Don't miss a special free lesson!

Did you catch Nick's new talk, "What Action Is Good?"

"This was the best I have ever heard about Feldenkrais! Thank you so much for explaining it so clearly!!!" -Anna

That talk will stay free, but a classic lesson that illustrates it is only unlocked until May 6, in honor of what would be Feldenkrais's 120th birthday!

Find them both here, and please share!

Hip and Shoulder Diagonals for Better Walking (Patrons)

Back-lying, framed by brief standing and walking explorations. Develop the diagonal connections across your torso and limbs through gentle movements and creative imagery. Expand the scope of your learning through references to the pelvic floor, breathing with length, and the freedom of your head.

Most Accessible  back-lying  standing 

60m
Save
Favorite
What's this?
Share

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.

Tip 5 – Discomfort

Study tip: If a configuration or movement causes any increase in discomfort, or you feel you just don’t want to do it, don’t! Make it smaller and slower, adapt it, or rest and imagine.

Tip 3 – Head Support

Study tip: It helps to have a large bath towel nearby when you start a lesson. You can fold it differently for comfortable head support in any configuration.

Tip – LESSS is more

LESSS is more: Light, Easy, Small, Slow, & Smooth movements will ease pains and improve your underlying neuromuscular habits faster than any other kind of movement, no matter who you are or what your training is!

Tip 1 – Interrupted?

Study tip: Interrupted or don’t have enough time? You can return to the lesson later today or tomorrow. Read how best to continue your learning on our FAQ page.

Tip 2 – Social Sharing

Project tip: Try the social buttons below. Please help us to achieve our vision: spreading the life-changing benefits of Feldenkrais study as widely as possible!

Tip – Comments

Project tip: Leave a lesson comment below! It’s a great way to give feedback or ask a question, and it helps google find us so we can achieve The Feldenkrais Project’s vision!

Tip – Complete the Movement

Study tip: Complete one movement before beginning the next. You’ll improve faster if there’s enough time between movements that you feel fully at rest.

Tip – Join!

Join the Project! Members and Patrons see streamlined lesson pages, and can access My Journey (the and above), and the Related Lessons tab below.

Tip 4 – Padding

Study tip: Comfort first! Carpeted floors usually work well, but it’s great to have an extra mat or blanket nearby in case you need a softer surface in some configurations.

Tip – Lesson names

What’s in a lesson title? Lessons are about an hour unless a shorter duration is shown in the title. Thanks to our donors they’re freely offered unless marked “Patrons” – those are how we thank our Patron-level donors.

Tip – What’s New

Community tip: See what Nick and other Felden-fans are interested in right now. Check out What’s New at the bottom of our homepage for recent blog posts and listener comments.

Tip – Rewinding

Study tip: Many instructions are repeated. If you get a little lost, rest and listen. You’ll often find your way. Or use the rewind button on the page or your mobile device.

Tip – Pause the recording

Study tip: If you’re really enjoying a movement and want to explore longer, or you just need a break for a while, pause the recording!

Tip – what to wear

Study tip: Wear loose, comfortable clothes that are warm enough for quiet movement. Remove or avoid anything restrictive like belts or glasses.

Browser/device size and audio player

Tech tip: On mobile or tablet? Once you start playing the audio, your device’s native playback controls should work well.

Tip – Technical Difficulties

Tech tip: If you have any trouble with the audio player, reboot your browser. That solves most issues. If not, please contact Nick.

Tip – Directions are Relative

Study tip: Directions are always relative to your body. For example, if you’re lying on your back “up” is toward your head, and “forward” is toward the ceiling.

We offer over 50 free lessons, but this one's just for our Patron-level donors. You can learn about it in the free lesson notes and comments below, but to access the audio you’ll need to join The FP as a Patron. Learn more

If you are a Patron, please log in:

  • Comfort & Configuration
  • Clarifications
  • Curiosities
  • Context
  • Related Lessons
  • Source

It’s important that your head is very free to roll in this lesson. If you need head support to be comfortable when lying on your back, make sure it’s smooth and level, like a few layers of folded bath towel.

Mentioned in the recording but worth repeating: when you lift a shoulder away from the floor, don’t also lift your elbow or whole arm. The elbow and forearm may shift, but they remain relaxed, resting on the floor.

On a second listening you might change the shoulder and hip walking references at the beginning and end of the lesson to sensing when they move backward, instead of forward. This will help you also develop the across-your-back diagonal connections while you walk.

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

It also appears in our Pelvic Floor: Less Is More course. The “last two weeks’ lessons” mentioned are lessons in the yellow box of that course.

This lesson works well on its own, but if you’re coming to it in the context of the pelvic floor course, you could expand upon the brief pelvic floor references that serve to connect this lesson to those lessons. Any time you’re lifting or pressing a hip, you might explore something suggested shortly after beginning to lift your hip the first time: consider the activity of the pelvic floor, noticing if you can detect any change in its activity or sensations in relationship to the hip movements.

This lesson was recorded in a FP Weekly Zoom class on May 24, 2022, then edited to improve flow, clarity, and audio quality.

Members and Patrons. Learn more or login:

Members and Patrons. Learn more or login:

Got a question for Nick, or a thought about this lesson?

Use the comments section below! Public comments build our community and help search engines find us.

horizontal-squiggle

2 Comments

  1. Sara Firman on August 12, 2023 at 1:46 pm

    I love the ‘Lifting and Pressing’ lesson and have now found something that progresses it further. Really extraordinary enlivening of deep torso connections. I notice you don’t link these two as Related Lessons but perhaps you could?

    Reply
    • Nick Strauss-Klein on August 14, 2023 at 12:07 pm

      Great observation! I totally agree. I’ve added this to the Related Lessons tab and cross-referenced it back from that lesson, too. Thanks.

      Reply

Leave a Comment