An expansion of Lengthen the Arms, Freeing the Scapulas (33m, Patrons), which can be studied for review.
Back-lying. Beginning with a brief illustrated talk, this gentle ATM lesson is designed to melt tension, reduce pain, and improve mobility for your neck, shoulders, arms, spine, and chest by developing awareness and integration of healthy scapular function. Along the way you’ll reclaim easier upwards reaching, and improve your uprightness too!
We offer over 50 free lessons, but this one’s just for our donors. You can learn about it in the lesson notes below, but to access the video you’ll need to join The FP as Member or Patron. Learn more
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Comfort & Configuration:
It’s helpful in this lesson to use the minimum head support you need for comfort, and as always it should be smooth so your head is free to move. You may find you want even less head support as the lesson progresses.
Curiosities:
On a subsequent listening, or to revisit a curious detail later, you might note that due to time constraints we left out some interesting variations on the second side of lengthening and rotating your arms along a diagonal line.
- The first side (left arm down, right arm up) starts at 45:50, the second at 50:45.
- You might reverse lefts and rights through these sections, or pause to improvise more variations on the second side.
- In both diagonal arms positions you could also alternate lengthening the arms, and later alternate rolling the arms. It’s fascinating to explore the differences for your scapula, spine, ribs, and head in both functions when one arm is up and one arm is down.
Context:
Now part of our Bonus Video Content for all donors, this lesson was recorded in The FP Weekly Pay-What-You-Can Zoom Class on January 2, 2024.
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Discussion and Zoom chats after class included some great wisdom from students:
What an incredible journey into how the position of the scapulae can either hinder or enable wonderful movements of neck/head, arms and spine. I am discovering I think that my neck is often twisted slightly to one side and that explorations like this are helping my body to learn that this need not be so!
Thank you so much Nick for this really interesting lesson. The video before the lesson showing, the mechanics of the shoulder and shoulder blade, was really helpful. I’d been suffering with painfully stiff shoulders and neck for the last three day, and, as always, Feldenkrais wove its magic: pain gone and arms so much looser!
Thank you. Muriel
Really liked this one. Brought on a little soreness in my right shoulder but feels in a good direction. Today, after doing this lesson last night, I could really feel my scapulas wrapping and sliding around my ribs as I swam in the pool. Aware of more options for moving, rotating, lengthening my arms.