This Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® lesson was recorded live while I was teaching a weekly class in Seattle. Our theme was "Balance: An Everyday Miracle", with special focus on the alignment of the head and its relationship to standing and reaching. Read my postings on balance at http://www.shericohenmovement.com

Looking Up To Reach For Better Balance

Please enjoy this Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® lesson. It is not meant to replace medical advise. If you are under a doctor's care, please check with your doctor before doing the lesson.

The lesson is a classroom recording made in July 2007. The monthly theme this lesson was included in was "Back Bending (Not Breaking)". For more information on my classes, and writings about Feldenkrais, yoga, dance and other themes, please go to www.SheriCohenMovement.com. You can also sign up for my newsletter there.

If you are experiencing acute or chronic shoulder injury, you might choose to do the movements described only on the well side, then IMAGINE doing the movements on the injured side. There is a segment in this lesson instructing you in how to imagine, in case you need support with that.

Special note to my fellow Feldenkrais Teachers and trainees: I make some mistakes in language in a few places in this lesson. Can you find them? Only civil responses, please.

Special note to fellow students of Larry Goldfarb: I outright stole two Larry-isms, heard in this lesson. Extra points if you can name them.

Rolling with Arms Behind the Back

This is a classroom recording. Please be patient with occasional sound drop. I can assure you there is no important comment or instruction missing.

Playing With The Toes

This classroom recording of a Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® lesson guides you through gentle movements of the mouth and jaw. Should be done reclining on a flat surface (a blanket on the floor is ideal) with no pillow or a very low, flat pillow. If you are unable to get to or from the floor, you may make the adaptation of doing the lesson in your bed. Please consult your doctor about the appropriateness of these exercises for you.

Jaws And Tongue

This 10 minute meditation is useful for calming your busy mind and feeling your presence in the here and now. Please sit on a cushion or blocks on the floor, either cross-legged or in a supported kneeling position. A kneeling bench will also be fine. Chair sitting is also an option. Make sure you are very comfortable before you begin.

Grounding and Breathing: A Short Sitting Meditation

This is a classroom recording of a lesson the Feldenkrais community affectionately calls the "praying" lesson, but it is not a religious practice. It is a movement lesson to learn about how to move the arms more efficiently, comfortably and with support from the lower body.

How the Pelvis Supports the Arms

How The Pelvis Supports The Arms ("Praying") With Sheri Cohen

Sheri Cohen (Assistant Feldenkrais® Trainer, RYT, she/her) has been researching the movement arts for over 30 years in the fields of dance, yoga and the Feldenkrais Method®. Sheri maintains a lively private practice in the Seattle area, teaches classes, retreats and workshops, and supports both yoga and Feldenkrais trainings with her experienced teaching. Sheri’s teaching creates a supportive, playful environment in which all individuals are learners.

Sheri Cohen

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