Seeing Clearly 3 - Breathing to See

Seeing Clearly - Lesson 3 - Breathing to See

Gazing with Closed Eyes for Deep Focus and Alignment


From what I gleaned from "Breath," Day 2 of the "Move Better, Feel Better" Feldenkrais Awareness Summit, the alignment of the head, the affect of orthodonture, and the way our tongues rest against the top of the mouth make a huge difference in head alignment.

And the volume of the windpipe. Several presentations included X-rays of people with occluded trachea - people who had bad orthodonture, people who had crooked teeth. It was a little scary to learn that well-meaning braces could limit the depth of the trachea and breath.

On the plus side, we can begin to build awareness of the tongue and mouth into every lesson as a remedy for limited tracheal volume.

The next lesson doesn't specifically address the relationship between the tongue and eyes. That comes later. However, this week we will address breath.

Last week was one long self massage to relax the optic nerve. It was an overall relaxation. The science nerd intro included these videos to explore the nerves and muscles that move the eyes:


This week is about connecting eyes to hands to deeply feel the centerline and breath. With hands in prayer position, we simply hold a closed-eyes focus on the hands as the hands move, the head moves, the eyes.

I found this profound. I felt the difference between my eyes and how the eyes connect deep into the back. There is very little movement, but changes everything.

This lesson changes orientation from lying and sitting on a stool. If that doesn't work for you, no problem. But if you can explore the different relationships to gravity, do try.

Jacki Katzman