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)

• Flexors, aka folding
• Flexors

Extensors (lifting backwards)

• Extensors
• Extensors with a twist

“Dead bird”

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

• Dead Bird
• Classic Rotation Sitting
• Another “classic rotation sitting” lesson

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

• Coordinating flexors and extensors
• Crossed legs, tilting knees to the side

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

• Pelvic Clock
• A Clock

Rolling

• Rolling to sit
• Rolling side to back

Then start to explore on your own

Feldenkrais is sometimes about challenge

• Taking the foot through the ring of the arms

Or subtle differentiation

• Sphinx and eyes

We are always about addressing the self-image

• Primary image

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

• Differentiation of the parts and functions in breathing

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