Essence for “Experts”: Flexors and Extensors from the Hips and Waist (Patrons)
Prerequisite: You should be familiar with Coordinating Flexors and Extensors (Patrons) or Simple Twisting before doing this version. Learn more about Essence for “Experts” lessons in the lesson notes tabs below.
A distillation of Moshe Feldenkrais's classic Coordinating the Flexors and Extensors lesson. Great for review and for finding a more specific understanding of the role of the hip joints and waistline muscles as conductors of turning actions. When we listen deeply to Moshe and ourselves, we learn that tipping triangle arms and crossed legs further and further is not the point of this famous lesson. The most profound benefits for spinal health, posture, and gait are hidden in the details.
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Got a question for Nick, or a thought about this lesson?
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Nick,
You have an uncanny knack for sharing a lesson that speaks directly to what my ever- evolving body needs at the moment. 2 years ago, an “ancient” adhesion that had glued my small intestine to the abdominal wall was surgically removed. Prior to that, I practiced Feldenkrais (one-on-one as well as your ATM lessons) to bring awareness to deep sensations and reduce tension and pain throughout my body.
Post-surgery, Feldenkrais has been equally critical as I have regained movement that had been restricted by this 50-year-old adhesion. Recently a Fascial Counterstrain therapist released restrictions all around the Mesentery Root (fascial restrictions that likely protected my intestine during all this) and my body is attempting to learn so much more, now that my abdomen moves more freely. The pelvis, the long belly, the hip extensors and flexors are just starting to “coordinate.”
So when this morning’s email included the Essence for “Experts”: Flexors and Extensors from the Hips and Waist, I knew that you shared it for me! All I can say is, Wow! And, thank you!
Love these moments of synchronicity, and glad to be helpful to you! This topic has been really consuming me lately. I’m working slowly toward a new Deep Dive incorporating all the Long Belly, Strong Back material, this lesson, and a few more like it. Stay tuned!
This lesson is really deep. No, I mean really DEEP. Anatomically, that is.
Reviewing the three-dimensional anatomy of the obliques and psoas was helpful to me for this lesson because I had lost sensation/awareness of their functional movements as needed for this lesson. Hip flexion via the psoas is often beyond my awareness, and the coordination of the obliques across the midline is not easy for me. I’m going to have to take this one to the woodshed to study it.
On a related note, I’m fascinated by Jody’s journey toward the discovery of mesenteric adhesions. To what extent was this confirmed anatomically or surgically? was confirmation via medical imaging involved Etc.
Nick, Can you please facilitate communication. I’m hesitant to reveal my identity in the public space because of the sensitive nature of my work, so can you please give Jody my email or phone number for direct communication so we might talk privately. Thanks!
I love it when a lesson gives me the feeling you articulate so well: “I’m going to have to take this one to the woodshed to study it.” Enjoy diving deep! I too find it really interesting in this lesson to study movement function with such muscular specificity in mind. As long as we’re open to the experience of the whole self as we explore, getting clear on anatomical details is a great way to expand the self-image. And, Jody will let you know if she wishes to connect.
I understand. The muscle specificity does not do justice to the sensations//full body awareness. For the sake of discussion, let me further clarify.
Nick’s explanation during the lesson of moving the pelvis downward (toward the feet, from the recumbent position) was informative but initially perplexing (in a good way), until I realized that the only way to do this was to “pull” (without pulling) from the insertion of the psoas (or whatever) to flex the hip, or at least in that direction. Now that I’ve lost everyone, all I’m saying is that this insight allowed me to start moving in a nonhabitual way to coordinate a series of movements that might otherwise not have occurred. As Nick often says during lessons, the purpose of the ATM is not to achieve the movement…
This reminds me of a discussion I had with a different Feldenkrais instructor several years back. The discussion revolved around the title “Awareness Through Movement.” The questions was: Might it be better named “Movement Through Awareness”? Was the title intentionally ambiguous? Was the title an imperfect translation from the Hebrew to English? Etc. After learning from this lesson, I am now of the mind that Moshe’s title is probably intentional. I say this because, if you can’t feel the movement, you can’t feel the awareness. So, it is awareness through movement and not the other way around. Perhaps I read too much into this.
In any event, it’s a great lesson. Thanks Nick!
I really love this essence for experts concept. I often (more often than my ambitious self would like to admit) find myself wanting to revisit certain concepts but lacking the motivation to redo an entire lesson, and lacking the inspiration for self study. This shorter in depth type of lesson is really wonderful in those times. Thank you
Good to hear. I agree: there really is a place for this kind of study, and we’ll keep on recording more of these Essence for “Experts” lessons.
I love this lesson and its depth. However, I just wanted to talk about what I experienced after the lesson and sometimes after other lessons.
Ignoring you asking us to stand up I continued lying and visualising my bones just resting on the earth almost as though they don’t belong to me anymore, but are part of the earth. After a while, I began to visualise my body in action ( I have had an injury recently and my movements have been restricted). I watched my skeleton without muscles etc performing all sorts of physical feats some that I wouldn’t normally be able to do and some that I would – like back flips, hand stands, swimming, a handstand on one hand, rolling, leaping, jitterbugging and other things. As I did that, and because of two years of practising Feldenkrais using Nicks incredible resource, I can literally feel what it is like to be able to do those movements – like my muscles know exactly how to do them if I could just let them. Sometimes I recall childlike movements, skipping for joy, running with abandonment – freedom in a nutshell!
My conclusion is that it’s possible to change the whole of your inner world, physically, emotionally, spiritually through the imagination, to literally re-invent yourself and make things possible within. This means that we do not have to be limited by the version of ourselves that we have become entrenched in. Even in times of limitation like when you have had an injury like me, or when other things cause restriction you can still find the freedom.
Sometimes I also reach out beyond the body into the space around me and acknowledge that space at a quantum level, feeling/listening into it as I do into my body until that spaciousness also becomes a state of being. This is expansive, it lifts me out of myself into something bigger, it enables me to look in on my habitual patterns of body and mind and release them.
Like you Nick I am a piano player and can use this way of changing my inner world to affect the way I touch the piano and transmit something beyond ‘self’ into the music – grace, beauty, ease, or – for want of a better word – the divine.
I just felt moved to share that and to acknowledge the never-ending depths of this work which have unfolded for me over the last two years and which continue to unfold
. I would also like to thank you for being so generous with your knowledge, Nick it is obvious that you never stop acknowledging the rich pastures that Feldenkrais opened up to us all and that you continue to learn and explore – which is what makes your teaching so accessible. You are sharing your journey with us not a fixed system of ‘this is how it is or should be’ and that is inspiring. x
Just want to acknowledge your beautiful and rich comment, in all its humanity and connections! And yes, I am always learning and exploring—one’s own honest curiosity and excitement is the only place one should teach from, I believe.
I appreciated this attention to the lower abdominal ‘twisting’ action since I noticed that my usual pattern is to lead with my upper chest and to focus the movement there (shoulder girdle vs pelvis). Great learning!