Welcome! Everyone can browse our Patrons Monthly lessons below and click titles for more info.

Why be a Patron?

The Feldenkrais Project's 50+ free lessons are a crowd-funded labor of love. If you believe, like we do, that Feldenkrais makes the world a better place, please join the Project as a Patron to support our work and access over 70 Patrons Monthly lessons below, plus other Patrons-only lessons. You'll also get full access to our Deep Dive courses.

A Patron-level membership costs about what you'd pay to attend a single Feldenkrais or other movement class per month!

Join the Project as a Patron

Our costs for 2023 were over $34,000 for technology and our part-time staff – plus 50-100 hours of Nick's time each month – as we improve this site, spread the word about our vision, and add new lessons and features to our industry-leading resources. Your support really matters!

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Each month Nick adds one new lesson to thank our Patrons and expand our resources.

New for Patrons

60m

Advanced Connecting Arms and Legs: Equal and Opposite (Patrons)

In this version, this classic side-lying lesson is framed by back-lying riddles designed to more explicitly connect your learning to gait and ground reaction forces. As you integrate various actions of your feet and legs with your pelvis, torso, and arms, you’ll rediscover the buoyancy and joy of walking with your whole self!
28m

Easing the Jaw and Neck: the short edit (28 min, Patrons)

Back-lying, briefly framed by seated explorations. Exploring and refining basic movements of the jaw, and integrating them with movements of the head and neck. This lesson is often helpful for reducing many types of jaw-related tension and discomfort, including some kinds of headaches, TMJ pain (temporomandibular joint), and discomfort and stiffness in the neck, shoulders, and spine.

Most Accessible  back-lying 
January 24, 2020
 
62m

Reaching, Twisting, and Gazing Smoothly (Patrons)

Side-lying, learning to reach, turn, twist, and roll effortlessly by improving integration of the rotation functions of the axis (head, spine, and pelvis) with movements of the hands, arms, shoulders, chest, breath…and eyes! The Curiosities tab has notes from an introductory discussion with the students before this lesson was recorded.

Average Challenge   side-lying  transitioning or rolling 
October 25, 2019
 
33m

Lengthening the Arms, Freeing the Scapulas (33m, Patrons)

Back-lying, knees bent, arms often resting loosely upwards on the floor, and in self-hug position at other times. Lengthening the arms, differentiating the head, and expanding the mobility and self-image of the shoulder blades (scapulas).

Most Accessible  back-lying 
September 27, 2019
 
61m

Effortless Arms and Shoulders (Patrons)

Side-lying, arm extended toward the ceiling. Sensing, organizing, and expanding effortless movements of the arm and shoulder by integrating them with the whole self, with particular attention to imagery of lengthening the torso. Learning to sense the gravitational plumb line and its neuromusculoskeletal relationship with ease and effort.

Average Challenge   side-lying 
September 25, 2019
 
64m

Advanced Folding (Patrons)

Back-lying, knees bent, drawing the head, elbows, and knees toward each other in different combinations, followed by more advanced variations. Improve the folding and unfolding of the body through refining coordination of the flexor muscles with the simultaneously lengthening extensors. Includes detailed work with the hips and eventually lengthening the hamstrings while flexing elsewhere.

More Challenging  back-lying 
August 21, 2019
 
62m

Stepping Down, with a Bias (Patrons)

This mostly side-lying lesson explores the relationship of our natural spinal bias with our uprightness. It’s designed to help us clarify and harness the fine movements and wonderful sensitivity and power available throughout our spine as we step down. “Stepping down” is how we organize ourselves to deliver force through our legs as we stand, balance, walk, and move in all upright activities.

Average Challenge   side-lying 
July 21, 2019
 
33m

Finding and Using Your Spinal Bias to Step Down (33m, Patrons)

Framed by brief explorations in standing, this mostly side-lying lesson helps you discover your primary spinal bias. You’ll explore how a refined awareness and conscious use of your spine’s natural bias can improve how you send your foot out into the world in all upright activities.

Average Challenge   side-lying 
June 23, 2019
 
65m

Walking with Your Sternum (Patrons)

Back-lying, often knees bent. Learn how preparatory movements for taking a step involve the whole self. Sense and explore movements of the sternum, both as a reference and a challenge to expand the self-image of walking. Arms lengthening and sweeping in many directions encourages suppleness of the chest and awareness of the sternum, and helps integrate the arms with movements of the pelvis, hips, and walking.

Average Challenge   back-lying 
June 13, 2019
 
61m

Nodding into Lengthening the Heels (Patrons)

Back-lying, often one or both knees bent, exploring relationships of “nodding” parts of ourselves in the sagittal (up/down) plane, including head, pelvis, one foot, and two feet, to better organize the full unfolding of the legs and send our heels into the world, a function essential for clear skeletal support while standing or walking.

Average Challenge   back-lying 
May 16, 2019
 
62m

Connecting the Legs and Chest (Patrons)

Mostly side-lying, exploring relationships of the head, spine, chest, and pelvis with a riddle: how do we actually lengthen a leg? Designed to bring awareness and improvement to an action we need for every step we take in the world, this lesson uses breath, foundation forces, and “hinging” at the feet and knees to connect our image of leg lengthening with our whole self, especially the chest.

Average Challenge   back-lying  side-lying 
April 22, 2019
 
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Deep Dives with Patrons Monthly Lessons

To enjoy some of our Patrons Monthly lessons in larger learning contexts try our Deep Dives, where we integrate Patrons-only content with other Feldenkrais Project lessons in specialized study sequences. Patrons have full access.

See Our Deep Dives

More Collections Just for Patrons

Lessons from Awareness Through Movement

Developed from Moshe Feldenkrais’s 1972 book, written to introduce his method to the world.

Legacy and Alternate Lessons

Some listeners prefer the classics. When a lesson is replaced or updated the original goes here.

8 Comments

  1. Nick Strauss-Klein on March 5, 2019 at 3:57 pm

    As you explore the Patrons Monthly lessons please leave comments and questions on the lesson pages – they build our community, improve our visibility on the web, and refine my teaching and which lessons I choose to add.

    You can also leave a comment right here to request lessons or topics of study.

    Reply
  2. Margit on March 24, 2019 at 4:05 pm

    I like lessons with a rolling part in them, they are so much fun! This lesson maked me especially aware of my Sternum and that I usually direct it “backwords”. I will pay attention to a more balanced direction (in the mid of backwards and forwards) of my Sternum after doing this lesson. Thank you Nick for sharing your Knowledge with us.

    Reply
  3. jean kirk on April 4, 2021 at 5:05 pm

    Rib basket and shoulder cloak lesson is great. Taught me a lot about being upright.

    Reply
  4. Helina Karvak on June 18, 2022 at 7:43 am

    Hi! I’m interested in voice as topic of study 🙂

    Reply
    • Nick Strauss-Klein on June 20, 2022 at 12:00 pm

      That’s great – me too! My wife is a singer and I’ve wanted for years to develop my own ease in speaking. Lessons for the voice are on the back burner right now, but I think I’ll get to it!

      Reply
  5. Trudy J on May 2, 2024 at 3:56 am

    Hi Nick
    What pathway would you go down to help correct a scoliosis of the spine. I am unsure where to start. Thanks so much.
    Cheers Trudy

    Reply
    • Nick Strauss-Klein on May 2, 2024 at 10:12 am

      Most scoliosis is caused by patterns of action, movement habits we’ve unconsciously developed over the years that shorten our spines unnecessarily in asymmetrical ways. Lessons that bring awareness to your integrated use of your whole spine in your actions are great. Admittedly, this is basically all Feldenkrais lessons! A few ideas to try to answer your question more specifically:

      • – Try our Little Dip called Spinal Support
      • – Search our lessons for “spine” and follow your curiosity. You can filter by clicking “show advanced options,” or uncheck the “courses and video lessons” option if you just want to see specific lessons.
      • – Collections #2 and #4 are also really relevant.
      • – The Anti-Gravity Lesson (the finale of collection #2) can be very useful for some folks for scoliosis, especially if they’ve done a lot of Feldenkrais lessons like the ones above prior. Go very small and slow. You’re looking for the sense the that up-your-mat forces might naturally align your vertebrae, like how pushing a line of slightly disordered dominoes laying flat on a table can “straighten them out,” bringing their edges into full contact, if done with patience and precision.
      Reply
      • Trudy J on May 2, 2024 at 1:15 pm

        Fantastic response Nick. It’s funny. Whilst I waited for a response I I intuitivley just headed to start on collection #2 as I felt sure lessons for the spine would help but I am glad I asked anyway because I love your response. Thanks again!

        Reply

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