Source
- Alexander Yanai Vol 10
- Reel 31, Track 1, Lesson 3
- Duration of the recording: 39 min.
Synopsis
- Sitting backwards on a chair, arms resting on the back rest. Flex the back whilst translating the head forwards. Also the same action with the face turned to the side. Also translating the head backwards.
Lesson Outline
1. Sit astride a chair facing the back, with the arms on the back rest. Move the head forward (pecking) and the lumbar back
2. Change over the arms. Face to the left, repeat the movement. Distinguish how the sides of the back differ
3. Repeat with the face to the right
4. Repeat with the face to the front again. Different?
5. Turn the face right, repeat the spinal rounding, whilst slowly rotating the face left, and return
Round the back at different degrees of head rotation. Are there angles where the action is easier, or harder?
5a. Quickly. About 10 times per head turn
5b. Reverse the speeds: flex the back once, turn the head multiple times
5c. Reverse the speeds: multiple flexions for one head turn. Are there still points of unclarity?
5d. Turn the head left and right. How is it now?
5e. Do this movement (pecking) without moving the back. (This instruction highlights what can cause of neck pain.)
6. Do the opposite movement of the head: Move the head backward (I (Ben P) assume translation rather than tilting)
6a. Keep the head backward (I assume this is translation, but 6d says the head is hanging behind), and move the belly in, flex the back, and return “Then you will know how much the movement of the head backward is dependent upon the back.”
6b. Move the head backward and let the back do as it wishes
6c. Do it quickly
6d. Keep the head back, flex and extend the back (small movements) let the pelvis roll back and forth
6e. Leave the back alone and move the head back several times. Can the head move without the breast lifting or the back arching? “You see, this is what nature wants us to do”
6f. See how counter intuitive it is to take the head back whilst flexing the back
7. Change over the hands, turn the face left. Do the same thing (spine extension?), taking the head backwards. “The back helps in every movement”
7a. Faster
8. The same (spine extension?) with the face turned right. Here (finally) MF implies a translation: “the chin will come closer to the throat. … The head stands vertically”
8a. Turn the head slowly from side to side and flex (extend?) the back continuously. “Hold the head vertical so there will be movement at the base of the skull, so the chin will come closer to the face (sic) (chest?)”.
9. Doing this movement, think of a clock with 9 left, 12 in front, 3 right. Touch every hour.
10. Facing forwards, flex the back and “lower the chin forward”. Is it now different?
Also grow by letting the spine straighten. “There is not effort in the back. Do not press with the muscles of the back, for then the arch will grow, increasing by itself without power.”
10a. Do this movement at every hour from left to right and as you do so, erect the back
11. Stand, walk. End of lesson
Focus of the teaching
- In addition to the movements, what theme or ideas did the teacher focus on
- Pecking action. Dissociation of cervical extension from lumbar flexion. Thoracic extension. Lengthening the spine without efforting in the extensors.
Related ATMs
- Tag Pecking
- Tag Sitting-on-a-chair
- Tag Fast-movements
- Tag Base-of-neck
- Tag Softening-neck
- Tag Atlas-and-axis
- Tag Shoulders
- Tag Movement-of-opposition
- Tag Turning-in-sitting
- Tag Clavicle
- Tag changing-speed
Backwards-on-a-chair:
- AY479 Movements of the chin to the sides on a chair
- AY480 Bending movements of the head on a chair
- AY481 Twelve o’clock with the chin, Twelve o’clock with the head
Resources
- Add links to external resources that would be of interest to the reader
Share Your Insights (ideas, principles, strategies, experiences, …)
- Add your thoughts about the lesson here.
- Please sign your comments
- Differing viewpoints are welcome and desired!
- The instructions are often unclear. MF spends much time addressing students, and this made it unclear for me as to what was an instruction for the group, and what was a correction for an individual. Ben P.
- If one assumes the key movement is pecking / translation of the head forwards – which is never explicitly stated – the lesson becomes easier to comprehend. Ben P.
- Whilst the head is rotated, is a “forward” movement of the head in the direction of the nose / eyes, or in the direction of the breast bone? Are both directions interesting for the effect on the movement of the skull/neck juncture. Ben P.
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