Lesson #111: Painting with the soles of the feet

Lying with knees bent, the student slides the foot on the floor, forward and back, then side to side, then in circles. The lesson progresses to moving both feet in circles together. Then the student moves to lying on the stomach and does essentially the same movements with the feet held in the air. Obviously, it's a lesson about freeing the hip joints, right? At the end of the lesson, Dr. Feldenkrais says, "The bulk of the work, in a kinetic sense, is in the pelvis." And then he says, "All these circles make light movements of the spine between the shoulder blades and at the base of the neck. There [you] should feel the greatest difference. That is why it affects the chest so much… in order to soften it." (AY Vol. 3, Pt. A, pg. 733.) The lesson is another concrete demonstration of how moving just one thing, or a limited number of things can have a dramatic effect in an entirely different area of the body; we are each an inextricably connected system. The lesson can be done by anyone who can comfortably lie on both their back and their stomach.

A side note: if you've been following along with us, you're aware that some lessons don't seem to have much to do with those lessons that come immediately before or after. In this third volume, however, there has been a pretty strong thread from lesson to lesson. In this lesson for example, a movement is encouraged (though not specifically mentioned) that is very similar to pushing the heel down in lesson 110. And here, toward the end of the lesson, there are some references to becoming aware of where one's "middle" is in terms of right and left which becomes the theme of the next lesson.