Curiosity, Not Mastery: Three Dimensional Shoulder and Hip Circles (Patrons)

Familiar ATM explorations are cast in a new light as we discover how the torso interacts with the ground and reshapes itself three dimensionally to generate action in faraway parts of the body. Later, a few playfully elaborate variations humble us all, but the goal is curiosity, not mastery. Notice how much change takes place, how much more ease and control is created, when "failure" is lighthearted. Framed with brief explorations of the diagonal relationships of walking.

Before you begin read this for practical tips and your responsibilities, and check out Comfort & Configuration below.

Recorded live in a Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement (ATM) class, this lesson is copyright Nick Strauss-Klein, for personal use only.

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Avoid high friction surfaces (like sticky yoga mats) for this lesson.

Have a bath towel to fold for head support in the side-lying parts of the lesson, even if you don’t need it or you often use your arm for head support in other lessons.

Don’t be tempted to make the movements larger than what’s comfortable. If the range expands but your movements are still pleasant, slow, and smooth, that is welcome.

Cultivate your curiosity. Don’t worry about mastery. In the lesson’s most complex variations it’s not important to be able to complete the oppositional circles and other unusual movements. No one will find these coordinations easily – I certainly didn’t!

In discussion after the lesson, one student said of these variations, “I couldn’t imagine some of these movements, and that’s when it got really fun.” Another said “when I embraced the messiness is when I re-found the ease.”

Though you’ll “get lost” at times, if you rest a moment and start over with a quiet and clear intention, and a lightheartedness about the messiness that follows, you’ll begin to find more and more control and ease with at least small portions of the movements, and that’s fantastic for your learning.

If you’re enjoying the challenges you can even pause the recording and take more time with these variations.

The lesson is designed asymmetrically to maximize chances to sense and learn how you organize one side of your body with relationship to the ground to create action with the other side.

It can be very interesting to repeat the lesson and do it “the other way” within a few days, while your first exploration is still fresh in mind. Start with lifting the other shoulder, and try the other side for the side-lying steps, if both are comfortable.

Notice it doesn’t feel like a “mirror image” exploration, but a totally unique learning experience that creates different images and takeaways. How does you benefit differently from each version?

In addition to sparking curiosity, there’s another purpose for the “messy” variations and the comically complex ones. They introduce an element of randomness to your learning. When there’s far too much to control then we’re likely to do something new and unexpected, which can lead to discovering “adjacent possibilities” that arise outside the patterns we know. If you’re curious for more about this, look up Dr. Neil Theise’s talks on the topic of complexity.

This lesson is found in Patron Treasures, our collection of lessons exclusively for Feldenkrais Project Patron-level donors.

This lesson was recorded in The FP Weekly Zoom class on February 6, 2024, then edited to improve flow, clarity, and sound quality in this permanent audio version.

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2 Comments

  1. Sara on April 9, 2025 at 6:59 am

    A very pleasant warm feeling in my back as I’m walking afterwards, feeling much more aware of the back of my body than usual. Neck and head also much lighter and lifted.

  2. katrin windgassen on September 7, 2025 at 6:09 am

    I searched a lesson I ´m àllowed to do with a broken feet and it is possible..now I repeat it, so there will be enough time to improve :)) The Project helps me to survive in this times, thank you a lot. Best greetings from Germany, Katrin

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