Position: side-lying
46m
Turning from a Spacious Center, Connecting Torso and Legs (46m, Patrons)
While cultivating an almost meditative awareness of breath and spaciousness in the tanden (lower abdomen), you'll explore fascinating side-lying movements: one hand is on your knee or shin as you organize your legs, hips, pelvis, torso, and head in curious actions of folding, arching, rolling, and twisting. Discover powerful, flexible legs and easy, confident upright action. As one participant said, perhaps you'll find your "hips are really ready for the Olympic games...."
60m
Spiraling into Circling the Arm Under (Patrons)
First we review the lesson called A Spiral of Length and Power, then we explore a riddle in the realm of “making the impossible, possible”: from lying on your back, one knee bent, foot engaged to turn you onto your side, how can you become supple enough to learn to circle the arm you’re lying on under your body? Adaptations, kindness, and patience are in the foreground, leading to wonderful new freedoms in your shoulders, ribs, spine, neck, posture, and day-to-day function. At the end, an exploration of simpler actions reinforces your learning – even if you couldn't “do” the whole lesson yet.
60m
Breathing for Liftoff (35m + 25m, Patrons)
This pair of short lessons is designed to be completed together the first time, or with a short break between them.
- Lesson 1 - Reduce tension and anxiety and free your breath by sensing the details of how you hold and release it, then explore a new image of exchanging air with the environment.
- Lesson 2 (begin at 34:00) - Experiment with the elasticity of both the ground and your breathing apparatus, and directly experience what physicists call ground reaction forces.
59m
Joyful Lifted Rolling (Patrons)
Starts with an exploration of grounding in standing. Then very simple side-lying movements gradually expand toward rolling. You'll learn to extend and gather the limbs on one side of your body, then the other, as you coordinate larger rolls with increasingly skillful control of your flexors and extensors. All this creates a profoundly lighter sense of your body and mind. Starts with a two-minute talk reviewing the major principles of grounding for liftoff.
54m
Free Your Torso for Better Posture, Walking, and Running
Mostly side-lying, framed by standing and walking explorations. Using your sternum as a reference point, free your shoulders, hips, chest, and back for better posture and upright movement. Experience how different organizations of your torso affect your ability to move with freedom and confidence. Ends with a 2-minute talk from the after class discussion.
61m
Sliding the Sternum, Integrating the Neck, Shoulders, and Chest (Patrons)
Side-lying. Gentle movements of lifting the head and looking toward the floor are used to integrate the eyes, neck, shoulders, chest, spine, and pelvis in increasingly sophisticated movements. Later, learn to differentiate the sternum and soften the chest further by maneuvering your sternum and ribs with your fingers.
59m
Dynamic Balance: Coordinates of the Head (Patrons)
Back, front, and side-lying, framed by explorations of dynamic balance in standing. Soften your chest, integrate your head, spine, and pelvis, and improve your balance, posture, and breathing by learning to circle your head in your hands in many lying down configurations.
62m
Whole Body Arms (Patrons)
Side-lying. Learn to reach, roll, twist, and circle your arms with better whole body support from your shoulders, chest, and all the rest. Framed by standing explorations designed to demonstrate how the freedom of the neck, shoulders, chest, and pelvis benefits balance.
63m
Workshop: Balance Myths, Facts, and Practice, Part 2 (Patrons)
In this workshop Nick shares practical tips, tools, and Feldenkrais lessons to improve your balance. He dispels common misunderstandings and highlights principles of physics and learning you can sense and practice on your own. Part one of the workshop is here.
58m
Softening the Jaw, Shoulders, and Chest (Patrons)
Back-lying and side-lying. Develops the simplest jaw movements we've explored by linking them to movements of the spine and shoulders, and to softening and turning the torso. Can be very helpful for TMJ difficulties. See the Context notes for recommended study order for our jaw lessons.