Sitting to Standing

One of the great gifts
of Moshe Feldenkrais

was his engineer/ physicist

eye

looking at our bodies
moving in the real world

with real possibilities
and real
constants

the constants of gravity
and a big head at the top
of a long spine
and the big muscles
around the pelvis

being a good three
to start with


anyway:

if you are sitting:
where is your weight
in this world of gravity?

On your butt.


If you are standing:
where is your weight?

On your feet.


So, sitting to standing
is shifting the weight
from butt to feet,
a movement of the center of mass
of our bodies
forward.

So,
try two ways.

Sit.
At front edge of chair.
Put one hand in your hair.
Bend forward,
Pull your head easily, sweetly,
interestingly,
forward,
and down,
as if looking under the chair,

until your weight is clearly over your feet.


Then come to standing.


Another.
Put one hand behind your neck,
with fingers as far down
your back as possible,
pointing down.

Warming up,
noticing arching and rounding in your back:
Elbow goes down
and stomach comes in,
elbow goes up,
and stomach comes out.

Do the warm up
slow
easy,
feel the weight in your pelvis,
the shape in your spine/ back,
the in or out
of your belly.

Find a place where elbow
is kind of pointed up and forward.
belly out,
the arching shape in your spine,

and from that

bring weight forward to
your feet,
and see if there's a way
you can arch
your back, lift your butt
at just the right time,

just a tinsy little bit,
and raise your pelvis
ever so slightly,
like half an inch,
off the chair.

Go slowly,
back and forth from there.

Take lots of rests
and feel
think
sense
imagine this through.



Play with two ways:

head down,
and pelvis just barely off chair.

head upish and forward,
and pelvis just barely off the chair.


This is a week's long
project.

Don't rush.

Your patience and curiosity
will be rewarded.



Sit,