Full Circle - 9 - Floating
Calligraphy based on ThIch Nhat Hahn by themettagarden.com
Full Circle - 9 - Floating
Floating with a free diaphragm, spine, shoulders and knees
Based on Moshe Feldenkrais’ “Flexors and Extensors” from Awareness Through Movement
A sister student and swimmer inspired this lesson - she and I were both thinking about how to better balance our strokes. I’d been thinking about shoulder blades, ribs and C7 - so I’m testing my theory with you.
My original intention with this series was to circle back to the repertoire of foundational Awareness Through Movement lessons. How has my understanding changed over time? How have we, as a learning circle, evolved together to find richer meaning in lessons that were stunning the first time around.
I’ve been particularly curious about this classic lesson, “Flexors and Extensors.” I hated it the first time we did it in my teacher training. I don’t remember why. It came to mind in the pool, where I have been working on balancing my front crawl strokes. One arm slides through the water “like butter,” while the other catches and breaks the groove.
This is the lesson that evolves from tipped knees with triangle arms to curling the head towards the knees.The grand finale is a rolling self hug. In other words, rolling/twisting the spine, using the diaphragm to manage the ribs, and finding a relationship between soft shoulders and a long neck.
Allow yourself to float through this lesson. Go slowly and give the nervous system time to find clearer paths of movements. In and out of the water.
Science Nerd Candy Bowl:
Spinal Motion Segment C7-T1 - Veritas Health (2:10) Helpful animation showing
Articulation of the Hip - Anatomie 3D (1:14)
Set Up for a Supine lesson:
Lie on floor with support under head or legs as needed to keep the neck and low back long and relaxed
Sit on a firm, stable chair with knees and hips level
How you might feel after this lesson: Longer; Open; Breathing deeply; Aware of your back ribs and spine; Hips and low back relaxed; New sensation of a long and elegant neck; New awareness of how the diaphragm, ribs and spine interact in breathing.
“We have to continue to learn. We have to be open. And we have to be ready to release our knowledge in order to come to a higher understanding of reality.”
If you have a Wednesday 9:30 am or 6:30 pm class registration, keep using it. If you were registered for the 12:00 pm Wednesday session, you’ll need to register. Registered, paid students receive the lesson recording link on Thursday. $40/month; $15/single lesson. PayPal or Venmo to jackisue@aol.com. Or check to Jacki Katzman, PO Box 116, Bethlehem, NH 03574
For new student registration, Click Here
For floating, Angelo Badalamenti, from the Twin Peaks sound track. Thank you David Lynch.