AY046 Lowering the head

Source

• Alexander Yanai Vol 1 (1-50)
• Reel 4, Track 1, Lesson 3 (This reference is identical with the reference of AY045 in the IFF edition.)
• Reel 4, Track 1, Lesson 4 (according to Eva Laser https://www.somatik.se)

Synopsis

• The lesson is outlined in 15 numbers with subdivisions. It unfolds in 4 discreet positions, Indian sitting, Half-kneeling, Side-sitting and Kneeling, through which the “lowering the head” is built up into a full 360° circling of the head.
• Sitting with hands on knees or hands behind, lower and raise the head. Move the head in a pendulum movement to the right and left in front. Also behind. Also on one knee. Also with eyes open or closed (vision introduced). Mention of the role of the eyes in balance.

Lesson Outline

Definitions

• Reference movement – Sit cross-legged with hands on knees. Lower and raise head (sagittal plane). Will be repeated and tested after each position and various variations in-between (9 times total) – hence reference movement.
• Position A “Indian sitting” – Sitting cross-legged with hands on knees or hands behind, lower and raise the head (sagittal plane) – will be repeated and tested after each position and various variations in-between (9 times total) – hence reference movement. Then move head in a pendulum movement to the right and left, head bent forwards and behind (half-circles in frontal plane) and enlarge arcs into half-circles on the R and L (in the sagittal plane). Search for accurate mid-point in back and front.
• Position B “Half-kneeling” – Hand on hip on kneeling leg, hand on knee on standing leg. Circling the head. Both sides. Explore balance, relationship of eyes to direction of movement with eyes open/ closed.
• Position C “Side-sitting” – Both arms up straight into air, palms facing each other. Observe + check comfort. Then side-sit with same-side hands on back leg, front leg-side arm up in air. Bend head to arm in front/back. Slide head in a pendulum movement round & round. Both sides.
  Check both arms up for comfort again.
• Position D “Kneeling” – Stand on knees, toes like for running. Lean on R hand on R ankle. L arm in front. Circles from L arm backwards. Open/ closed eyes.

A – Indian sitting (Steps 1-5)

1. Reference Movement
2. Hands behind, fingers backwards. Pendulum movement R+L with Head Forward.
3. Reference Movement
4. Pendulum movement R+L. w Head Backwards
   1. Hands on knees.
   2. Hands behind and fingers backwards
5. Reference Movement

B – Half-kneeling (Steps 6-9)

6. L leg kneeling, R foot standing. 10 circles head lowering forward. Try making 3 circles (moving R) with the eyes open.
7. Reference Movement
8. R leg kneeling, L foot standing, Head forward. 10-15 circles
   1. Five movements with eyes open. Exploring balance. Eyes should continuously move a-head of the head.
   2. Move w eyes that make clear circles on the floor … wall … ceiling.
      “You loose balance at the exact moment when the muscles of your eyes and the back of your neck aren’t working together.”
9. Reference Movement

C – Side-sitting (Steps 10-14)

10. R leg back, L leg F.  Lift both arms straight in the air, palms facing each other. Listen and observe comfort.
    1. R leg back, L leg F R hand on R ankle. L arm UP. Bend head toward L (upper) arm.  Slide head in pendulum movement round and round.  Do not move L arm. Move only your head toward the arm.
11. Reference Movement
12. R leg back, L leg F R hand on R ankle. L arm UP. Bend head toward R (lower) arm.
    1. Reference Movement
    2. TestMM – Check Step 10 again with both arms UP 
13. L leg back, R leg F L hand on L ankle. R arm UP. Do 10 movements (circles) – head bent toward R (upper) / L (lower) arm
    1. Listen to eyes open/ closed.
14. Reference Movement

D – Kneeling (Step 15)

15. Stand on knees. Toes like for running. Lean on R hand on R heel. L arm forward. Do 10 circles w head from L arm and move backwards.
    1. Reference Movement

Focus of the teaching

• “You will slowly see that this lesson isn’t just to improve the movement of the head or make nice comfortable movements. This organization of your head and eyes, together with the spine and pelvis, are of fundamental necessity. This enables you to do all the things that were impossible before. … Sitting with legs crossed becomes true cross-legged sitting rather than an imitation of sitting with crossed legs”. (Step 9)

Self-image/ Good movement/ Full image

• “If they improved it is because the movements you just did are still represented in your consciousness, still recognizable in your awareness… You will see that those parts which become clearer in your awareness as you move, improve your movement.”  (Step 3)
• “You will see that this completes the image of the body that each person creates for himself. The movements that you listened to stay in your memory. They remain in your attention for a certain amount of time. Immediately after the movement you clearly feel it in your awareness.
  All those places you listened to – where it was difficult; where it was unpleasant; where it wasn’t easy; where they felt like a ghost – those places now feel part of the movement.” (Step 5)
• In what is the improvement? “You will see that it is connected to what you attend to during the movement. It is connected to those things that you listened to and felt.” (Step 9)
• Where did you improve? “It isn’t merely better, but better where you shifted your attention. Those places you listened to improved. Is it possible to understand that a good movement is one where a person, without thinking, feels all the relationships between different parts of his body while moving? The more you add parts when they become clearer, the better the picture becomes.” (Step 11)
• “There is work for a lifetime until the whole back and chest truly participate in a full image. In other words, the same amount of time is needed to be an artist in the control of the body as an artist in physics, music, art, or anything else” (Step 15a)

Anatomical landmarks and relationships.

Moshe is very diligent in establishing landmarks and relationships for orientation in space and support of the head throughout the whole lesson … The description of the relationships of parts throughout the lesson is very helpful for filling in missing links.

• “Listen to the projection of the top of your head as the travels head between your hands” (Step 2)

Cue relationships allowing for felt triangulation and comparison of movement in space…

• “Listen to distance ear-eye”, “distance ear-to-elbow” and “distance “eye-to-knee” (while lowering &  lifting)

He also allows time and space for exploration “do it 20x”, “15x more” and

• “Try not to hear my voice. I will try not to use it. Listen only to yourself”.

Pendulum movement – interesting wording

Head forwards. Hands backwards

• “your R ear will come to lie on R shoulder when you move to the R” (Step 2)

Head backwards. Hands backwards

• “Top of your head should travel to the R until it CLIMBS your R shoulder”. (Step 4)

Side-sitting. R hand on R ankle in back. L arm straight up. Head bent to upper arm

• “Begin sliding your head in a pendulum movement round and round. Move it in front and in back” (Step 10a)
• “Do not turn your face to the arm; turn the top of your head instead” (Step 10a)
• “This habit of moving the face instead of moving the head makes it impossible for a person to sit comfortably despite the fact that he exercises… At exactly the right moment the person turns his face instead of moving his head. In this place, the vertebrae and muscles of his neck never get to move so they cannot do it.” (Step 10a)

Pendulum movement – Do not turn your face…

• “Move R + L in movement of a pendulum. Do it without turning your face.” (Step 4).
• “Do not turn your face to the arm; turn the top of your head instead” (Step 10a)
• “Be careful not to turn the nose right and left. That is exactly what you need to do in order to avoid getting benefit from the movement. Keep making circles with the top of your head.” (Step 12)
• “Listen to the top of your head, not the face. It should go backward. Do not listen to the movement of your face; instead listen to the top of your head. Do not move the nose to the right if the top of your head is to the right.” (Step 12)

Related ATMs

• AY050 Lowering the head
• Tag Base-of-neck 
• Tag Measuring
• Tag Eyes
• Tag Pendulum-movement-head

Bending head forward, sitting:

• Amherst 1 – Week 5 – 07/07/80 – 07/09/80 Rolling the Pelvis (Part 1 – 5)
• Amherst 1 – Week 6 – 07/17/80 PM Mobility of head – body tonus, part 1 and 2
• AY050 Lowering the head
• AY066 Lifting the head with the hands; abdominal muscles while lying on the floor
• AY084.5 Getting up from a chair #3 (not in IFF edition)
• AY479 Movements of the chin to the sides on a chair
• MG78 #06 – Learning to move the head and neck from the center in side sitting

Resources

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Share Your Insights (ideas, principles, strategies, experiences, …)

• Add your thoughts about the lesson here.
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• Differing viewpoints are welcome and desired!

• This lesson starts with a longish scan in sensing the relations of the ears and shoulders etc., and how attention disappears in some parts of the body. Return to this scan to explore more the role of the scan in the AY lessons. (B. Parsons)

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