Awareness Through Movement #415

A sharp and mental twist - with Marianne Rivington

Marianne has gone the extra mile again… see her photo’s and maybe you can appreciate the time it took for her to get her skeleton in exactly the right position. When I acknowledged her for the time she “invests” “takes” to prepare these lessons, she responded with this:

“It took me about 20 tries for that photo shoot of the skeleton ha ha…
using supports made such a difference to my benefit of the lesson…
it took planning and trial and error to find “neutral” / “the sweet spot”…
for the lower half on side, upper half on back starting position…
for both myself and the skeleton…
I wanted to convey with a picture that its worth the time required
to find comfort and support…
I find it can be so tempting to just skip over that preparation.”

I relay this message simply to give you a sense of the woman behind these deliveries we receive every second (AEDT) Sunday. She’s a stickler for communicating information that is delivered cleanly, with information she ‘stands’ for. I know this at a personal level, having witnessed many interactions of her being challenged regarding her detailed perspectives on these lessons. She stood/stands fully aligned in physical presence - and in words - to return questions of doubt with clarity and a very gentle, very subtle power.
And, I’ve got to say, Megan Hopley has a very similar presence,
which is why I love these two women and am honored
that they assist the growth of this little project with regular deliveries :)

Every BODY is different and each person in this little group has their/our unique and wonderful attributes to make it the success it is - THANK YOU.

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Marianne introduces this lesson with the following words and images:

“The Feldenkrais Method offers both group sessions known as
’Awareness though Movement’ (which is what we are doing here)
and individual hands-on sessions called ‘Functional Integration’.

During a Functional Integration session, a Feldenkrais practitioner
will often introduce the students to learn with supports…
for example by “raising the ground to meet the person”.
Dale - the images Marianne has provided (below)
illustrate what she means by this.

Marianne continues:
I found ‘A Sharp and Mental Twist’ to be a lovely gently lesson.

The challenge was finding comfort in the starting position…
which I can only describe as “lower half on the side/upper half on the back”
(which happens to be a recurring starting position
so you will be able to benefit from this discovery in future lessons).

The first time I did the lesson it was without supports
and I felt an unpleasant internal constricting twisting sensation,
similar to wearing a tight stretchy garment
in which the sleeve or leg was twisted around my limb
cutting off the circulation and sensations.

The second time I did the lesson
I used a lot of supports and was rewarded with deep relaxation and comfort.

Several rolled blankets and towels were folded to position my limbs and settle my spine so that was free to move rather than compressed and twisted.
The rolled blanket used to support my back assisted me imagining that a skilled Functional Integration practitioner could sense exactly where I needed support… to provide any necessary assistance and remove tension so that I could reconnect with my spine and ‘do’ the movements Moshe invites us to explore.

Before listening to the recording I recommend you take some time to find a way that you can be comfortable in this “lower part on side /upper part on back” position. Dale - or, if you like, do the lesson both ways, with and without the support so that YOU can sense for your Self which way provides the most value for this experience.

Some specifics from Marianne:

The starting position involves lying on the right side,
then turning the upper trunk and head towards lying on the back,
so that the face is oriented toward the ceiling.

Some people may find this a bit of puzzle…
yet, once solved you might find that;
tuning into an internal organization where the spine is aligned
to support the spinal cord, nerves and surrounding tissue…
this permits opening a flow of circulation and nerve conduction
which can then create a very comforting sensation of wholeness.

Marianne provides a few hints with photo’s to ‘demonstrate’ the words:

1. Notice if your head and pelvis stay aligned on your vertical axis…
   make sure that the head remains above your tailbone
   rather than veering off to the side.

   

2. Instead of the image above, bring your awareness to the front of your vertebrae, aka, the vertebral bodies… Dale - more commonly known as the ‘discs’ that protrude inside your torso and as they move stir up the organs to keep digestive, reproductive, lymphatic, nervous systems active in a healthy manner.

   

   Sense in to the upper part of your spine
   which will more than likely have the vertebral bodies
   oriented towards the ceiling,
   and then the lower lumbar vertebrae
   will be oriented toward the wall…
   in what is known as a twist.

   

3. When lying on the right side, imagine…
   or, sense in to…
   the right side lengthening,
   which serves to improve the quality of your contact the floor.
   This allows each vertebra to assist the gradual rotation
   of the entire vertebral column.
   This DIFFERENTIATION causes the lumbar, thoracic and cervical areas
   of the whole spine to work more efficiently together,
   which then frees you up to maintain your alignment
   on your vertical axis more comfortably.
   It reminds the muscles they they CAN support you in the vertical position without having to pull ‘you’ right, left, forward and/or backward.

   

   I prepared this thinking that maybe SEEing the twist will assist you with feeling the wonderful benefits of this movement as the bones make space for your systems to flow through what we call the spinal ‘column’ - Marianne.

4. When you connect with this internal organization you might be rewarded with comfort, ease, sensation of open flow.

As is with ALL Awareness Through Movement experiences,
please let comfort be your guide.

Enjoy learning through this lesson, feel free to comment and let me know if you had a sharp and mental twist!

Marianne.