Module 1

Feldenkrais Practice

• Right arm with palm up opens to the right, head follows arm
• Open arm to right a second time, head turns in opposite direction
• Open arm to the right and head turns in the opposite direction but eyes follow the movement of arm away and back again
• Revisit the first movement and observe the difference

Practice: Center, Ground, Neutral (practitioner skill #1)

• Find seat and sense midline
• Open hands wide, gather energy, return to heart and come home to yourself

Movement Practice (Afternoon)

• Dr. Stone’s pyramid – in this pyramid stance do Qigong tapping exercise where you focus on releasing energy out of your body as your fingers move off of you.
• Massage the jaw and heels to release tension and then repeat the pyramid and see what has changed.
• In pyramid, drop and twist one shoulder with sound and then the other
• Still in pyramid, bend elbows and work the scapula to open upper back

Exercise: Sweet Spot – Side by Side

• Sit side by side with partner, each person find practitioner skill #1 (ground, center, neutral)
• By practicing giving more space and then less space (both very briefly) find the sweet spot and co-regulation and discuss with your partner.
• What is it like to find a sweet spot while also making contact with your hand?
• “If you are not feeling comfortable, you are not in co-regulation” – Ray Castellino

Singing bowl resonance exercise

• Feel the sound of the bowl vibrating out. You can stay where you are and it will come to you.
• Feel space filled with presence.

Movement Practice with Liz

• Seaweed twist: move head like light drawing on the ceiling
• Now draw light on the floor with the coccyx – waking up the core
• Use hands to push out and then draw in with hands and feel the difference
• Bend knees and ground down
• Roll in and out on arches like water flowing through your feet and through the floor
• Reach up, rain fingers down
• Gather energy to center with hands with intention of neutral
• Notice what is your relationship with yourself right now?
• Find sweet spot with self – imagine more space around yourself, then feel inside

Efferent (attention out) / Afferent (attention in) practice

• Efferent: From closed eyes, open eyes and look for something you enjoy and go out to get it, then close eyes to reset.
• Afferent: After eyes closed, open eyes and let what you see come to you.
• Repeat above with sound.
• Check in and notice if you feel quieter, slower, smoother.
• Open eyes and look around, let things come to you; note what it’s like to stay home and let things come.

Standing Toroidal Movement

• Use hands to create Toroidal movement: go out to sides, scoop down, lift middle, return to sides and down
• Imagine 3-D touch in all directions, stand in center of field

Mother Earth Father Sky Exercise

• Rub hands together (3×)
• Feel energy between palms, then fingertips
• Place hands on body; embryological inside-out rhythm
• Notice cycles of expansion/contraction slower than breath

Partner exercise in two chairs

• Sit next to partner in chairs, not touching
• Move hands up/down to do tactile Mother Earth/Father Sky
• Feel field and ground, let center call you home
• Explore sweet spot together; note awake vs dropping out
• Adjust pressure to maintain co-regulation

Foot Massage with Partner

• Person receiving: sense body, report feelings
• Practitioner: notice partner’s energy, hear their experience
• Feel presence in feet; notice energy down and back up

Demo in nesting orbs

• Hold different sized orbs; move at varied pace (CRI, fluid, long tide)
• Whatever rhythm you focus on is amplified

Blanket Blueprint demo

• Place objects (imprints) on blanket; move blanket and observe shapes
• Notice long tide still symmetrical but bound by tissue

Breath Movement Practice with Partner Support

• Sit with partner, observe breath expansion/contraction
• Partner mirrors with hands
• Notice edges of tides, places of pausing
• Support person listens from head, heart, belly in sequences
• Turn person notices being seen from each place

Practitioner Skill #1 demo

• Find ground, center, neutral via Efferent/Afferent exercise
• Anna leads weight on sitting bones, field holds us (“Let it come to you”)
• Models find sweet spot; balance between too close/too far
• Sit in co-regulation without touching; ask “how would it feel if I contact your hip/shoulder?”

Table Instructions

• Adjust table height so elbows rest comfortably
• Use table extender as arm rest for comfort and stability
• Chair/table: spine upright, elbows parallel to floor, feet flat
• Optional pillow or tissue box under elbows as needed
• Practitioner may adjust and inform client

Hand Positions

• Contact leg/hip and shoulder (one hand at a time)
• Return to practitioner skill #1 between placements

Session Instructions

• Work with listening and slow pace
• Sample communication: “Can you feel me or only my hands?”
• Avoid objectifying; ask open-ended “How is this just now?”
• Teach moving hands without moving attention, then vice versa
• Perceiving from head, heart, belly, field
• Cranial work: portal of body → heart → head (with maturity)
• Heart = center/neutral; reach from heart to receive
• Focus on heart-consciousness touching body-consciousness

Session Debrief

• Social nervous system: “Can I feel other and be safe?”
• Sweet spot: going backwards & forwards simultaneously
• Pause & space regulate; dysregulation = stop/go
• Language for present: “What lets you know you are here?”
• Listen undefendedly; receive from back of heart/field
• Dysregulation wave moving through → opening & release
• Discharge builds resilience
• Inquiry: be in center & meet other; dynamic process
• Pace & space create receptive currents

Hand positions at table

• Sit at head of table with extender, hold shoulders
• Practitioner skills: 1. Center-ground-neutral; 2. Relationship; 3. Listen; 4. Recognition (“I see you deeper than body”)
• Go to feet: hold ankles/feet; sense “anybody home?”
• Contact top/bottom of midspace (toroidal center)
• Find best contact: firm vs light

Toroidal Visualization with Alex Grey Painting

• Lay painting flat on table to visualize field

Optional Practice: VU Sound for Low Tone

• If hypo/dropping out, use low-pitched gut sound to build tone

Table practice / hand positions

• Start at side: one hand at hip, other at shoulder
• “Say hello to fluids” & contact midspace
• Move to shoulders (top, sides, underneath)
• Then occiput, then feet

Occiput / Sacrum (Side-Lying) Table practice

• One hand at occiput, one at sacrum
• Up/downward triangles – as above, so below
• Waterbeds (CSF reservoirs) at spine ends
• Sit with feeling of liquid light & potency
• Create circuit for balance; adjust for comfort

Session Instructions

• Start with foot rub until energy drops
• Shift to sacral-occipital hold; express appreciation: “Thank you for showing me that”