Awareness Through Movement #143

Bending Right and Left - read by Marianne Rivington in Canada

Marianne, a Feldenkrais practitioner from the VERY early days has offered to read a lesson here twice a month… and… BONUS, she also wrote the post!

Here’s what she has to say about this lesson:

This is a classic sidebending lesson in slightly challenging, starting positions… Sitting cross legged on the floor and “half-kneel standing” i.e.one knee on the floor, and one leg bent with the foot on the floor.

Stable base

When I first attempted the lesson I observed I was putting my attention to sitting cross legged on the floor and quickly became aware that my head and chest and shoulders were tensing in order to create stability… and so I wondered what the lesson would be like if I spent some time finding comfort and stability in the starting position so that the upper part of myself would be safe and free to move…

I experimented with sitting in a chair, and also a folded blanket for the cross legged position, and paid particular attention to the contact my pelvis was making on the support surface… Noticing the contact of one sitting bone and the other …the area under the pubic bone, and under the coccyx… Draw an imaginary line from pubic bone to coccyx… And one sitting bone to the other, shift your weight and observe the response of the upper part of yourself… the more stable your base of support the more ease and comfort you will find in your head, neck, chest and shoulders… The lesson becomes more enjoyable

Frontal Plane

The great thing about side bending lessons, is the opportunity for precision…to really become aware if you are moving purely from right to left, or combining a forward backward component as a habitual, and possibly unrecognized aspect to your movement… The reference of the frontal or coronal plane- an imaginary plane that divides the body in half from front to back is an invaluable guide …as you are exploring, the smaller you make the movement the more precise it will be.

“… Also, pay attention to erect yourself, more or less. Do not sit with a round back, but rather sit with the head tall, do not strain the back, rather bring the body forward then it will straighten” Moshe Feldenkrais

This lesson offers a practical framework in finding comfort in a somewhat challenging position… Cultivating this ability can be so helpful to everyday life, and I invite you to find ways to explore keeping in mind your comfort and ease are the most important thing you can pay attention to. I would love to hear your comments …and if you notice any moments of discomfort in your daily activity…are you able to find a way to bring more comfort and ease to your circumstance?

Marianne

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thank you Marianne :)

Here’s the recording: