Side to side seems easy
and
often people get "confused."
Good. As our buddy Albert E says:
"Show me someone who's never made a mistake
and
I'll show you someone who's never learned anything."
One of the key principles of this work is
to sort of groove
on unknowning
to
relish ambiguity
to get
excited
about the state of :
what is going on?
In that state,
we can be new
and
if we are honest
that's always the characteristic of being "now."
Okay,
side to side.
Sit forward in a chair, both feet on the floor, spine straightish and feeling
as if it is holding up your head.
Lean a tad forward so you could hop up or to the side
easily
Now, here, more or less on your skeleton,
play with this difference:
Head rotating left and right
Head tilting left and right
In the ROTATION, your nose goes left and right
In the TILTING, your nose stays straight ahead and your eyes tilt
so that when you tilt your head to the left, your right eye goes
up a bit and your left eye goes down.
In all movement lessons, always go "less than your limit."
About 80% at most.
And much less force than you think you need. At cut out
half the force, maybe more.
And go slowly: at least half as slowly as habitual.
And all that slow, and soft and less than limit
is
FOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN.
At habitual speed, force and cranking out to the limit,
no learning is going to take place.
You'll be a great donkey, but
why throw away the greatest anti-entropy organ
in the universe (that we know so far): the human brain.
Your brain.
So: to repeat: slow, gentle, less than your limit. Always in something
you want to improve. For awhile at least.
Do the titling very slowly and feel / sense what is going
on in your neck
Be really honest if you are rotating your nose and neck, too.
Go back and forth: rotating, and tilting,
so that you can really, slowly and deliciously tell the difference.
2. Good. Rest. Sit upright, eyes closed and feel what a small
amount of aware and soft and learning oriented and not going to the limit
can do to organize your whole system.
3. Now play with your ribs, as such:
take each hand to the ribs on the opposite side,
and sitting upright,
pull your ribs first to the right,
and then to the left.
As per always: slow, gentle, less than limit.
And AWARE.
Notice the shape your spine makes when your ribs go
left and when the go right.
Notice which verterbrae move and how.
Notice any tendency to shift your weight as this happens.
4. Rest and sense yourself.
Notice shifts in breathing, ease, sense of your spine etc.
5. Combine tilt your head and bringing your ribs right and left,
so that you begin to understand
THE NECK FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS:
YOUR WHOLE SPINE
Huh?
Well: go slow, gentle, aware and less than limit and explore this:
As your head tilts to the left,
pull your ribs gently, slowly, awarely to the right,
so you feel as if the tilting in your neck goes all the way down
your spine making a crescent shape in your whole back.
Go slowly , and at first just do this head tilting to the left (go slowly and gently enough
to catch yourself if you start to rotate the head, and then stop:
just tilt)
as your ribs in the middle are pulled to the right.
Notice that the top ribs and bottom ribs go to the left.
Really explore.
You get an A+ no matter "how you do."
See how delicious you can make this:
tilt your head left to involve you whole torso.
6. Now rest.
I know we haven't tilted right yet. Good.
Notice if the two sides feel difference
and notice any additional sweetness to your whole
self.
7, Now come back to readiness to move,
and IMAGINE tilting your head to the right, while
you pull the middle ribs to the left.
IMAGINE this several times
and then do it ONCE.
Notice in the doing what you skipped in imagination.
Imagine it again.
Do it again.
and once more: imagine, filling in more and more.
Do it once and see what you missed.
8. Rest.
9. Now, hands on ribs, IMAGINE going left and right tilt
with your head as the ribs make your spine into a long
crescent.
Then do this both ways a number of times.
Each time see if you can feel and notice and enjoy
something new.
10. Rest and feel all of you.
11. If you want to stop, this is a nice place to get up and take a walk.
If you want to continue, all good movement needs
to include the pelvis, so come back later, or forge ahead now to
the seat of you.
Notice your pelvis.
Shift your weight to the right "sit bone" and raise your left hip
a little off the chair.
Now shift to the left "sit bone" and raise your right hip
off the chair.
Go slowly.
Do this a number of times just raising the right hip and pressing in the left.
And then a number of times just raising the left hip and pressing down
the right.
12. Rest
13. Now, make the crescent shape of tilt your head
the full spine by practicing, exploring, enjoy this:
tilt your head to the left
pull the middle ribs to the right
(noticing the bottom ribs and top ribs going left)
put your weight on the right side off your pelvis
so your left hip can raise and complete the crescent shape
in your back.
Just do this way a number of times.
Until it is delicious.
14. Rest and feel your breathing and your spine.
15. as above, IMAGINE doing the tilt to the right:
head tilt to the right
middle ribs to the left,
right side of pelvis up and toward the right ear
left side of the pelvis pressing down.
Now DO IT ONCE and compare to the imagining.
Go back and forth with doing and improving your
imaginary version.
16. Rest.
17. Go tilting of the whole spine both right
and left,
be slow, gentle, less than the limit, aware,
looking for pleasure and learning each time.
18. Rest.
19. If you really want some fun,
go through the whole thing again, at
each step singing some simple song
you love to sing.
20. Feel yourself in sitting. Compare to the beginning.
21. Come forward onto your feet and stand. Shift weight to the
left and right and see if something solid and easy and connected
has occurred in you.
Walk around.
enjoy you day and your life.
I take questions via email
ChrisElms@vom.com
and invent these lessons to suit what's bothering
you.
Ciao
Chris
," good old Moshe Feldenkrais lays it on thick,
