Introduction to Alexander-Yanai lessons

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Moshe Feldenkrais developed the AY lessons between the mid-1950s and mid-1970s at the corner of Alexander and Yanai streets in Tel Aviv. All Feldenkrais practitioners and students refer to these as “the AY lessons.”

For over twenty-five years, Moshe taught eight lessons a week. He would teach a lesson and record it on a reel-to-reel tape, then replay it to the next group and observe their process. Then he would make changes to the recording until he was satisfied with the lesson.

Many people have analyzed the progression of Moshe’s teaching between the development of the AY lessons and his trainings in the US in the late seventies and early eighties. One conclusion is that the AY lessons are more gymnastic and bio-mechanical, and his later teaching is more sensory-awareness based. This may be true, and I can see the logic of it, having gone—slogged!—through the Amherst training twice.

The translations of these lessons into English took nearly ten years of hard work across multiple Feldenkrais communities. The last English volume became available in 2004.

Note: You do not have to do these in order. The numbering represents nothing more than how the reels were stored on the shelf. Some lessons fit together in a series, but in general, this was a messy work-in-progress that Moshe tinkered with as he went along.

• While these recordings follow Moshe Feldenkrais’s structure, they are my own language, pacing, interpretation, and teaching style.

• I’ve referenced the original AY titles for ease of use. Subtitles show the Treasury reference if you want to see more lessons relating to that theme.

• Not all the lessons are up yet. I plan to have them all recorded by Spring 2025.