The Movement of the Eyes Organizes the Movement of the Body (Patrons)

“Side-sitting” is described at the very beginning, and again around 12:00. If you can’t get comfortable in side-sitting try Secrets of the Seated Twist first.

Here’s a photo, which also includes the position of the arms most often used in the lesson:

• This would be called side-sitting to the left because my knees are to the left, and my feet are to the right. The outside of my left foot is resting on the floor, and the sole of my left foot is positioned as if standing on the bottom of my right thigh (a place also described in the lesson as the top of my right knee). My left hand is helping support me, and my right hand is dangling loosely in front of my eyes, at the height of my horizon. This is the first seated home position of the lesson, though you may choose its exact opposite (simply reverse all these rights and lefts)–whichever is more comfortable.
• Yoga blocks are discussed as something you can sit on to make it easier for your hips and pelvis, or put under your support hand if need. A few inches of folded bath towel works too. You could also lean on your fist at any time instead of your palm.
• If necessary it is also possible to do all the seated portions of this lesson sitting near the front of a firm, level chair, with the knees and feet comfortably wide apart, tipping the knees to the side you are turning to, and shifting the weight onto that side’s sitbone while you twist in that direction.

Working toward smoother, more level movements of the eyes across the horizon is the essential ingredient in this lesson, even if at times a lot of cues are needed to describe other body movements. The more you keep the sensation and movement of your eyes in the forefront of your attention (perhaps easier on subsequent listenings once you know all the movements) the more potent this lesson will become at improving the organization of your whole body.

Once you’re standing and turning again at the end, remember what you noticed at the beginning and compare: exactly which parts of you change direction first? Do you reverse direction more as a whole, or more from your eyes, than before?

This lesson is sometimes called “Dead Bird” in the Feldenkrais Practitioner community because of the shape of the arm and dangling hand, although recently many practitioners are moving away from this unpleasant image.

This lesson is one of 12 in Moshe Feldenkrais’s 1972 book Awareness Through Movement. The Feldenkrais Project has a collection of lessons from this source.

It also appears in our Illusion of Isolation Deep Dive.

It was taught in the context of a Feldenkrais Fundamentals class which was designed to be a practical study of Moshe’s Awareness Through Movement book. Study tips for the book are here, along with info about where to get it.

Members and Patrons. Learn more or login:

While taught in my own words, this lesson comes directly from Moshe Feldenkrais’s 1972 book Awareness Through Movement.