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I mention that we named the spine after the Latin word “vertere,” “to turn.” It would have been a bit clearer to say that we named the 24 bones of the spine “vertebrae” after that word!

In this talk and lessons 3 and 4 I make reference to “celestial gravity.” I’m indebted to Feldenkrais Trainer and master Zen teacher Russell Delman for this beautiful image, which I was introduced to in his Embodied Life II collection of lessons, available for public purchase. Terrestrial gravity is the center-of-the-earth gravity we think of usually. Celestial gravity refers to the many aspects of being human that call us heavenward, including our evolutionary journey rising away from ground-level living! Finding ourselves more and more often at our maximum skeletal height, elegantly suspended between terrestrial and celestial gravity, has a profound influence on our joy and comfort, our ease of movement, and the effectiveness with which we function.

Finding this graceful length more often is one of the many goals of Feldenkrais study.

This audio recording is found in Getting Oriented, our introductory collection of Feldenkrais basics for newcomers (and longtimers looking for a “tune-up”).

This lesson was recorded in an introductory workshop called Move Smarter, Safer, and Stronger with Feldenkrais: Access Your Axis.

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Patrons can listen to Getting Oriented tracks 5-7 (the Access Your Axis talk and lessons) without interruption as a 70-minute workshop recording.

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