Awareness Through Movement #461

Diagonal sitting holding the knees – KINETIC CHAIN

“….. anyone who has a back that is not okay or thighs that are not okay
makes swinging movements their whole life.
They cheat themselves and then they have a back that even God himself
is not able to fix any longer.
They make a swinging movement which is effective,
however it only covers their deficiencies.”

Moshe Feldenkrais - at some point during this lesson

Tonight’s lesson would fall in the classic Feldy category, due to the unusual combinations he asks of us… which can perhaps get confusing. The guidance will be repeated a few times to have the words make more sense… speaking of which, the sense of self which is met at the end could be well worth the time this lesson ‘takes’ to explore.

We’ve done some of these movements before, having the leg pull the arm which pulls the head through the spine to connect with the pelvis so that there’s an internal loop felt through the whole self.

And, perhaps a connection through the kinetic chain won’t be realised tonight if you’re new to this Method. Sometimes what is asked of us takes a few practices to get any where near the intention Moshe had of his participants - it can be heard through his frustration in the recordings… him thinking he’s very clearly explained himself, yet when he looks out at the people doing the movements it sounds like he sees all sorts of weird contortions happening on the floor. From the tone in the way this particular lesson was delivered, my guess is this is one of those lessons where he got a little… cranky.

Be patient with your self if you struggle to connect the dots - this is where video really helps, which the body of Feldenkrais practitioners is completely against. Video was not freely available when these lessons were recorded, only the audio exists. Despite the fact that now video is so easily accessible for people all around the world, there is still an insistence from experienced practitioners and trainers that video NOT be used. Moshe (at the time) was adamant that people needed to learn to connect with their bodies through verbal guidance. Because we will never know if he were alive today how he would have worked with mobile phones and computers, practitioners are still ‘told’ to deliver these lessons audibly… much to the frustration of many people, practitioners deliberately never show participants the how. People have to learn for their selves where up, down, left, right, forward, back, and all areas of their bodies are in space in the most unusual of positions.

Since the arrival of mobile phones it’s very rare for people to give and/or receive directions without looking at the screen… compared to life pre-phones, many people don’t know where they are!!!

With that knowledge in mind, I look forward to being with you as you learn to connect with your self through this lesson.

re “direction”, Grok has this to say:

“For individuals with challenges in spatial orientation
—such as those with neurological conditions, balance issues, or post-injury limitations—this lesson offers a gentle, exploratory approach to rebuilding confidence in directionality. Even for healthy individuals, it enhances precision and fluidity in tasks like walking, driving, or sports, where accurate spatial navigation is essential.
By the lesson’s end, standing and feeling “what these movements have changed”
allows participants to integrate their refined spatial sense into upright posture,
grounding their directional awareness in a functional context.”

“To act in accordance with one’s self image”