The final class of the summer is a whole lot of rolling, using arching, rounding, lengthening, shortening, and the leverage of our hips. Have fun! 

This is sourced from many places, and is an amalgam of other lessons. More to come, another time. 

Audio here:

Today's lesson is a balancing of the muscles that fold us, and the muscles that hold us up -  in other words, we are organizing, discerning, and coordinating the muscles along the spine. That being said, many things happen: the diaphragm is addressed in relation to folding and twisting. In twisting, there are elements of side bending, of curling, and of backbending, so it is a lovely way to actually lower the unnecessary work along the spine. 

Did you feel taller? Did your head feel on differently? Did you find more freedom in your thoracic spine and did that impact your ability to twist and to roll your head?

Welcome to the summer series, and see you next week!

This is a variation on Extensor and Flexor lessons similar to lesson 5 in the book Awareness Through Movement. Mostly we are lying on our backs, often with legs crossed, and arms long extended forward towards the ceiling. 

This begins with an exploration of Brian-the-skeleton and the shoulder. The shoulder is connected to our neck, jaw, ribs, spine, from tailbone to skull. Perhaps this is why so often trauma to the rest of us shows up in the shoulder?

This is a very quiet, one-sided lesson. Feel free to do a small amount, or even explore in bed. 

 This may be a challenging lesson. Try on an attitude of curiosity, rather than going for a goal. The end point is not important, it is the learning along the way that matters. 

The magic comes from letting the head be HEAVY. Not lifting the head...

The recording at times is not the best, which probably is when I'm working with students in the room. 

Walking scan, and then a lesson lying down. How do you transmit force down through your legs, how do you sense the rebound from the Earth? How does this lesson impact your movement after the lesson? For one student who mostly imagined, he began with a tremendous limp from a lumbar injury; at the end of class, no limp. What changed for you?

An exploration based on the Alexander Yanai Awareness Through Movement Lesson 179. How does your breath impact your movement? How does your movement teach you new possibilities? 

We begin already lying on the floor.

Pay attention to how you do what you do, and only do what feels gloriously available, and delicious. This video below is an approximation of the lesson, as a reminder, but not as a determination of what you will do. Sometimes when doing a lesson, you would not even know I am moving. The beginning of the movement is enough. The intention is enough. Then, see how you change!

Be sure to do a scanning process on your back as you begin. 

Play with the idea of not being goal oriented, and being goal oriented. Feel the movements associated with both states of mind. How does being goal oriented change your demeanor? How does it change your facial muscles?