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
- Sidelying, sliding hands and knees
- Shoulder and hip circles
- I can’t believe I never recorded a classic lesson in side-lying, where you lift your arm and take it behind you. You can see an outline here https://feldynotebook.com/on-side-turning-with-straight-arm-in-arc-mg-77/ and another here https://feldynotebook.com/sliding-arm-and-leg-on-side-rotating-trunk-mg-78/
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