AY #106 The knee bent on the abdomen
The lesson begins, "Please lie on the stomach. Bend the right knee under the body... while the left... [leg] is long.... Bring the whole body on it [the knee]. Extend the two arms forward [above the head] on the floor. Place the left cheek on the floor... the right knee is under the chest.... The pelvis sits on the right heel. Leave the pelvis on the heel and lift the left leg." (AY Vol. 3 Part A, pg. 697)
Try it and perhaps you'll understand why I seriously loathed this lesson. Immediately after this instruction, Dr. Feldenkrais does comment, "For the great majority, this movement [you] just tried actually is impossible to do.... we will try to make it so that it will be possible to do."
Not only was the initial movement impossible for me, I couldn't even get into the initial position with my cheek on the floor. Moreover, for me, at the end of the lesson when we returned to that initial movement, it was still impossible to do (although I did have my cheek on the floor by then). Does that make this a "bad" lesson? Not at all. Could it be an indication that this is a lesson I could greatly benefit from doing a few more times? Very possibly. Will I do that? I doubt it (at least not anytime soon). It's one of those that, from my perspective, is just TOO difficult. I believe that the lesson tries to teach the student to effectively use the extensors when the back is rounded (although I'm not at all sure). Could be useful, but I'd really like to find some lessons that would work as precursors to this one. Please feel free to comment on this. I'd love to hear from others about what they think the lesson is about and also what might be some related lessons that might be done prior to this one in order to make this one a little easier.
Try it and perhaps you'll understand why I seriously loathed this lesson. Immediately after this instruction, Dr. Feldenkrais does comment, "For the great majority, this movement [you] just tried actually is impossible to do.... we will try to make it so that it will be possible to do."
Not only was the initial movement impossible for me, I couldn't even get into the initial position with my cheek on the floor. Moreover, for me, at the end of the lesson when we returned to that initial movement, it was still impossible to do (although I did have my cheek on the floor by then). Does that make this a "bad" lesson? Not at all. Could it be an indication that this is a lesson I could greatly benefit from doing a few more times? Very possibly. Will I do that? I doubt it (at least not anytime soon). It's one of those that, from my perspective, is just TOO difficult. I believe that the lesson tries to teach the student to effectively use the extensors when the back is rounded (although I'm not at all sure). Could be useful, but I'd really like to find some lessons that would work as precursors to this one. Please feel free to comment on this. I'd love to hear from others about what they think the lesson is about and also what might be some related lessons that might be done prior to this one in order to make this one a little easier.
posted by Mark Hirschfield at 7:57 AM
1 Comments:
Mark, I had a similar experience with this lesson, but the next day when I wanted to show Cliff the trouble I was having with it, voila, no trouble at all and then I couldn't figure out what was the problem in the first place.
Thanks for your commentaries, today I found a new lesson to include in a theme of side bending I'm teaching in Chicago.
Deborah Bowes
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