Awareness Through Movement #154

Leg movements while holding the other leg with the hand

Hi everyone, I’ve started a podcast, Life After Landmark, which is picking up traction - with very little effort. Why I’m mentioning it is because my time is already pretty limited… just when a few spaces had opened up to give MySelf.Study more focus love and attention… now this podcast starts to invade my diary as people make contact and WANT to talk.

Some background… 4 years ago, I was interviewed by an ex-Scientologist. It was when I was in the Australian Feldenkrais training (which is really not a coincidence - a story within itself - for later), and that interview unexpectedly, yet not a surprise got quite a lot of attention. I am one of the very few people who have spoken about being “on staff” publicly. As a result, I have had people from all around the world contact me to tell me their story (sometimes horrific) in private. Even though these conversations provided relief for many people NO-ONE dared go public.

Then, this year, Anne Peterson wrote a book - Is This A Cult? - about her experience working with Werner Erhart, she heard my interview with Chris Shelton and made contact. We’ve been doing podcasts every two weeks, and she started a facebook group for others to make contact and share their story. As people open up they become more comfortable to talk publicly.. some of them I’ve already spoken with numerous times over the years.. and now, they nervously share how they were left after giving MANY hours to a corporation that has a reputation for leaving people in quite a mess.

This is the reason today’s post had so few words, I met with Anne this morning and my head was filled with ways to move that forward a little more professionally… with technology. I want to start streaming live so that I don’t have to wait 3 hours for the video to render as I transfer it from one system to the next. Going live means I can simply click end and work on MySelf.Study.

By the same token… I am getting clearer on a way to connect these two worlds that I am really passionate for. I know know, there IS a way!

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Now, about the lesson…

This one is a bit of a jigsaw, it will take listening carefully to the directions… which is actually a huge part of Feldenkrais. Bringing your attention to the unusual string of words as they are spoken while at the same time KNOWING where the areas of your body are is part of the challenge Moshe brings us.

July 6 is the new moon which is the time to create

Personally I am always surprised by how confusing it can be when my legs are crossed to look down and not know which leg is my right and which is my left. I can feel it within, I KNOW which leg is which when they’re straight, then when they’re crossed and I look down at the configuration sometimes, still, after all these years I have doubts.

PARTICULARLY when I’m off in lala land waiting patiently to hear all of the instructions so that I know what I’m expected to do. At one point I realised it’s the “don’t tell me what to do” part of myself that gets in the way… even though I’m sitting there willing wanting to be told. Sometimes what goes on between my ears is so loud I can’t hear the voice in some instances I’m paying, to hear.

Those moments ARE the lesson… for me.

Tonight Vita bravely tackled this one by herself, with the help of a stocking, which in Feldenkrais terms is known as a ‘prop’.

Props are highly recommended for anybody who finds it really difficult to get their body into the weird configurations Moshe asks of us. Last night Vita used a pillow to sit on to raise her pelvis - a book is more ideal because the hard surface gives the sit bones something to press against, however if that is not possible then a pillow still lifts the butt from the ground which takes pressure off the hamstrings and lower back.

Along the way more props will be introduced to make people more comfortable during the lessons. Again, they come highly recommended.

Tonight’s recordings are below the line :)