Week 1: October 3 – 7
There will be NO classes or private sessions Monday through Friday. I have a very few openings for private sessions on Saturday, October 8.
Week 2: October 10 – 14
Classes meet as usual.
Week 3: October 17 – 21
Classes meet as usual. There will be NO afternoon private sessions on Tuesday the 18th or Thursday the 20th.
Week 4: October 24 – 28
There will be NO classes or private sessions on Tuesday the 25th or Thursday the 27th.
Monday, November 7 and Tuesday, November 8:
There will be no classes or private sessions either day.
Wednesday, November 16:
There will be NO evening class. The afternoon class will meet as usual.
Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25:
There will be NO classes or private sessio
Saturday, October 1, 2011
How often do you find yourself sitting at your computer complaining about the ache in your back or the tension between your shoulder blades? Could it have something to do with how you are sitting? Probably. Here is an article from Senseability, on the FELDENKRAIS approach to easier sitting...
Sitting Comfortably
By Jean Elvin
Many people have the idea that the pelvis should be “vertical” to have proper posture for sitting. This means that the sacrum, or the back of the pelvis, is at roughly a ninety-degree angle to a flat chair seat, with the “bowl” of the pelvis neither tipping forward nor backward. There are ways to use our pelvis more effectively when sitting, so that we can stay comfortable for longer periods of time, and for moving while sitting, in activities such as computing, driving, visiting with friends, reading, writing, and eating, to name just a few. The short lesson in this article will begin with a vertical pelvis, and then explore another alternative. This experiment should take about ten minutes or less. If you start to get tired or sore, of course, stop and rest immediately.
As a reference point in this personal experiment, consider that the bones under each side of the base of your pelvis are like deep rockers on a rocking chair—they allow you to rock forward and back, as well as to shift side to side, by lifting one rocker up away from the supporting surface. Slide one hand under each side of your pelvis until you can feel the rocker-like bone with your fingertips. Then see if you can more clearly sense the rockers without your hands underneath you.
First, move forward toward the front edge of a fairly firm chair, so that you are sitting on the front third of the chair seat, with your feet comfortably on the ground and your pelvis vertical. To find the vertical, rock gently forward and back making the movements smaller until you feel you are “in the middle,” with your pelvis in a position that you sense as vertical. Stay there and notice how your back feels. Is there a bit of tension somewhere? Imagine putting a sticker on that part (or parts), so that you can check on it easily later.
Now, place the palm of one or both hands on your belly, and rock your pelvis forward slightly, so that your belly pushes your hands forward in space, toward being over the front edge of the chair. Allow your belly to soften and your breathing to be easy. This is not about inflating or sticking your belly out, rather you are rocking your pelvis forward slightly and allowing your belly to soften. Your pubic bone (the very center of the front of your pelvis, the bony part just below your belly) will move forward and down slightly, toward the chair. Practice this movement a few times, pausing when you get there, so that you get used to this feeling. Now, you are in a new configuration, slightly forward of vertical. How does your back feel now?
Check back to the spot(s) where you placed the imaginary sticker(s). Is there less tension than before? If so, it is likely that you have found more support from the natural curve of your lower back, or lumbar spine. Notice that you can still allow your belly to move slightly as you breath and your pelvis to shift, without destroying the feeling of ease and support. Your lumbar spine is curved naturally in this direction and with practice, you can learn to recognize the feeling of support that your spine affords you in this configuration. A “forced vertical” can interfere with your ability to sense and use your natural structural support, and is also unnecessarily demanding on the postural muscles of your trunk.
Sometimes at this point in the experiment, people report, “My lower back feels better, but now I’m tense up higher.” It is possible that even with more comfort in your lower back, you may feel some increase in the tension in your ribs, or middle or upper back. The reason for this is that the spine is one system, all parts relating to each other. When you change the way you use your lower back, the other parts must also learn to change harmoniously. Structurally, this is about balancing your head over your pelvis. Refining the relationship through your trunk—notice what happens to your trunk when you rock your pelvis slightly forward. Do you tip like a leaning tower? If you can, soften your waistline and allow your pelvis to roll forward without bringing your shoulders and head forward in space. Can you feel your chest softening? See if you can resist the urge to stiffen and lift your upper chest. Notice if you can relax any part of yourself a bit more, perhaps your jaw. You may notice that your back has the feeling of getting slightly taller when you rock forward. That is okay, but don’t exaggerate it or hold your breath. For this movement, see if you can leave your shoulders and head roughly over the same spot on the chair as you rock your pelvis forward, rather than tipping them forward.
The next step in this process might be to explore Awareness Through Movement® group lessons or Functional Integration® sessions which will help you to soften your sternum, (or your jaw) and then integrate that feeling into your new understanding of sitting. If this personal experiment is interesting to you, consider scheduling a lesson to further customize this improvement in sitting with your favorite Feldenkrais® practitioner. They are trained in helping you to discover the balance of your spine, the dynamic balance of your head and pelvis and how wonderful you can feel in sitting (among other things) when the new patterns become automatic.
Sitting is much more than sitting still. A “mobile seat,” (or an adaptable way of sitting comfortably) is one that can move with you in any number of seated tasks. Enjoy revisiting these movements as often as you wish during all your activities.
Sitting Comfortably
By Jean Elvin
Many people have the idea that the pelvis should be “vertical” to have proper posture for sitting. This means that the sacrum, or the back of the pelvis, is at roughly a ninety-degree angle to a flat chair seat, with the “bowl” of the pelvis neither tipping forward nor backward. There are ways to use our pelvis more effectively when sitting, so that we can stay comfortable for longer periods of time, and for moving while sitting, in activities such as computing, driving, visiting with friends, reading, writing, and eating, to name just a few. The short lesson in this article will begin with a vertical pelvis, and then explore another alternative. This experiment should take about ten minutes or less. If you start to get tired or sore, of course, stop and rest immediately.
As a reference point in this personal experiment, consider that the bones under each side of the base of your pelvis are like deep rockers on a rocking chair—they allow you to rock forward and back, as well as to shift side to side, by lifting one rocker up away from the supporting surface. Slide one hand under each side of your pelvis until you can feel the rocker-like bone with your fingertips. Then see if you can more clearly sense the rockers without your hands underneath you.
First, move forward toward the front edge of a fairly firm chair, so that you are sitting on the front third of the chair seat, with your feet comfortably on the ground and your pelvis vertical. To find the vertical, rock gently forward and back making the movements smaller until you feel you are “in the middle,” with your pelvis in a position that you sense as vertical. Stay there and notice how your back feels. Is there a bit of tension somewhere? Imagine putting a sticker on that part (or parts), so that you can check on it easily later.
Now, place the palm of one or both hands on your belly, and rock your pelvis forward slightly, so that your belly pushes your hands forward in space, toward being over the front edge of the chair. Allow your belly to soften and your breathing to be easy. This is not about inflating or sticking your belly out, rather you are rocking your pelvis forward slightly and allowing your belly to soften. Your pubic bone (the very center of the front of your pelvis, the bony part just below your belly) will move forward and down slightly, toward the chair. Practice this movement a few times, pausing when you get there, so that you get used to this feeling. Now, you are in a new configuration, slightly forward of vertical. How does your back feel now?
Check back to the spot(s) where you placed the imaginary sticker(s). Is there less tension than before? If so, it is likely that you have found more support from the natural curve of your lower back, or lumbar spine. Notice that you can still allow your belly to move slightly as you breath and your pelvis to shift, without destroying the feeling of ease and support. Your lumbar spine is curved naturally in this direction and with practice, you can learn to recognize the feeling of support that your spine affords you in this configuration. A “forced vertical” can interfere with your ability to sense and use your natural structural support, and is also unnecessarily demanding on the postural muscles of your trunk.
Sometimes at this point in the experiment, people report, “My lower back feels better, but now I’m tense up higher.” It is possible that even with more comfort in your lower back, you may feel some increase in the tension in your ribs, or middle or upper back. The reason for this is that the spine is one system, all parts relating to each other. When you change the way you use your lower back, the other parts must also learn to change harmoniously. Structurally, this is about balancing your head over your pelvis. Refining the relationship through your trunk—notice what happens to your trunk when you rock your pelvis slightly forward. Do you tip like a leaning tower? If you can, soften your waistline and allow your pelvis to roll forward without bringing your shoulders and head forward in space. Can you feel your chest softening? See if you can resist the urge to stiffen and lift your upper chest. Notice if you can relax any part of yourself a bit more, perhaps your jaw. You may notice that your back has the feeling of getting slightly taller when you rock forward. That is okay, but don’t exaggerate it or hold your breath. For this movement, see if you can leave your shoulders and head roughly over the same spot on the chair as you rock your pelvis forward, rather than tipping them forward.
The next step in this process might be to explore Awareness Through Movement® group lessons or Functional Integration® sessions which will help you to soften your sternum, (or your jaw) and then integrate that feeling into your new understanding of sitting. If this personal experiment is interesting to you, consider scheduling a lesson to further customize this improvement in sitting with your favorite Feldenkrais® practitioner. They are trained in helping you to discover the balance of your spine, the dynamic balance of your head and pelvis and how wonderful you can feel in sitting (among other things) when the new patterns become automatic.
Sitting is much more than sitting still. A “mobile seat,” (or an adaptable way of sitting comfortably) is one that can move with you in any number of seated tasks. Enjoy revisiting these movements as often as you wish during all your activities.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
September Schedule Changes
There will be no classes on Thursday, September 8 or Tuesday, September 13 while I attend an Advanced Training. Classes will resume on Wednesday, September 14.
The Wednesday, 1:00 pm Awareness Through Movement class will start again in a few weeks. If you are interested, please let me know.
Cheers,
Julie
The Wednesday, 1:00 pm Awareness Through Movement class will start again in a few weeks. If you are interested, please let me know.
Cheers,
Julie
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Breathing and the Diaphragm
Curious what your diaphragm does when you're breathing? Wonder how your ribs respond? Then this link is for you...
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MCtWTgmghUv5osXr2D39em1TqdfHnodi5_jVaMkGlV9AvqkDPn84j4zi5OLwXp6hT8JxU90r_ha6pYr12qjdcej2tlC21J3g/85_stoughs_diafragma.mov
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MCtWTgmghUv5osXr2D39em1TqdfHnodi5_jVaMkGlV9AvqkDPn84j4zi5OLwXp6hT8JxU90r_ha6pYr12qjdcej2tlC21J3g/85_stoughs_diafragma.mov
Friday, August 19, 2011
Lesson 10 - Mindful Breathing
When the stress of the day gets to be too much, bring back the calm with this simple breathing lesson courtesy of Russell Delman's Embodied Life Program.
BEGIN:
Sit or lie comfortably.
TO DO:
Notice how you contact the surface that is supporting you. Feel that contact. Are you allowing yourself to really be supported by the surface you are on?
Continuing to feel your contact, expand your awareness to include any sounds you might hear - the furnace or air conditioner, people's voices, traffic, background music - whatever it is.
Holding both the physical sense and the auditory in your awareness, take 4 full breaths.
Release.
NOTICE
Do you feel more calm?
Special thanks to Russell Delman for a wonderful workshop. For those who don't know him, Russell is a Feldenkrais Trainer who has combined Feldenkrais, Meditation and Eugene Gendlin's Focusing into a program of mindfulness that he calls "Embodied Life". He offers public workshops for those looking to live more mindfully.
BEGIN:
Sit or lie comfortably.
TO DO:
Notice how you contact the surface that is supporting you. Feel that contact. Are you allowing yourself to really be supported by the surface you are on?
Continuing to feel your contact, expand your awareness to include any sounds you might hear - the furnace or air conditioner, people's voices, traffic, background music - whatever it is.
Holding both the physical sense and the auditory in your awareness, take 4 full breaths.
Release.
NOTICE
Do you feel more calm?
Special thanks to Russell Delman for a wonderful workshop. For those who don't know him, Russell is a Feldenkrais Trainer who has combined Feldenkrais, Meditation and Eugene Gendlin's Focusing into a program of mindfulness that he calls "Embodied Life". He offers public workshops for those looking to live more mindfully.
Whole Body Movement
Puppy fans will love the adorable pooch in this video. Cuteness aside, this precious pup offers a fine example of how movement in one part of the body ripples throughout. Notice how the the body and head move in relation to one another. Which is leading and which following? When do you do the same?
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/08/16/puppy-at-1000-frames-per-second.aspx?e_cid=20110816_DNL_art_2
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/08/16/puppy-at-1000-frames-per-second.aspx?e_cid=20110816_DNL_art_2
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Becoming an "Expert"
Want to learn to do something really well? Maybe even become and expert?
If you're not familiar with Dr. Anders Ericsson of FSU and his work on what it takes to become an "expert" you might enjoy this link...
http://www.psy.fsu.edu/faculty/ericsson/ericsson.exp.perf.html
For years, Ericsson and his team have been investigating what it takes to become highly skilled, i.e., an expert. They studied everything from memory to chess to music to sports. What they found is that years of "practice" have very little correlation to skill level. Instead, what matters is HOW you practice. Although his work is often cited with the note that it takes at least 10,000 - hours of practice to become highly skilled at something, the research concludes that DELIBERATE PRACTICE is the essential ingredient.
DELIBERATE PRACTICE requires remaining in conscious control while practicing. Ericsson notes that experts do three things while practicing to increase their skills:
1. Focus on their technique - what they are doing and how they are doing it
2. Orient toward a goal - what it is they are trying to do/achieve
3. Get constant and immediate feedback - what they actually did and what effect it had
Perhaps most powerful of all is his observation that learning requires us to consciously challenge ourselves, allow ourselves to fail, review what we did and learn from our mistakes. He suggests as Feldenkrais did that we actually practice failing.
An interesting point is that at no time can intuition (unconscious action developed through repeated practice) substitute for continued deliberate practice. Even those who are highly skilled can lose their abilities if they do not continue to challenge themselves. He uses the example of radiologists whose skills diminish over time due to lack of feedback - they think they know what they are doing but because they don't get immediate feedback they can only assume that what they are doing is what they want to do.
If you're not familiar with Dr. Anders Ericsson of FSU and his work on what it takes to become an "expert" you might enjoy this link...
http://www.psy.fsu.edu/faculty/ericsson/ericsson.exp.perf.html
For years, Ericsson and his team have been investigating what it takes to become highly skilled, i.e., an expert. They studied everything from memory to chess to music to sports. What they found is that years of "practice" have very little correlation to skill level. Instead, what matters is HOW you practice. Although his work is often cited with the note that it takes at least 10,000 - hours of practice to become highly skilled at something, the research concludes that DELIBERATE PRACTICE is the essential ingredient.
DELIBERATE PRACTICE requires remaining in conscious control while practicing. Ericsson notes that experts do three things while practicing to increase their skills:
1. Focus on their technique - what they are doing and how they are doing it
2. Orient toward a goal - what it is they are trying to do/achieve
3. Get constant and immediate feedback - what they actually did and what effect it had
Perhaps most powerful of all is his observation that learning requires us to consciously challenge ourselves, allow ourselves to fail, review what we did and learn from our mistakes. He suggests as Feldenkrais did that we actually practice failing.
An interesting point is that at no time can intuition (unconscious action developed through repeated practice) substitute for continued deliberate practice. Even those who are highly skilled can lose their abilities if they do not continue to challenge themselves. He uses the example of radiologists whose skills diminish over time due to lack of feedback - they think they know what they are doing but because they don't get immediate feedback they can only assume that what they are doing is what they want to do.
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