joy and learning

the day is long our attention can be lost
or found

best yet:
enjoyed,
our own inner light
shining out,
and in,
on what,
and then what
and then what?

and if we are lucky,
we don't "understand" something
or aren't as skilled at something as
we want to be

and we can put attention
on the now
of how

the now
of how
we are going about
whatever it is

and,
guess what:
try something else,
anything else?

see the effect

have fun
learn

notice in the now

wow

what happens

and do nothing
and
notice

what happens

wow


....

have a good day

Thumb and little finger, games for you, and maybe food for the brain of a child

Last week the toes, 
this week the fingers.

And what is the biggest different we can
find
in the fingers.

Between the big strong and ever useful thumb,
and the little weak, and often forgotten pinkie
is a great place to start
(though in reality the ring finger is the least recognized
in the brain, but that's okay,
let's make the differences as far away as possible:
big finger = thumb
littlest finger = pinkie.

Now, this gets tricky with a special needs child,
because we can play with these fingers and the
child might not be able to distinguish
the differences.

So what to do?
As always start with yourself:

start with whatever hand is connected to the  shoulder and elbow
that feels best.

Let your hand be wide.

Splay out your thumb and little finger as far away from each
other as they can comfortably go,
and then paying attention to them both,
begin to rotate and gyrate your hand
in many places and positions.

Roll in around, way out there,
up high, over the the side, down between your legs,
behind your back.

Bring it close and rotate the hand up and down your front side
feeling the differences in the thumb touching your body and the
little finger doing the same, and feel/ sense all the while,
the relationship in space and in sensation of the two fingers.

Take lots of rests.

Have some fun.

Take a walk to rest, or lie down.

Then do everything you did above
with realization of the elbow
and the shoulder blade
and the ribs
and the spine
and the pelvis.

Think of different ways to circle your head
with the pair of fingers, the little finger and the thumb,
all the while keep attention and awareness
on and open to your spine and ribs and pelvis.

Take lots of rests.

Would this to be good for your child.

In little doses, sure.

Keep it small.

Don't force their hand,
and I have never said that literally,
it's kind of neat:
don't force their hand.

And touch their spine or ribs now and then
as you do this.

If you don't force anything,
and don't expect yourself to have had the
years of training a practitioner has,
and just let it be joyful,
something will happen.

You will have some experience.
Your child will have some experience.

If you are non judgment,
and not forcing,
they will learn.

You might not know what.

That doesn't matter.

Go slow,
gentle
curious.
Enjoy the touch.

Up and down for the parent, toes and brain and delight for the child

This is my weekly post,
mainly for parents of special needs children,
but the ideas are obviously valid all over the place.

I.e. in life.

watch those feet in action

The wonderful thing about my work as an Anat Baniel and Feldenkrais
Practitioner,
is that I can move around inside myself
if I have forgotten just what connections might be fine
and wonderful for
any of my clients, be they adult or children,
to learn next.

Recall that the learning is about expanding awareness,
pleasure and options (freedom), not "doing anything right."

So, parents have feet, children have feet.

What can we do with this delightful fact?

I recommend this to all adults:
for five minutes in the morning,
warm up to life by bending the knees and touching the floor or ground,
and then reaching up and touching toward the sky or ceiling.

Now, up and down and up and down
and it's one more donkey thing.

BUT if each time you reach down for the floor
you create some slightly different placement of
weight on your feet, and different shape of your feet,
and pay attention to a different area of your whole
self
(feet and ankles,
feet and hips
feet and spine
feet and knees
feet and head)
the time will fly and you'll be amazed at how wonderful
it is to be human.

And your child:
play with her feet with the memory of all the different ways
your feet could push down into the ground,
and you are pushing gently and playfully up
into her/his feet in all these directions and
combinations
(both feet turned this way,
pigeon toed, toes out, both to left, right,
all sorts of angles)

and as you play with the different directions
and shapes of pressure,
think
Pleasure

think
Play

think
where else might this connect,
as above:

(feet and ankles,
feet and hips
feet and spine
feet and knees
feet and head)

Have a smile on your face.
Pay attention to what she/ he likes.
Pay attention to your ease and pleasure and breathing while
doing this.

Have a joyful learning session with your child.
A meditation for you.
A gift and a delight for them.

And the other way around, too.

Good.