Today's Free Lesson

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.
56m

Rolling with Length

Back-lying with one knee standing, and front-lying. Rolling over a long, spacious, breathing side, with plenty of room to improvise.
61m

The Ultimate Self-Hug

Back-lying, learning to use the feet—and later, the arms in a self-hug position—to roll the body and reach to the sides. Setting up later lessons in this collection through developing suppleness of the torso and integration of the feet and eyes as they relate to smooth weight-shifting. "Walking" the hips and shoulders along the floor. Recorded in a series of classes about posture, balance, and grace.
63m

Connecting Shoulders and Hips Part 1

Side-lying, improving functional relationships of the shoulders and hips through small and large movements. Constructing and improving your image of the "quadrilateral" of the torso while integrating the ribs, spine, neck, and head. Later, harnessing the suppleness of the quadrilateral to support reaching and circling the arm.
67m

Legs as Free as a Baby’s

Back-lying, one or both knees bent, tilting the knees and letting their weight twist, turn, and lengthen the body. Transferring weight. Broadening and clarifying the function and ease of the pelvis, hip joints, and lumbar. Learning to bend and straighten the legs with the freedom of a baby. Integrating this learning through the whole self, including the chest, shoulders, head, and eyes.
62m

Simple Twisting

Back-lying, often both knees bent. Tipping crossed legs and eventually "triangle arms" to gently twist, turn, and roll the body, in order to learn more awareness, control, and coordination of the major flexor and extensor muscles of the torso.
58m

Easier Sitting Workshop Lesson 1

Chair-seated, with a middle portion in back-lying. Identifying the sitbones and enriching your awareness of them, then developing the relationships between the head, sitbones, and spine as they relate to plumb (the line of gravity through the vertical skeleton). Introduces the classic Feldenkrais pelvic clock image as a way to refine and expand dynamic support possibilities for the sitbones, pelvis, and whole self.
63m

Fundamentals of a Healthy Back (workshop lesson)

Back-lying, often knees bent, sometimes legs crossed, tilting. Clarifying our image of the "five curves" of the axial skeleton in action: the traditional three (lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine), plus the sacrum/tailbone and the skull. Learning to sense functions and efforts through all five curves, including breathing. See the Context tab if you wish to go on to the next lesson in the workshop.
63m

The Periscope

Side-lying, using a reference movement of the arm standing like a periscope. This lesson softens, mobilizes, and integrates the use of the chest and shoulders.
63m

Folding, Foundation, and Feet

Back-lying, knees bent, integrating bending of the ankles through the joints of the legs and into the pelvis and lower back, blending into a classic Feldenkrais lesson which draws the head, elbows, and knees toward each other in different combinations. Improve the folding and unfolding of the body through refining coordination of the flexor muscles, building awareness of the use of the ground (foundation), and lengthening the extensors.
62m

Rolling to Sitting, and Beyond

How do we get off the floor? This lesson explores the path from lying on your back to sitting up, and getting back down again, organizing the torso and limbs towards a smoother, simpler, more pleasurable transition. These movements are also powerful organizers for improving upright posture.
62m

Activating the Arches

Mostly back-lying, knees bent. The “tripod of the foot” lesson, great for improving feet, knees, hips, and more. Learn better awareness and control of the bones and muscles that create the fundamental ground contact structure of the body, and relate it to movements of the ankle, knee (especially the head of the fibula), hip, back, and beyond.
60m

Arms Like a Skeleton, with a Bias

Back-lying. This quiet, simple presentation of a classic Feldenkrais lesson becomes the background for a potent exploration: how does seeking and sensing our natural spinal bias – and resting our attention with it or away from it – affect how we move, feel, and function? Recorded near the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown, this lesson starts with a four-minute talk about embodied equanimity, and the particular rabbit hole of learning we'll be heading down together.
63m

Spine and Chest Side-Bending, Lengthening Limbs

Framed by standing explorations of how we shift weight onto one foot, this mostly back-lying lesson (often one or both knees bent) is designed to free the torso and improve awareness, suppleness, and integration of lateral movements of the spine and chest in walking. Includes explorations of sensing and initiating movement from the spine.
59m

Softening the Ribs

Lying on the back and sides, with some rolling transfers between, hands often on the lower ribs, learning to sense and soften the ribs, spine, and shoulder blades and integrate their movement with the pelvis and legs.
65m

Easing the Jaw, Neck, and Shoulders

Back-lying, briefly framed by seated explorations. Exploring and refining basic movements of the jaw, and integrating them with movements of the head, neck, and shoulders. This lesson is often helpful for reducing many types of jaw-related tension and discomfort, including some kinds of headaches, TMJ pain (temporomandibular joint), and discomfort and stiffness in the neck, shoulders, and spine. The recording begins with an important discussion.
59m

The Buttocks

Lying on the back and front, and various kneeling and standing positions. Exploring and improving the use and awareness of the buttocks in relationship to the pelvis, legs, feet, belly, and spine. Once Feldenkrais fans are ready for this lesson it's a profoundly important one for better posture, walking, and running. See the Comfort & Configuration tab.
59m

Driving and Dynamic Sitting – Floor Practice

Mostly back-lying. Begins and ends in floor-seated. With explorations and benefits for all sitting situations, this lesson uses imagery of being in the driver's seat to promote lively, dynamic sitting and turning while negotiating the challenge of a typical "bucket" car seat. Postural expressions of rounding and arching are clarified, then used to improve the range, comfort, and awareness of whole body turning movements.
64m

Reaching, Rolling, and Ribs

Back-lying, side-lying, and learning to transition between the two efficiently and comfortably. What happens when we reach so far we can't help but change orientation? A more advanced lesson (it's ok, as always, to skip or return to it later).
60m

The Hip Joints: Moving Proximal Around Distal

Back-lying, knees bent, feet standing, often one leg resting out to the side on a pillow. Learning to move the whole self (proximal) in relationship to a quietly resting limb (distal), often using pelvic clock movements. This reversal of the typical image we have of moving a limb creates a novel learning environment within the self, with benefits for the legs, hips, back, and our overall organization. Sitting on the floor at the beginning and end of the lesson is used to help identify some of the changes that take place.
57m

Lifting Up and Through

Back-lying, mostly one knee bent, one foot standing. Develop an action of lifting your hip forward in a grounded and distributed way as you learn to draw clear support from the earth up and through you. Great for stability, strength, and confidence in walking, and all upright movement. Framed by experiments in standing and walking.
61m

Spine Like a Chain, Freeing the Shoulder Girdle

Back-lying, knees bent, learning to gradually lift and lower the pelvis and spine. This variant of a classic Feldenkrais lesson cultivates awareness especially around the middle and upper spine and ribs, the shoulder blades, sternum, and C7 (seventh cervical vertebra) region.
63m

Driving and Dynamic Sitting – Chair Practice

Clarify the skeletal support provided by our sitbones and discover their lively role (and roll!) in all seated movements. With some emphasis on side-bending, all three planes of movement are discussed, explored, and differentiated, first in "pure" forms, and then blended together into natural movements.
60m

Side Clock: Shoulders (and Intro to Hip)

Side-lying. Starts as a "Feldenkrais basics" shoulders-and-hips lesson, then uses the image of a clock face to explore precise coordination, developing freedom and skill in the shoulders, chest, neck, and more. An emphasis on choice, imagery, principles, and improvisation creates a unique learning opportunity for your Feldenkrais study: you're invited to complete your own hip clocks.
58m

Secrets of the Seated Twist

Side-sitting, back-lying, and side-lying. Beginning and ending with classic Feldenkrais explorations of twisting while side-sitting on the floor, this lesson is designed to make side-sitting more accessible, and to free your torso and hips. Alterations – including chair-seated – are discussed, and long lying down portions of the lesson reveal how folding and arching can improve turning and twisting.
58m

Floating Toward Bridging

Back-lying, knees bent, feet standing, variations on lifting and lowering the pelvis, and eventually bridging the arms, to improve upright organization and balance.
61m

Chanukia, the Candle Holder Lesson

Mostly in back-lying, knees bent. Using a precise configuration of the shoulders and elbows to mobilize and build awareness of movements and relationships of the shoulders, shoulder blades, clavicles, sternum, spine, head, pelvis, and the whole rib structure.
65m

Connecting Arms and Legs, Hinges at Feet and Knees

Side-lying, integrating movements of the arms, shoulders, head, neck, spine, and hips. Learning to sense and hinge bodyweight in relation to the ground, and between the knees and feet. Great for adding grace and ease to how we twist, turn, and walk.
64m

Agile Hips, Knees, and Feet

Back-lying, knees bent, feet standing, exploring connections between the joints of the legs, and clarifying their relationship with the abdominal muscles, pelvis, back, breath, and head. Improving leg function by developing some movements into rapid action.
60m

Your Navigational Pelvis

Back-lying, knees bent. A unique take on the classic Feldenkrais pelvic clock lesson. Learn how the interaction of the feet with the ground relates to the pelvis moving in all directions. Includes movements designed to integrate the spine, head, and eyes, all toward grounding and organizing the whole self for better walking and an easier upright life.
58m

The Power of Prone: Twisting on Your Belly

Designed to be as accessible as possible, this lesson uses frequent back-lying rests and auxiliary movements to help listeners find more comfort, ease, and learning value while prone. Moving with awareness while lying on your belly can lead to unique benefits for the spine, chest, shoulders, and neck, as well as improvements for posture and breathing.
64m

Bending Sideways

Framed with standing explorations of shifting weight, this back-lying lesson explores important and often underrepresented functions (in our self-image of movement) of bending sideways, and connects them to improving balance, and our use of the hips, spine, chest, neck, head, and functions of the legs and feet.
60m

Breathing from Head to Heels

Various positions, about half back-lying. Experiments with the breath mechanism, learning how it relates to the head, spine, and pelvis, and integrates into the length of the heels for standing. Uses paradoxical breathing and "see-saw" breath games.
64m

More Precise Hips and Spine

Back-lying, knees bent, with a floor-seated frame at the beginning and end. Preparing for and clarifying an important primary relationship in the body: arching the spine while flexing the hips.
59m

Spine Like a Chain, with a Bias

Lying on the back, knees bent. This lesson explores the basic human function of the legs pushing the pelvis forward into the world. It creates opportunities to better sense and articulate the spine and ribs, and organize the flexor and extensor muscles, all within the frame of discovering and using your natural primary spinal bias.
67m

The Anti-Gravity Lesson

Back-lying, often knees bent. Some modified side-lying and brief front-lying. We can’t beat gravity, so let’s get organized to oppose it effortlessly with bones instead of muscles. Pushing and pulling movements from the feet, moving you up and down your mat, are throughly explored, as the horizontal floor substitutes for the plumb line of gravity.