February 14th, 2025

​The point of suspension: Freeing the head and neck from below
A Six-Class Series with Heather
Join Heather Emanuel for 6 classes
Feb 23 - Mar 30, Sundays 5pm at Yoga on Beacon and online via ZOOM
 
Dear South Seattle Feldenkrais Students, Clients, and Friends,
 
You are invited to the next class series!
 
One way of thinking about the relationship of our neck and head to the rest of us is to consider it like a pendulum. Pendulums have a point of suspension, where everything below swings freely back and forth. What does it mean to have a free head, and how does that freedom affect the rest of you? Where do you need to invite movement in order to have a feeling of steadiness and balance, as well as ease?
 
Another way to think about what is possible is to watch the flight of an Eagle—they keep their eyes on target. In order for them to keep their focus on their target, everything below their head must move. Check this video of an eagle flying and keeping his head level at all times: https://youtu.be/ZcOar6HDa6I
 
In this coming 6-series class, we will play with many positions in which to access a better sense of the connection between below and above. We will work with our necks from our feet, from our pelvises, from our spines, and from our arms.  This will be a good sampler to check out many different types of Feldenkrais classes: lying down, sitting in a chair, lying on your side, working with your eyes, spine.  
 
Many of us have biases, a slight head tilt, a tendency towards neck (and or shoulder) discomfort on one side. Many of us have other habitual difficulties that play into this that can be improved—back, chest, or hip, knee and even ankle issues.
 
We will play with balancing the work in our necks and spines, and moving towards more freedom in our heads and necks. We’ll work from many perspectives and positions, and you will find a couple of movement ideas you can return to during the week, to help you re-elicit the learning that occurs during class. We’ll inevitably improve our relationship with our chest, back, legs, hips, and ankles, all with the focus of helping us find a free head and neck.
 
Register here: South Seattle Feldenkrais - South Seattle Feldenkrais Please let me know if you have questions.
 
Meanwhile, I hope you are doing alright. I’m finding it more important than ever, for my own mental health, and for my physical wellbeing, to do some kind of mindful movement every day—even for just a few minutes. I hope you are finding practices and moments that can help sustain you!