After each lesson, stand up carefully,
bringing any changes in your organization into standing. Then
walk around, observing the new feelings. Allow unfamiliar
sensations to be present for awhile… Notice how the lesson has
changed your familiar experience of yourself. These moments of
observation after the lesson are an important part of helping
your nervous system to integrate what it has learned.
Enjoy!
1) Take a moment to become aware of your body. You are probably
sitting down in front of your computer. If you’re like most of
us, you are probably carrying a lot of extra tension as you sit
here. Are you comfortable? How are you holding yourself? Notice
what you are doing with your feet…with your back…with your
shoulders…with your head and eyes…with your breath…
2) Now stand up and give yourself some room. Stand with your
feet parallel to each other, a few inches apart. Again, notice
how you feel– feet, back, shoulders, head and eyes. Now hold
your right hand softly at arm’s length in front of you, with the
palm facing you and the fingers pointing left. Turn to the
right, following your hand with your head and eyes, so your
right arm reaches to the right and behind you. Don’t strain.
Repeat a couple of times. Remember how far you turn comfortably.
Then let your arm down and rest.
3) Now do the same movement, except this time leave your eyes
looking forward. Your hand reaches to the right and toward the
back as before, your shoulders and face turn right (but probably
not so far as before), while your eyes keep looking forward.
Repeat that slowly and gently five or ten times. Exhale as you
turn right.
4) Repeat the original movement., turning right and following
your hand with your head and eyes. Can you turn farther with the
same effort, or the same distance with less effort? Let your arm
down and rest.
5) Now do the same movement, but this time keep both your head
and your eyes looking forward while your body turns right and
your arm reaches back. Repeat five or ten times. Then go back to
the original movement. Notice the improvement. Rest.
6) Do the original movement, but this time stop when you are
turned to the right as far as is comfortable. Your arm is
reaching to the right and back, and you are looking at your
right hand. From that position, slowly turn your head and eyes
right and left a number of times. Each time you come back to the
right, you may notice an improvement….then stop that movement,
keep your nose pointing toward your right hand, and slowly move
your eyes right and left several times. Then come back to the
center, let your arm down and rest.
7) Do the original movement again. Notice how much the movement
has improved…
Now, repeat the original movement several times, and this time
let your weight shift onto your right foot and let your left
heel come off the floor as you turn to the right, and back onto
both feet as you come back to center. Repeat that a number of
times, slowly. This may allow you to turn quite far.
Now repeat the basic original movement, not allowing the left
heel to lift. And notice how much farther you can turn than when
you started!
9) What about turning the other way? Go ahead and lift your left
hand in front of you, and do the movement to the left. Notice
how far you turn easily. Then imagine doing the movements to
this side that you did to the right. Don’t actually do them,
only imagine them, or visualize them. Go slowly, just as if you
were actually moving. After each instruction, actually do the
basic movement once, and notice the improvement. Many people
experience more improvement from imaginary movements than from
actual ones. So you can see for yourself how these lessons work.
Each one takes you through a carefully designed sequence of
movements, gradually integrating your experience in earlier
movements into later ones. Each movement builds on previous
learning, involving more and more of your body into a smooth,
integrated whole.
