Awareness Through Movement #6.3

Circumference of the Head - Ribs/Shoulder Girdle relationship

Why, in one lesson… does Moshe have us do the same movement in so many different configurations?

It’s a question I asked myself a lot when I first started with Feldenkrais, and now the reason is starting to make sense. Our relationship with the Earth shapes whether we’re lifting, lowering, tilting or bending different areas of our bodies. Proving that a movement can be done horizontally for example shows that the movement IS possible, our bodies, minds, all the parts, can do it… and yet, standing up to do that same movement can be a completely different experience, sometimes even difficult.

With the floor behind our backs we have something to push against, to FEEEL how the back changes shape, and that can be a strong source of information. When we feel our connection to the ground at the beginning of the lesson it can be thought of as a contrast to ‘measure’ how each movement affects our system(s).

Tonight’s lesson is quite novel in that it moves the spine into what can be unfamiliar territory between the shoulder blades - an area that can get ‘stuck’, or ‘frozen’ for some unknown reason. We’ll be loosening up the fascia, muscles, ligaments and tendons in that tender area, so please, be gentle, move slowly and stay curious!

Here’s the lesson, enjoy :)