Seesaw twisting to unravel stress
An elegant, simple, effective lesson to unravel tension and stress—as long as you stay within your range of comfort. Going out of your comfort zone is, well, uncomfortable.
You might start with a folded towel under the head as you rotate, then get rid of it as the lesson progresses. You’ll see where that’s logical.
When you bring the long leg over to the side, rest it on some furniture if you need (I did). Don’t strain in the thigh, pelvis, or low back. Life is too short for unnecessary suffering.
Only twist to the point where it feels really easy. Don’t stretch or strain. Your nervous system doesn’t learn if you’re mean to it.
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It was 9 degrees in Boulder, Colorado, yesterday, and I have lots of windows where I live, as well as a two-story loft, which means it wasn’t very warm.
I had a big fire in the fireplace as I recorded this lesson, and every once in a while you hear the pop of the wood. I tried to edit it out for the most part, but it’s just a hazard of this particular cold snap we’re having.
I could just barely run outside to let the dog out and run right back in. While it’s colder elsewhere (It Peter Sinks, Utah, it was 35 below zero!), this is still a struggle for me.
I practiced this lesson on a blanket right in front of the fireplace with my feet nearly in it during the twists.
Note that it took me nearly until the halfway point to get the breathing sequence down.
Don’t judge yourself if you don’t get it right away, just keep playing with it and it will come along. Now I’m breathing with tremendous freedom and openness in the ribs!
(For practitioners, this is AY430, Wide Open Twist to Side.)
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Did you know that there are over a thousand Feldenkrais lessons? Many people don’t realize this. I don’t know how many total there are. I’ve heard different numbers.
Hilariously, I just contacted the International Feldenkrais Federation to fact-check how many lessons there are. Even they don’t know and they oversee all the materials!
In any case, there’s no doubt his work is a rich resource of self-awareness and human potential.
If you haven’t subscribed to the Treasury, I highly recommend it. It’s designed to dip in and do a bunch of lessons as a practice and then dip out again.
I’ve recently brought the Fundamentals section up to 98 phenomenal lessons. If all you did were these lessons, your life would change in profound and unimaginable ways.
Flexion and rolling - 35 lessons
Basic flexion for a long spine
Pelvis rolling to free the low back (clocks!)
Prep for rolling - soften the spine
Rolling with graduated flexion - using your supple spine
Counterbalance and weight shift
Extension and diagonals - 28 lessons
Extension - create a healthy back by arching and bending
More extension
Diagonals - optimize walking, running, and sitting by connecting shoulders and hips
More diagonals
Side bending, twisting, and balancing - 35 lessons
Side bending - bending is a necessary component of all our actions
More side bending
Twisting - many, many ways to rotate and unravel stress for a fluid, tall spine
More twisting
Skeletal balance
More lessons:
This lesson is from the More Twisting section in the Feldenkrais Treasury.
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Quote of the week:
“You can imprison me but you cannot keep me here. Because, like all writers, I have magic.”