Lessons 32-45

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This lesson frees the shoulders and upper back like nothing else—if you go slowly and carefully. You will slide the hands around the back of the head in many ways, inviting the ribs to fold and move and the shoulders to get more and more unstuck from the ribs. Moshe says of this lesson:

“It must be done slowly until you can do it. Not that you strive to achieve it, but you can do it, that means it's nice to see, it looks intelligent in every part of the body. The legs know where the head is, and the pelvis knows when to move the head and when to move the legs. You don't strain to the limit.”

Don’t force yourself to do every variation perfectly. Just make approximations that are right for you in this moment. Note there is a lot of rolling and swooping in this lesson. Every lesson is finding a way to work with yourself that is kind, compassionate, and respectful.

(Called, “Exploring the outer ranges of the hands behind the head,” by Moshe.)

• To develop more skill in this rolling movement, see 309 Rolling up to side sit, or 435, 436, 437, Spiral up to stand.

• For a detailed study of sliding the arms, see the whole series on Grasping the chin under longer series from trainings.

This lesson is a meditation on the smooth use of the extrinsic eye muscles, the muscles of the face, and the ability of the ocular nerve to stop over-reacting. You will palm the eyes a lot, looking at the closed eyelids to observe the amount of excess “noise” of the ocular nerve, represented by sparks, lines, or splotches of grey, orange, purple, black, or white.

In this lesson, you will discover how to let go of excess tension in every angle of the eye muscles as you explore the smooth, uniform, regular movement of the eyes in different directions, shapes, and focal distances. It is a very cool lesson, including different variations than other similar lessons Moshe has taught.

(Called, “Elementary Eye Training,” by Moshe.)

For more lessons like this, see all the eye lessons in the anatomy section of the Treasury.

This is one of those lessons people think they can’t do until they do it. It has to be felt to be believed. It’s actually very fun to roll around on the floor in such an elegant way. You’ll need some space for this one!

Tip: You’ll notice the weight, direction, and height of the head is mentioned many times in this lesson. Aside from its other uses, your head is a big, heavy ball and it influences how hard your muscles have to work. If the weight of your head is counterbalanced to the pelvis, it’s much easier to swing through space. So if you get stuck, ask yourself, “Am I using my head?” which means literally, not figuratively.

For other weight-shift and rolling lessons, see Counterbalance 1 & 2, as well as the last lesson in the Leg over to stand series, where you also play with diving the head toward the feet to lighten the pelvis.

(Called, “Initiation in rolling,” by Moshe.)

In this lesson, you attempt something challenging that just gets easier and easier the more you play with all the variations, until at the end you wonder why it was ever difficult! I love this lesson, even though when I first did it I didn’t understand why we were doing it this way. See how it progresses, with simple tilting of the crossed legs at the beginning, some softening of the ribs in many directions, and then some folding of the knees. At some point you figure out what to do with the soles of the feet…

Eventually, you move toward organizing to sit in a lotus position, or even a more comfortable cross-legged sitting, but ever so slowly. Each new movement will help you sit more upright.

(Called, “Getting familiar with the diagonals,” by Moshe.)

In this lesson you do not do a head stand, don’t worry. As with all Feldenkrais, you sneak up on the movement. First, on the hands and knees and gently rocking through the spine. Eventually you lift a knee, then another. Then you walk the toes toward the hands.

On the back, you play with making waves through the spine using something called “carping.” It’s a lovely feeling to sense the skeletal connection through the legs as the pelvis gets lighter and lighter. Finally, the legs swing overhead and as they land, the pelvis floats, really floats, in the air.

(Called, “Introduction to the head stand,” by Moshe.)

I love this lesson. It feel so intelligent and ingenious to discover the weight shifts and changing shapes as you find more and more ways to bend down toward the floor.

The improvement in this lesson puts it squarely among the “wow” lessons in Feldenkrais. It also shows how much tension is less a mechanical issue and more one of repatterning. Once we tease apart all the patterns involved in sliding the hands toward the feet, it becomes simple, like nothing. We are just stuck in one pattern of contraction that inhibits this lovely folding motion

This lesson has many configurations of the hands sliding down the front, back, and sides of the legs, all the while lifting the heels and forefeet in various ways. Find out how the back feels longer, taller, and more flexible after playing with all these movements. Plus, it really challenges the balance!

(Called, “Elementary attempts at loving oneself,” by Moshe.")

This is another good puzzle lesson. The suggested movement is possible to do, but maybe not today. Be kind to yourself, approximate the movements, and see how the lesson unfolds. The idea is to bring the hand to the ribs with the wrist at a ninety degree angle. Simple, no? Try it. Maybe not so simple.

This lesson has strong constraints, but also lots of variations so take rests and have a good sense of humor. Remind yourself to be kind and don’t force yourself into positions that cause any discomfort. Accessing this much flexibility in the ribs and upper back is a new concept for most of us.

(Called, “Making the unthinkable feasible,” by Moshe.)

This is another interesting lesson that involves playing with a variation and pausing often to rest, laugh, and wonder how this is even possible! It is, of course, but maybe not today. Sneak up on the movement. Make many approaches.

The lesson involves bringing the arms underneath the legs in sitting until the legs hang on the elbows, and then, for some of us, one day, over the shoulders. Don’t let that scare you, still do the lesson because many of the intervening explorations will be helpful for becoming more and more supple in the spine and ribs.

(Called, “Doing the impossible toad movement,” by Moshe.)

I love this lesson: It is a slow, expanding understanding of how power is distributed from the big muscles of the pelvis up through the upper trunk.

You’re in a twisted position, the shoulders on the floor, the legs bent to the side. Sliding the arms down invites the upper back to bend. You grow the movement down the spine until you realize you didn’t have to work so hard to move the shoulders after all. Awareness of how to use the big muscles of the trunk is beneficial for all of us, particularly athletes who want to move more efficiently, with less wasted energy.

(Called, “Centering For Strength In Pelvis & Intelligence In Extremities,” by Moshe.)

Also see: 118 Mobilize pelvis to carry the legs

This is the Esalen compilation of a number of Moshe’s mouth and jaw lessons, with interesting ways of mapping the face. This lesson includes rolling the lips to reduce tension, and lengthening the tongue—yes, we have habits with the tongue—which can release all kinds of hidden tension in the throat and jaw. This lesson affects the tonus of the whole musculoskeletal system, allowing for deeper breathing, sounder sleep, and a reset for the muscles of your face.

(Tip: Have a kleenex nearby to wipe off your chin!)

(Called, “Sensory exploration of lips, tongue, mouth,” by Moshe.)

I like this lesson in part for the way it grows into a fun movement at the end. The other reason is the way it helps my walking by clarifying the line of force along the diagonals.

With the arms and legs in an “X” position, you test the optimal weight shift and distribution of work. It involves lots of testing how you lift the limbs, the timing, the location of the work, and whether you’re short or long as you do it. You might think, “Oh, you just lift the limbs, no big deal.” Yes, probably you can do the movement. But that doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing. The precision with which you use the middle of yourself has wide-ranging consequences for how efficiently you move.

(Called, “Becoming aware of stretch effects In extensors through exercising flexors,” by Moshe.)

This is about understanding the glutes. Who knew they were so misunderstood? (You’d be surprised.) In the beginning, you squeeze the glutes in many positions, feeling where they are most efficient, how they move the leg, where they shift your weight or don’t. It’s a mini-education in propulsion. You contract the glutes on your back and in sitting, then on one knee and the other, to clarify how they work, or don’t.

By the end, you are able to walk on the sit bones, then hop on your sit bones. It is totally possible, try it. Then feel how well organized you are for walking after that! (In some trainings, this is called the “butt hopping” lesson.)

(Called, “Pelvic locomotion—differentiation of gluteals,” by Moshe.)

This lesson is amazing for the shoulders and upper back. On the front, you will lift and lower each shoulder with the arms in a push-up, feeling how it moves through your spine. Eventually, after many variations of the head, eyes, and arms while tilting your lower legs side to side, your ability to twist the spine and swivel the shoulders smooths out like butter.

This is a lovely lesson that uses the back muscles in a growing, expanding, all-inclusive kind of way. I like lessons where the awareness of a single pattern becomes more and more clear in your self-image. This is one of those lessons.

(Called, “Extensors put to task,” by Moshe.)

Often, we have no idea of the back of ourselves. Also, we have very clunky movements in the spine in general. This lesson invites you to lie on your front with the arms and legs in an “X” and imagine a small, heavy steel ball rolling from one heel across to the opposite hand, with all the necessary muscular shifts that would allow that to happen. Then, you do it in other configurations as well, to clarify every direction and angle. Try it, see how much it clarifies your awareness of your back, and how much it smooths out your movements, especially in walking.

(This is a version of “line of a ball that rolls.”)

(Called, “Imagination and action to complete the back self image,” by Moshe.")