“Generalize Your Skills” (Patrons)
This lesson is #11 in Moshe Feldenkrais’s ATM book, where it’s awkwardly titled Becoming Aware of Parts of Which We Are Not Conscious with the Help of Those of Which We Are Conscious
Become more skillful in everyday and high-performance actions by expanding your perception of the diagonals of the back of your body, with the help of an imaginary ball gradually rolling over you. Begins with a 5-minute talk about principles at work in this lesson.
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Advanced awareness lesson.
I had to have my ball roll in a wooden open tunnel Ball was wooden too..So I ca feel more the trajectory.
Too bad my week hammy cramped badly on the last version. Old dehydrated body..
Thank you Nick, for this great lesson.
This lesson is very very interesting- the most challenging lesson for me so far, and the most surprising and rewarding.
It took some practice to imagine the ball- it seemed more difficult than normally. An uncharted territory back there. The hint with the finger pressing first for every new line was helpful, then the ball could follow. The caterpillar-image was also very helpful. Unable to grasp it at first, it seemed like a miracle, when suddenly these subtle moves for helping the ball roll produced a wave-sensation flowing through the entire body – very pleasant. Lying on the back again, it felt like a new kind of spacious, thick, active, alive, and conscious back – a stable base. Walking after the lesson I could still feel the waves, moving upwards and downwards along the diagonals from the center point. Fascinating. I’m looking forward to repeating this lesson.
Thank you, Nick, for preparing these unusual lessons from Moshe’s book for us.
Thanks for your detailed description. I think it’s good for others to hear about the challenge and the rewards. It is a demanding lesson but I really resonate with a lot of what you experience. I hope you and many others experience this one many times!
Absolutely amazing lesson.
I loved this lesson. I could feel the fingers pressing into me and imagining the touch was so real. And the image of the chrome ball bearing, so heavy and smooth, rolling over me was very soothing. I could feel it so clearly. It was interesting how some parts of the body were almost blank spots as I rolled over them. The hardest part for me was imagining the connection of the line between the shoulder blade and butt. Perhaps because it isn’t in line with the lines of the arm and leg and it is also a bit bumpy. But when I took the time to really picture those areas I could bring them into awareness. Doing the rocking motion reminded me of a couple of pilates floor exercises. I also felt resonance when you mentioned that we generally have a better picture of our fronts than our backs. So true! However, because I have experienced scoliosis for many years of my life, and I tend to notice pain spots vs comfortable spots, that experience has really honed my skill of having a felt sense of my back–but I am only familiar with the parts that were generally experiencing pain. I find that there needs to be some sort of stimulation for my attention to be drawn to and explore an area.
Quite challenging for me .- I fell asleep and then became confused about the direction of my head when moving the ball from left arm to right leg. The second diagonal was easier for me.
When I stood up at the end , while walking, I felt both diagonals on the back to be curved. . The ones on the front felt straighter . I feel better front to back balance now though. I’m less tipped forward . 🙏