Getting started

Reading

You can hardly do better than reading Feldenkrais’s words on how to approach the lessons: Learning to learn

For some practicalities, read: Basic instructions for doing the lessons

Recorded lessons

Here is a list of some of the lesson themes that are taught in beginner series by Moshe or by Mia & Gaby, two of his original students. I include links to one or two versions of each theme on this site. There are more. You can find them via the “tags” in the right sidebar on any page of lessons.

Don’t do all these lessons in this order. To start, choose one from each theme, and then move on to the next theme.

The sound quality varies–older recordings are worse. If one recording is too faint or noisy for you, perhaps the other will work.

Flexors (folding forward)

Extensors (lifting backwards)

“Dead bird”

Side-sitting and turning, with the hand hanging in front of your face

Balancing flexors and extensors

Face up, legs crossed, tilt knees; often alternating with turning your shoulder girdle via arms that are extended in front of you with your palms together

Side-lying, sliding arms and legs or lifting hand to back or making circles with the shoulder and hip

Pelvic Clock

Rolling

Then start to explore on your own

Feldenkrais is sometimes about challenge

Or subtle differentiation

We are always about addressing the self-image

And it never hurts to breathe (or to use your breathing to bring awareness the quality of how you use yourself).

You can check out the archive of series as I taught them, and go through lessons that way.

Some sources:

Here are links to some classic intro series, sometimes with links to skeleton outlines of the lessons:

Mia Segal and Gaby Yaron’s 1977-78 Intro Classes

Feldenkrais’s public workshop at Esalen

Feldenkrais’s public evening class in San Francisco

Feldenkrais’s Amherst Practitioner Training Year 1

Feldenkrais’s San Francisco Practitioner Training Year 1