Breathing from Head to Heels

Various positions, about half back-lying. Experiments with the breath mechanism, learning how it relates to the head, spine, and pelvis, and integrates into the length of the heels for standing. Uses paradoxical breathing and "see-saw" breath games.

Average Challenge   floor-sitting  back-lying  front-lying 

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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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There is a hands-and-knees portion of this lesson. Adaptations to keep you comfortable are discussed. It may be helpful to have an extra towel, mat, or blanket nearby to fold up for additional softness under your knees. You may at any time stand on your fists if your wrists struggle with the position. Rest in another position as frequently as you like. If hands-and-knees is not possible for you, rest on your back with your knees bent and imagine the movements as they are described.

Click Clarifications for an important note.

The type of breathing explored in this lesson is not a prescription for how you should breathe. Nor is it “the Feldenkrais way” to breathe. It is only a tool to mobilize your breath apparatus and cultivate your awareness, so that your breathing can more fluently adapt to all of life’s demands.

We typically habitually use only a fraction of the options we have for breathing. One of the goals of studying the breath with the Feldenkrais Method is to free ourselves from habits and cultivate a more flexible, adaptive breath. Ideally our breathing is changing moment to moment always, in response to many factors: oxygen needs, position, movement, speech, our emotional landscape, etc.

This lesson is found in the collection called Lessons for Better Posture, Walking, and Running.

Like most of our lessons, this one can be studied out of context, but you may find additional learning value by approaching it in the order of the collection it’s in. It can be particularly useful to go on to The Anti-Gravity Lesson soon after studying this one.

It also appears in our Breathing with Vitality Deep Dive.

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10 Comments

  1. Joelle on July 31, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    Hi!
    My name is Joelle. I just discovered this website and a new opportunity to access atms! Fantastic!
    I tried to subscribe though and the access was denied….
    Would you know why????
    I just enjoyed one of the ATMs. Excellent work!
    Learning every day!

    Reply
    • Nick Strauss-Klein on August 1, 2017 at 3:04 pm

      Hello! Glad you’re enjoying the lessons. Thanks for your comment. I did find an error in the newsletter subscription process. I believe it is fixed now! Please try again and let me know if it doesn’t work.

      Reply
  2. Chris Sigurdson on November 25, 2017 at 12:04 pm

    That was great. Neck activated in bad way early but gone by pushing and pulling phase as predicted.

    Reply
  3. Nancy Judson on April 9, 2019 at 1:10 pm

    Wonderfully taught lesson! After 10 years of Feldenkrais I can still discover new things about my breathing. Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Kari Fjallstrom on July 21, 2020 at 2:02 pm

    Relaxing and clarifying. Thank you!

    Reply
  5. Steve Chambers on July 23, 2020 at 4:40 am

    Fascinating lesson. I have been using Feldenkrais to help remove some fairly extreme pelvis (and now I understand whole body) compensations that had really messed me up after an L5/S1 disc extrusion.

    The on the belly breath seesaw causes me sciatic pain in the buttock on the side of the old injury but at the same time I sense it is getting to the root of my walking issues that are to do with the whole relaxed twist needed to walk properly. I have reduced the effort to avoid the pain and will return to this one often.

    Thankyou.

    Reply
    • Nick Strauss-Klein on July 26, 2020 at 12:36 pm

      I’m so pleased this lesson has your interest, and I’m glad to hear the magic words (“I have reduced the effort to avoid the pain”). Have you tried folding a towel into four or six layers and putting it under your iliac crests / very low abdomen when you’re on your belly? May be a worthwhile exploration to see if you can make yourself more comfortable just by configuring yourself with some support.

      Reply
  6. Ann Thomson on September 16, 2021 at 2:30 pm

    I find the paradoxical breathing impressive.A few days after it I was doing some yoga all fours flexion and extension and found I was breathing paradoxically and it very much improved the quality of the movement. So it’s much more than an interesting Feldenkrais exploration as it has been absorbed! Also it works just as magically doing up face dog.
    Ann

    Reply
  7. Chris Abdo on December 19, 2021 at 7:03 am

    This was a keystone lesson for me. Downloaded this and going to play it half speed as well many times. My back feels about 3 times larger than before! Wild!

    Reply
  8. Muriel on December 18, 2022 at 12:31 pm

    That was wonderful Nick! I’m recovering from a nasty cold and it felt so great to feel my lungs expand with my chest! Also, at the end, when I stood up, my hips were really solidly under my body, supporting my spine, while my head was sitting tall on my shoulders. Amazing feeling! thank you!

    Reply

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